The colors of summer. How can you not love it?
Can you guess where they came from?
I really need to stop bookmarking. There’s so many things I’ve bookmarked, I can cook and bake for years and still won’t be able to try everything. Does anyone else feel the same way?
Fresh lavender buds in white chocolate sprinkled with sea salt. Lavender White Chocolate Bark is the perfect little treat.
I have an obsession with chocolate barks.
It’s a little treat that can be customized in so many different ways.
You can add your favorite flavors and create your own.
Over the past several months, I’ve shared a few bark recipes.
Have you tried my peppermint bark yet? Swirls of white and semi sweet chocolate with crushed peppermints.
Or my chocolate covered strawberry bark? For the strawberry lovers.
Or maybe one of my favorites, Rosemary Sea Salt White Chocolate Bark?
Well, today, I wanted to share with you another chocolate bark recipe. This time: lavender, white chocolate, and sea salt.
I love the fragrance of lavender, and after a little experimenting, I realized that they pair so well with white chocolate. Then, when you sprinkle just a little bit of sea salt on top, you get a sweet and savory chocolate treat.
Succulent prawns stir fried in butter with garlic and crushed red pepper. This spicy garlic prawns dish is a delicious entrée for dinner with a side of rice.
Tell me these don’t look good. Tell me.
I rarely ever cook with butter. For me, butter is associated with baking. Mostly because some baked goods just aren’t good without the butter. My opinion, of course. =)
But there are some instances when I think butter is a must in cooking. And those occasions usually involve garlic.
Seriously, if you ever heat up butter and throw in minced garlic, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been eating buttery garlic everything. Your kitchen will smell like heaven. Your taste buds will thank you.
And when you add prawns to the buttery garlic then season them with some crushed red peppers and a pinch of salt? You’ll have the perfect quick and easy dish in just mere minutes.
Slices of crusty bread topped with melted mozzarella cheese, fresh heirloom tomatoes, and sweet balsamic vinegar. This heirloom tomato toast is the perfect light summery meal or afternoon snack.
Okay. So… I’m a bread fanatic. I used to be able to eat an entire loaf of French bread by myself in almost a single sitting. Looking back, it’s kind of ridiculous. Just because I could doesn’t mean I should…
But I’m still not over my love for bread. Especially ones that are fresh out of the oven.
One of my favorite breads comes from Acme Bread at the SF Ferry Building. They have the most amazing crusty breads perfect for cutting into small cubes and dipping in seasoned olive oil. I can sit there and eat bread with dipping oil all day long.
Well, today, I wanted to use one of my latest farmer’s market finds, heirloom tomatoes and dry farmed early girl tomatoes. Have you had dry farmed tomatoes? Oh my god. They’re sooo sweet!
Dry farmed tomatoes are when water is being withheld from the growing tomato plant. The roots of the tomatoes then have to dig deep into the ground to find water, which means these tomatoes are completely focused on growing their fruits. And that means that the tomatoes are small but soo flavorful. I actually talked to the vendors from Dirty Girl Produce about it. This type of tomato is perfect right now for California, since we’re in the middle of a drought.
I’ve been stopping by the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market Saturday mornings when I’m not scheduled to work. I really want to take advantage of the fresh peaches of sooo many varieties. Plus, you get to sample all the fruits so you know exactly what you’re buying. My latest obsession is the O’Henry Peaches. So sweet!
And oh my gosh! Look at these colors in the peppers! You know how attracted I am to the colors in vegetables.
Grilled peaches topped with a dollop of mascarpone or yogurt and a drizzle of honey. These grilled peaches with honey and mascarpone are easy to make and so flavorful.
So over the weekend, my family hosted our first barbeque ever. When I say hosted, what I really mean is that it’s the first time we’ve ever had a barbeque at home. It’s a little hard to have one when you don’t own a grill. So we went and borrowed a friend’s grill to make this happen.
I have no idea how to handle a grill. The only grill I’ve ever used is the small indoor ones that need to be plugged into the outlet. So my cousin’s boyfriend did all of the grilling while the rest of us helped with the prepping.
Of course, the day we chose to have the barbeque just happened to be on a day with recording breaking heat temperatures in San Jose. We were dying under that scorching sun, especially when the shadows began to retreat and the sun was directly over our heads.
Lavender infused ice cream with little bits of fresh yellow peaches. This no churn peach lavender ice cream is the ultimate summer dessert.
You guys!
I’m dying from the heat.
I know, I know, I know. It’s super hot and humid elsewhere in the world. But I’m a San Franciscan. Anything higher than 80 degrees means I’m close to melting into a puddle of unflattering water.
And it has been ridiculously hot for San Francisco, even near the ocean where it’s almost always cloudy and cold. And I have no air conditioner because we never had a need for them. So I have to find other ways to keep myself cool.
This no churn peach lavender ice cream is the ultimate seasonal dessert and one of my favorite ways to stay cool. It’s simple to make, just like my no churn peach jasmine green tea ice cream. But this time, it involves lavender, which is another seasonal ingredient. Who would have thought that it works so well with peaches? I definitely didn’t until I started experimenting with flavors after my many trips to the Farmer’s Market these last couple months.
Classic s’mores filled with toasted almonds and toffee bits. Theses almond toffee crunch s’mores are the ultimate summer snack.
I have another gourmet s’mores to share with you this weekend!
Summer is coming to an end. Can you believe it? I feel like it went by super fast. And now, all of a sudden, it’s already mid August. Let’s enjoy the last few weeks of summer before we begin our obsession with pumpkin and everything fall.
And just in case you’re savoring the warm weather and decide to go camping before summer ends, I have these s’mores for you to try. Because how can you go camping without making s’mores at some point? It’s just not the same.
Oh my god. I cannot tell you how much I’m in love with the new Oreo Thins. It’s really really bad. At least with the regular ones, I know they’re terrible for me so I stop eating after 2-3 cookies. But the Oreo thins are so much harder to stop eating. More cookie, less cream. I’m in trouble. lol. This isn’t even a sponsored post. I’m just really addicted.
Slightly crispy on top with a moist crust, these crumble bars are filled with fresh strawberries and peaches. Strawberry Peach Crumble Bars are delicious and the perfect way to use your favorite seasonal fruits.
Okay, so maybe strawberries and peaches are my favorite seasonal fruits, and not necessarily yours.
But really, how can you say no to strawberries and peaches? They’re soo juicy and sweet. And those colors!
Some days, I wonder if I really like the fruits and vegetables that I like, or if I like them because I love the colors. Unfortunately my hit or miss photography skills did not manage to capture the vibrant colors.
These crumble bars are so amazingly delicious. They’re so much better when you eat them the day that they’re made! I mean, that slightly crispy top that’s just so cookie like. That moist crust on the bottom with slices of peaches and strawberries in between. It tastes like jam, it tastes like a bar, and it tastes like a cookie, all in one! How can you say no to these crumble bars?
