I have a lot of good cookbooks, and I really don’t pull them out enough. When I do, I usually just find some inspiration and end up making a new recipe instead of following the recipes provided. Typical food blogger, ahem.

This recipe came about after a meal-planning session with a friend this week (and I use the word “session” loosely- I spent most of the time chasing my children and only found one useful recipe). The original recipe is from Robin Miller’s The Newlywed Cookbook, which I love. The front photo is a little cheesy, but don’t let that deter you from gifting it when wedding season rolls back around. It’s a great find and I always regret not pulling it out more often.

Anyways- this recipe is quick and you will probably have most of the ingredients ready in your pantry. You could switch it up with any protein or add veggies, if you like. It’s gluten-free, too. Yay!

          I’m not sure what took me so long, but I am on board with this quinoa business.

I’m pretty late to the party, I know.

You might have seen the salmon/spinach/feta/quinoa concoction on MPMK last week?

Since I’m on this quinoa kick, I pulled up Jessica’s recipe (which I’ve had pinned for aaaaages) and had to make it happen.

(My sesame kick is a close second to my quinoa kick.)

The recipe was genius to start- all I did was add some snap peas, a teensy bit more soy sauce and another handful of sesame seeds and I was good. to. go.

I am not ashamed to say I scarfed this down in under five minutes.

Mostly because there was a little baby trying to pull it directly away from me and onto the floor, but also because it tasted amazing. Or as Elliott would say- “Mama, it’s dewishus!”

Here are some things I’d like to say about this heat wave.

It is madness!

Thank goodness for the brilliant JTB for coming up with this gem of an idea. It’s actually very similar to this Corn, Crab and Tomato Salad I made last summer, but is has bacon. Which in my book is light years ahead of crab on the deliciousness scale (which is definitely a real thing). After an hour in our outdoor bath (I can hardly call that thing a pool. I mean really), this was the most refreshing plate imaginable.

I am usually not a big fan of lettuce cups (so messy and usually filled with disappointing ground meat of some kind), but it was the perfect way to serve this salad. There was something great in each bite- sweet corn, creamy avocado, savory bacon- all wrapped up in the cool, crisp crunch of a lettuce leaf. I would eat this anytime, but it would be particularly wonderful to serve in a picnic setting or after some kind of hot, summer activity.

If this heat wave continues, I am stocking up on bacon, lettuce, tomato and corn and not coming out of the house until it’s below 90 degrees.

(So I guess I’ll see you in September!)

I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t make much Asian food around here (remember Project Food Blog?). That’s not because I don’t like it, I just get a little intimidated by it and don’t know where to get reliable recipes. I’ve made a few Asian items- classic Kung-Pao Chicken, Lighter Sesame Chicken, Beef & Broccoli– but that’s where it ends around here. I need a mentor or something, seriously!

Dumplings are one of my favorite Asian items. I love ordering them as a treat when we go out, but I’m also a big fan of frozen dumplings- Trader Joe’s gyoza dumplings are an old favorite. I guess what intimidated me most about making them at home was the pleating process. When I actually gave it a try, it was easy to get the hang of (after a few initial mess-ups, of course). The only other challenge was making sure they didn’t stick to the pan. I usually try to limit the amount of oil I use in a recipe, but this is one of those instances where I made sure to have a generous amount of oil in the pan.

I also love the fact that these dumplings can be frozen and cooked directly from the freezer- my favorite type of freezer recipe! You can just pull them out and prepare the same way you would if they were fresh. This recipe would be a great addition to your next freezer cooking day. I think I’ll be adding it to my list of freezer favorites.

Learn a lesson from me and don’t be intimidated! Try these out soon.

It’s been quite a month over here.  Lots of vegan and vegetarian recipes, some personal, vegan-related drama and some probably not veganize-able (what?) Nutella cookies.  I’m closing out all of this nonsense today with a recipe that can work for all diets; carnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike.

I’ve made this recipe twice in the recent past.  If you asked, my husband would tell you that’s pretty rare around here.  I like to experiment.. almost too much, sometimes.  These dumplings were so good and such an excellent use of our garden chard that I had to do a repeat.  They’re also very popular with the little guy.

The directions look horrendous and long, but I think it’s worth the effort.  This would be a good weekend meal, or something to make when you have extra hands to help in the kitchen.  When you bite into the dumplings, what you taste most is the bacon/pancetta.  You’ll never know you’re getting all of those vitamins and minerals from the chard.  I haven’t tried making them vegetarian or vegan, but I believe they’d still taste excellent that way.  Please let me know if you try it and how it works out.

This dish has a garden/fresh feel to it that I think you’ll enjoy during the warmer temperatures.

And if you don’t remember, May is all about pies in the Great Food Adventure!  I can’t wait to dig in, find the perfect crust, and share all of those luscious summer pie recipes with you.  If you have any favorites from around the web, feel free to link to them in the comment section!