Hello friends and welcome back to the second edition of: FOOD & STUFF, a monthly newsletter where I round up recipe recommendations and food thoughts and deliver them right to your inbox!
These newsletters are intended to go out the last day of every month, but I was too busy enjoying my Memorial Day weekend to get to this until today! So yes—it is no longer May…but isn’t time a human construct anyway?? I do not know nor is this the place to discuss life’s difficult questions—this is the place to talk about the food I made, the food I ate, and the food you should make and eat, too. So with that, let’s dive in and celebrate the beginning of HOT GRILL SUMMER!!!!!!
In this newsletter, we’ll review May’s Everyday Eats, share a food flex, pine over a past plate, and take a look at some Marvelous Midwestern Morsels (Ooh!) that I enjoyed this Memorial Day and many past summer holiday weekends in the past…
Everyday Eats
Where I share recipes that I have eaten this month during breakfast, lunch, and dinner…and snacks, desserts, and bevvies, etc.!
Breakfast
I’m a huge proponent of filling breakfasts. During the month of May, I found myself coming back to this simple, filling, and yummy Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal. This recipe comes from my friend Meghann (whose website I designed!), I personally enjoy topping it with some exta fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup, a spoon of peanut butter, and some Greek yogurt. Great alternative to plain oatmeal. If you’re not interested in buying peanut butter powder and but like eating oats for breakfast, Meghann also has a delicious recipe for lemon pie overnight oats.
Lunch
I’m not a big food prep fanatic, but lately I’ve been trying to make a batch of a hearty, yummy salad on Sunday night to have for lunches during the week! My favorite salad has been from my cooking club, “Natalie Cooks,” and is a broccoli lentil salad with dates. I added some grilled chicken to mine as well which was a great addition! I LOVED this recipe so much that I also brought it to my family’s Memorial Day picnic.
Here’s the recipe:
Crunchy Broccoli and Lentil Salad with Dates
Ingredients
½ cup French green or green lentils (about 1 ½ cups cooked)
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets, roughly chopped (about 3-4 cups)
1 cup snap peas, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped fresh herbs (cilantro, scallions, mint, and/or parsley)
½ cup chopped dates (or other dried fruit)
½ cup chopped toasted almonds
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Black pepperFor the dressing:
⅓ cup olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp ground cinnamonDirections
Add lentils to a medium pot and add enough water to cover by 2-inches. Bring to a boil, then simmer very gently for 10-12 minutes, or until lentils are tender but not mushy (cooking times will vary; I did mine in my Instant Pot for 7 minutes at high pressure). Drain and set aside to cool.
In a jar with a lid, add all of the dressing ingredients. Seal with the lid and shake vigorously to combine.
In a large bowl, add the broccoli and a drizzle of dressing. Use your hands to massage the broccoli for about 30 seconds (this helps soften and brighten it up a bit). Add in the carrots, snap peas, herbs, and dates. Add in the cooled lentils and dressing and toss to coat. Taste and add more salt, if needed. Serve topped with toasted nuts, cheese, and fresh grated black pepper.
Dinner
Oh my goodness, I had some great dinners during the month of May! I’m going to just hit you with a list:
Lemon-Mint Chimichurri
I just made a mint & parsley chimichurri to put on top of salmon (and a sweet potato!) and it was delicious. Pretty simple recipe that you can chop up by hand or do in your food processor. Would go great on chicken or white fish, too!
Lemon-Mint Chimichurri
1 tablespoon finely minced shallot, from 1/2 a shallot
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup mint leaves, finely minced
1 cup parsley leaves, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
Peruvian-Style Chicken with Green Sauce
My brother made this chicken/sauce recipe when I went to their house and it was INCREDIBLE. He used chicken thighs and marinated the thighs in the spice/oil/lime juice beforehand and then grilled them. It was soooo incredibly delicious, and the sauce served on the side would be incredible with other proteins or even on a bean and rice bowl. I’m telling you: make this and make it now.
