Tag: Bon Appetit

4th of July Snapshots

Lauren2 Comments

Sometimes you skip your workout because you got your hair done the day before and don’t want to wash out those professionally-styled waves.

Sometimes you brew beer for the first time in a long time and forget to add the damn malt.  Aka a KEY ingredient.

Sometimes you go to marinate your chicken wings and they smell RANK and you get to make an emergency trip to Whole Foods for more.

Sometimes your 4th of July maybe doesn’t go to plan, but it’s still perfect because you got a few extra hours of sleep, made waffles, tried a new kombucha flavoring method, read in the hammock, used your BRAND NEW GRILL (!!!!!!) to make some bomb wings, went for a evening stroll, ate cobbler and felt all around happiness.

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Patriotic breakfasts only

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Alaskan Reindeer > Elk Jalapeno Cheddar, but also: Biker Jim’s dogs > any other dog

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Waiting for post-game fireworks while watching a hot dog-eating contest on Facebook live

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Pretty sure ash was not supposed to be falling on us through the entire firework show, but that’s what happened

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Could hardly watch this… SO EW

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Joey surprised me with a new grill for my birthday!!! It had been in our backyard for a full day and I didn’t even notice…

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Not to be biased but this is the most beautiful beet I’ve ever seen

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UM SO GOOD and all grilled by ME

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Blackberry-Cherry Cobbler ♥

On Cooking Without Recipes

Lauren2 Comments

Last week, I was listening to the Bon Appétit podcast — the one and only podcast I listen to, lest I should become one of those people who begins every sentence with “I was listening to this podcast and…” — and they got to talking about cooking without a recipe.  Though I know there are plenty of people who have the skills/confidence to cook without directions, every time I come in contact with these people, my head kind of explodes.  I always always always cook with a recipe, whether it’s the first or the 100th time I’ve made a dish.

For some reason, it wasn’t until I listened to this podcast that I realized I’m probably a far better cook than I give myself credit for and I probably have enough experience that I don’t need to abide by the rules of the recipe, down to the exact teaspoon.  So Monday night, I quickly glanced over the recipe we’d picked for Taco Tuesday (something we don’t always celebrate, but we should always celebrate), and decided that was the only time I needed to look at that recipe.  I know how to make guacamole.  I know how to sauté veggies.  I know how to season by taste and hell yeah, I know how to assemble a taco.

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Outcome: TACO SUCCESS!

I’m so over corn tortillas, but that aside, these turned out so good!  I think Joey’s immediate response after the first bite was “UMMM YUM!” and it takes a lot to get that kind of comment from him — not that he’s hard to please, but quite the opposite and thinks everything is good, so it goes without saying — so I was really really excited.  This isn’t to say I’m going to start guessing how to roast large cuts of meat or attempt to bake cakes without knowing the specifics, but I think this dinner was a huge confidence booster and extra encouragement to trust myself in the kitchen more.  I got this 🙂