{summer snacks}

 This week I have been inspired by food. I have made it my new goal to experiment and put a little more effort into what I make and put into my body. With this new mindset, I spent over three hours yesterday devouring my cooking binder, which is an amazing tool and work of art my Mother made for me as a wedding gift. She clipped articles on food tips, saved recipes from magazines and books, and then organized all of the hundreds of clippings into categories for me to refer to as I cook and learn more about food. I found great ideas for meals and new ways to use herbs and spices that I never knew existed. I had way too much fun, and it didn't stop there. 

After I finished with the binder, I moved on to blogs. Food blogs, video blogs about food, and websites that offer healthy and unique recipes. Next, I went to my cookbooks. After hours of this, I finally narrowed down our shopping list for the week with each meal planned as well as some new desserts to attempt. Wow. 

So today I started out with a few of my summer favorites. 

 1. Salsa. I have blogged about homemade salsa before, but I need to mention it again. This is what I crave all summer long, and I finally got to make it today. I use Roma tomatoes, green and red pepper, onion, garlic, salt, cilantro, and fresh lime. perfection.

 

 

2. My drink of choice in the hot months: crystal light lime margarita flavored lemonade mixed with cranberry pomegranate juice. I think I have already drank 3 glasses today.

3. Cheddar and horseradish cheese spread with wheat thins. Perfect for a mid-day snack. This one is a childhood favorite of mine. 

Food is good.

What is your favorite summer snack or recipe? I would love to have some more ideas to add to my collection.

Salsa Salsa




I have been craving homemade salsa this month. Last summer, I helped my friend Marie make salsa, and I fell in love with the taste of flavorful and fresh chunky peppers and tomatoes. She inspired me to try it out on my own.

My salsa experiment started with Meijer. I found all of the ingredients in about a half hour (I was a little distracted by the odd fruits and veggies I had never seen before).


What I used:

Red pepper
Green pepper
Yellow pepper
Orange pepper
3 Roma tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
Cilantro
Onion salt
Freshly squeezed lime juice




I found a cutting board, a big knife, and I cleared the table for a large work space. Chopping everything into little pieces took hours. A food processor would have been a magical help, but I managed without it.



Molly wanted to help with the salsa. She was great company as always.

After much chopping and playing with the ingredients, I finally had the perfect tasting salsa.





....after I made the salsa, I realized that guacamole was a must have for our Mexican meal that evening.









It only took a few minutes to whip up the mixture of tomatoes, avocado, garlic, and onion. I was pleased with the final result, and my sister was the biggest fan of both my creations.


Dinner was especially yummy that night, and I was happy to contribute in some small way. I think I will be making this on a regular basis from now on.

I suggest that everyone attempts making their own unique salsa. The best part is, there is no specific recipe you have to follow. Experiment and try something new!