Food Flex
Where I share a more complicated recipe that I made.
On the very first day of May, I ventured to my local Meijer with a dream in my heart and a twinkle in my eye—I was going to make Claire Saffitz’s Minty Lime Bars. I skipped to the produce section to pick up a bundle of fresh mint, only to realize: it was Derby Day! I’m not sure if you’re more sophisticated than I am, but I did not know that on Derby Day, apparently actual people have actual parties and drink mint juleps?? I had no idea, but then again, I was the kind of person who considered going to Walmart as a fun outing…Needless to say, Meijer was out of mint, and that made me SAD. But do not worry friends, the Minty Lime Bars were saved by a secret stash of mint procured at my local Marc’s grocery store, which does not have Juicy Couture light-up journals but DOES have fresh mint.
These Minty Lime Bars were delicious and making these definitely was a bit of a flex. When you tell people that you made your own shortbread with fresh mint AND your own lime curd, they are impressed. Plus, you grate some lime zest and sprinkle powdered sugar on top and they look fannnnnncyyyyy! You go, minty lime bars! A blogger recorded the recipe for all y’all, but this one is from the cookbook Dessert Person, which I recommend in last month’s newsletter!
Pining Over Past Plates
I am pining over a VERY recent past plate of the rhubarb snacking cake I made in the middle of the month. You guys, it was SO good! I didn’t have enough rhubarb (75%) so I did about 25% strawberries in this cake and served it with some whipped cream and WOW. As I was eating a slice, I got sad because I knew that one day I wouldn’t have this cake anymore. Well today is that day and I was right: I am sad that I don’t have my rhubarb snacking cake anymore :( Maybe you can make some and bring me a slice??
Marvelous Midwestern Morsels
If there’s anything Midwesterns are known for, it’s weird salads and finding creative ways of saving money (including with their cooking!) and then telling people about it. This month, I will highlight both.
Weird Salads
When I worked for a design studio, I wrote an article for our blog that posed the question: “What IS a Salad?” As the article says, “While Californians have kale, us Midwesterners have rice, olives, lime jello, grapes, ham, Cool Whip, Fritos, and whole other mishmash of ingredients to draw upon as we create entrees deemed as “salads” by our regional compatriots.” Recently, I was able to enjoy my personal favorite of all the Marvelous Midwestern Morsels: the Strawberry Pretzel Salad. I asked people on my Instagram story how many of them had had pretzel salad, and 62 out of the 80 people who responded said they HAD eaten Strawberry Pretzel Salad. While I’ve received some hate about Strawberry Pretzel Salad, I will persist with sharing the recipe with you to try at home with a few tips.
Tips for the best Strawberry Pretzel Salad: as this recipe shares, you MUST bake the pretzel crust before. Do not do a no-bake crust. The buttery crunch is essential! Also, using fresh, not frozen strawberries in the jello is a clutch addition! Finally: do not hate until you try.
Creative Cooking Tips from a Thrifty Midwesterner
On Monday, my friend Mark brought the most delicious corn muffins to our picnic. They were so buttery, so moist, so delicious! The textures were outstanding. I asked him for the recipe, and he informed me that it was the JIFFY BOX RECIPE with about 1/3 to 1/2 can of corn added in per box and butter melted over them at the end. Folks. These muffins were SO GOOD. I’m telling you: do not doubt this thrifty hack. They were some of the best corn muffins I have EVER had. We love a creative and thrifty cooking tip!! Thank you Mark! Thank you Jiffy! Thank you corn!!!
& Stuff!
Signing off with our & Stuff section. I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy listening/dancing to music while I cook/grill/bake/wash dishes. Lately, I’ve been enjoying a few songs, which I’ll share below!
Please let me know if you have any songs you’ve been enjoying lately, too!
If you liked reading the second edition of Food & Stuff, reply and let me know! I’d love to hear what you’ve been cooking, drinking, and snacking on lately! And if you have any friends that would be into this kind of thing, too, do share this with them and invite them to opt in to receive Food & Stuff, too!