It was such a blast going back to Alchemy and visiting friends. A mini vaca, truly! How amazing are these family pics? I’m so in love! Now we’re in Cleveland soaking up summer fun with my side. I cannot believe Max starts his second year of preschool so soon AND Charlie will start the toddler program at his school in the winter! Wild.
Onto the eats!
I can’t handle how delish and fun these bangin’ Thai cauliflower tacos with peanut sauce are. Jeff’s cousin and his adorable kids came over and we served grilled BBQ chicken (TJ’s sriracha one is the best), those same roasted red potatoes, corn, watermelon and Monique’s delish peach Brussels tahini salad (I’ve made this many times, yum). Is there anything more stunning and summer than this peach tomato caprese salad I made for book club? So simple but truly delivers the best flavors of summer. Book club appetizer plate! We read The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. It takes place in the thirties and was quite heavy at times, but I got really attached to the characters and definitely kept thinking about it long after it ended. Most of the girls in the group said it wasn’t their cup of tea, though. Cottage cheese cookie dough bites to conquer every snack situation.
Yasso coffee poppables are my dessert of summer. I made these gojujang chicken sandwiches but served them as tacos with avocado. I didn’t do cucumber or jalapeño in the slaw and made it my own but they were incredible and so easy! There’s a cute local breakfast spot called Rise N Shine that makes the best biscuit sammies. It’s basically the only place we take our kids to eat because it’s so fast and easy and we know they’ll eat! Very much into these crispy protein-packed waffles and the kids gobble them up. Grilled Greek turkey burgers (ground turkey, feta, spinach, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper topped with pickled red onions) my favorite roasted red potatoes (I reduce oil and salt), and our almost nightly salad with ACV, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. I made a baked turkey taco situation but I decided they’re not worth the extra effort. I will say pickled jalapeños leveled them up! I really love the vegetarian lunch/dinner recipes I’m posted in the past month and this BBQ tofu with roasted fingerlings may just top the list! The flavors really do it for me. Seared ahi tuna marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, garlic and ginger with basmati rice, leftover peanut sauce and cauliflower from the cauli tacos, green onions and sesame seeds. You know those nights where you ate dinner at 5:30pm (this was the ahi tuna night) and by 7:30pm you’re hangry? Enter PB&J’s with potato chips. Classic. We make a batch of these Milk Bar Chocolate Chip Cookies and freeze the dough to bake them off whenever we have a craving. I didn’t have enough semi sweet chocolate chips so I ended up mixing them with a chopped dark chocolate bar and mini chocolate chips and they were SO GOOD! Do not skip the milk powder; it makes the texture. Since we’re in Denver at elevation, I add a little more flour and find they’re perfect when I freeze the dough before baking and bake for 13 minutes. (They def do not need the extra ¼ cup salt at the end.) Organic drumsticks I randomly snagged at Costco (I used a recipe from Rachel’s Good Eats’ IG), Trader Joe’s sweet potato gnocchi, salad. Easy and delish Sunday night dinner!
Things I’m Loving Lately
What’s the best thing you ate recently? I got so many amazing comments in last month’s Lovely Meals; let’s keep it up!
