Cooking with a Wallflower - Page 109 of 139 -

Appetizers Gluten Free Healthy Quick and Easy Recipes Summer Cravings

Parmesan Ranch Shrimp Kebabs

Baked shrimp seasoned with parmesan cheese and ranch seasoning. Delicious and easy to make, these parmesan ranch shrimp kebabs are perfect as appetizers.

It’s the season for all things skewers. I swear, it’s not even June yet and I feel as if summer is already here. Maybe it’s all the berries, cherries, and peaches that are appearing at the Farmer’s Market, maybe it’s because people are warming up the grills. Whatever the reason, I’m so ready for summer.

This recipe is perfect for entertaining your summer guests.

And nothing is simpler or faster to work with than shrimp.

It takes only minutes to make, and only several minutes more before they’re ready to serve.

The taste of parmesan and ranch on shrimp is absolutely delicious.

I don’t know why I haven’t stocked up on ranch seasoning long before now. I’ve been totally missing out. It’s like the ultimate seasoning. I can put it on anything. Like these shrimp.

You don’t need that much seasoning, but there is a ton of flavor.

Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche

Chopped artichoke and sun-dried tomatoes baked in a cheesy egg mixture. Simple yet delicious, this artichoke and sun-dried tomato quiche is the perfect dish for summer.

One bite. That’s all it takes for you to fall in love with this quiche.

Quiche is one of those simple dishes that cost a ridiculous amount for a small slice when you order in a restaurant. I feel like the portion is never enough. But even though quiche seems and sounds fancy, it’s super easy to make and you can always customize the ingredients to your taste. I love that you can use fresh seasonal ingredients.

For this particular recipe, I finally got around to trying to remake a slice of quiche I had at Filoli almost a year ago. It’s not exactly the same, but I loved the combination of artichoke and sun-dried tomatoes, so I had to fill my quiche with them.

I love the fluffiness and creaminess, and each bite of the artichoke and the sun-dried tomato gives a little tartness to the quiche.

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Recommendations

Wallflower Weekly Faves. 15

I went to the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market last weekend after work. Look at these gorgeous cherries.

Have you heard of Batkid? Yes? Did you know there’s a movie about him now? You can see the trailer for the documentary here. So cute. Batkid Begins!

This mug. I want.

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The GlobeIn Artisan Box

Decadent fudgy brownies with the taste of coconut in every single bite. Simple to make, these brownies are delicious and help support artisans from around the globe, especially those from the developing world.

A couple weeks ago, a representative from GlobeIn contacted me to ask if I would be interested in doing a review of one of their monthly artisan boxes. I was curious. There are so many monthly subscription boxes that you can sign up for now. But this one seemed different.

This San Francisco Bay Area based company is dedicated to supporting artisans from all over the world, especially those in the developing country. By buying these products, we’re providing employment for these artisans and help reduce poverty.

These Artisan boxes are filled with unique handmade and Fair Trade products and accompanied with stories from the artisans. Each month the Artisan boxes have a theme. For the month of May, the theme is Bake.

Blood Orange Mimosa

Sweet and slightly tart, this bubbly drink requires only two ingredients: blood orange juice and champagne. This seasonal blood orange mimosa tastes amazing and refreshing, perfect for spring.

I don’t drink alcohol often, but when I do, I like my drinks as fruity and vibrant as this. =)

Look at this mimosa! The bright vibrant color, the fruitiness. It’s perfect with brunch.

Strawberry Cookies

Fresh strawberries baked into brown sugar vanilla cookies. These strawberry cookies are crispy on the edges and chewy in the center with a seasonal twist.

Oh, hi, you, beautiful strawberries.

It’s strawberry season (!) and I’m in love. I mean, how can you resist sweet juicy berries? Unless you’re allergic, of course.

When it hits spring and summer, strawberries tend to make their way into all my dishes. From salads to dessert to beverages, they’ve made, and will make, an appearance and oftentimes take center stage.

I went to the Farmer’s Market yesterday after a half work day, and there’s soo many berries. But what I really want to do is go strawberry picking, actually, berry picking in general. How much fresher can berries get, right? Now, I’m researching places to do it in the Bay Area in either June or July. Any suggestions?

Now, these cookies, OMG, these cookies! I’ve been making a few batches in recent weeks to “test” them out. But the truth is, I really wanted another taste. Can you blame me? They’re filled with fresh strawberries!

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Recommendations Wallflower Weekly Faves

Wallflower Weekly Faves, 14

This week, Tessa from Handle the Heat released her brand new book: The Ultimate Cookie Handbook, and it’s such a great resource! Have you ever had trouble baking cookies? Sometimes they’re too flat, sometimes too hard, sometimes too crumbly? And you have no idea why? I know I always have issues. And I swear, it’s not me. It’s the oven. But, this handbook has so many tips to create the perfect cookie each and every time you bake. And until May 17, it’s only $12. =)

Have you seen this gorgeous work of art? The artists cut 98 different raw foods into 2.5 x2.5 x 2.5 cm cubes. I’m in love with it. And is it just me, or are you trying to identify each food item too?

Honey BBQ Vegetable Skewers

Honey barbeque glazed roasted vegetables on skewers. These Honey BBQ Vegetable Skewers are so simple to make, meatless, and require no grill.

Memorial Day weekend is coming up, and I feel like that is the official start of summer. When grills are fired up, school is wrapping up, and s’mores become the must have food.

Unfortunately, not all of us have grills. I certainly don’t. I live in a three floor flat with two other families on the other floors. There’s no room for a grill, especially an outdoor one. I could always use the grills in the park, but I have no idea how clean those are. So for those of you who don’t have grills, this is the recipe for you.

I love skewers. There’s something about them that’s so fun to eat. I like pulling each vegetable or meat from the skewers and eating them one by one.

Triple Berry Elderflower Spritzer

A delicious combination of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries infused in elderflower soda. This triple berry elderflower spritzer is a refreshing drink for the spring.

It’s spring, almost summer, which means berries galore. And I love every moment of it.

The gorgeous vibrant colors, the sweetness of the berries. How can I resist them? I’ve been waiting all year for them to be back in season.

A few months ago, my friend and I had lunch at the Slanted Door in the San Francisco Ferry Building. On their menu is an elderflower spritzer, which sounded soo amazing. I was disappointed when I discovered they were out of the elderflower syrup to make the drink. But somehow, that elderflower spritzer, which I never had the chance to try, stayed in my mind. I finally decided to order a bottle of elderflower syrup through Amazon to create my own drink.

And this is the result.

Shakshuka with Fresh Herbs

Eggs poached in a tomato based sauce with fresh rosemary and basil. This shakshuka with fresh herbs is delicious when served with warm toasted bread.

Have you ever had shakshuka before? Or have you heard of it?

No? Don’t worry. You’re not alone. I didn’t know what it was until a few weeks ago when I randomly came across a picture of it, and I knew I had to try it. Shakshuka is an Israeli-Tunisian dish where eggs are poached in a tomato based sauce. Oftentimes they’re cooked with red bell peppers, garlic, and onions and seasoned with cumin and paprika. Once they come out of the oven, nice and hot, dip bread into the sauce.

There are so many variations out there. You might know a variation of this dish called Eggs in Hell, which doesn’t have as pretty of a name, right?

This dish is super easy to make. I loved the tomato based sauce with runny eggs. Dip your slice of toasted bread into the sauce, and you’ll have a delicious combination of herb filled tomato sauce with the richness of the poached eggs. It’s soo tasty and addictive. My sisters and I ended up eating this by the spoonful once we ran out of bread.

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