Salad on the grill

Probably 70% of my meals are prepared on my grill in the summer (and the other 30% don’t require any cooking at all). It keeps my apartment cool, means fewer dishes to wash, and it’s just damn fun.

Can she make a cherry pie Billy Boy, Billy Boy?

Strawberries are the first fruit that can make me do a “happy clap” at the markets and it’s no wonder why. While the greens of spring are undoubtedly welcome after a grey winter, the first red strawberries mean summer is really and truly here, and other colors, other flavors will follow soon. The first real, sweet fruit of the season is heaven, but after gorging on no less than 4 quarts over the course of a few weeks, I’m ready for the next sign of summer, my hands-down favorite: sour cherries.

My introduction to rhubarb

I bought my first rhubarb at the market last month. By which I mean I have never had rhubarb before in my life. That’s a shame, considering sour cherries are one of my favorites, and rhubarb reminded me very strongly of that same sweet/tartness.

When I bought my first batch this year, I made rhubarb syrup, which was incredible, and incredibly easy. With my second batch, fate struck and one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen, posted a recipe for rhubarb snacking cake, which looked too, too good and tasted even better.

Food in jars

Not to steal the title of a fabulous blog, but this just made me so happy I had to share. It’s the little things, what can I say?

I can actually see the ridiculous number of rices and beans I have!

Best laid plans

I had a grand idea. A few weeks ago I was in a cute new-to-me vintage/antique store that I’d driven past a million times (Praha). First of all, this store is amazing and it is an outright SIN that I haven’t stopped in before. They had a 1940′s edition of a Nancy Drew book. Swoon. Added to my collection.

Project supplies assembled: old window, giant picture

Can you tell it’s grilling season?

I’m still trying to learn my camera (in other words, take pictures that are actually in focus and reasonably lit), but for the sake of trying to post somewhat regularly, I didn’t want to let my out-of-focus, poorly-lit pictures stop me from sharing a great summer grilling recipe (and last night’s dinner, incidentally).

Nice buns

Ever since I had the hot dog and burger buns from a local bakery (Bennison’s, for anyone in the Chicago or Evanston area) last summer, I’ve been wanting to make my own. Bennison’s are sublime, but the store doesn’t always sell them, so it would be hit or miss if I had a burger craving on the weekend.

I finally got around to making some, and they are just as good as I had hoped. Toasted on the grill, they are just the right amount of soft/sweet/chewy to compliment a perfectly charred (but still juicy) burger or a blistered hot dog or sausage. One of these with a spicy Italian sausage, grilled onions, mushrooms, and peppers…bliss, I tell you. Bliss on a blissful bun.