Thai Cucumber Salad
Recipes

Thai Cucumber Salad

Let’s talk about salads.  We love them.  We hate them.  We really can’t live without them.  I know I sometimes just don’t want to eat my veggies but we all know it’s good for us.  They are the staples in my life but sometimes I get in a rut and bored and need to “mix things up”.  This Thai Cucumber Salad recipe is my best kept secret.

Like many of you, I am growing a garden this summer.  I have an over abundance of some of my veggies.  Why is it that the one veggie we really want,  we can’t seem to grow and then have so many of others we don’t know what to do with so many!  This year I have a ton of cucumbers!  I did get a few carrots.  They weren’t very pretty and so this recipe is perfect for them.  They have to be shredded so it makes it easy.

This recipe is one of my long standing favorites.  It has an amazing Asian flare without being heavy, complicated or requiring intimidating ingredients.  I use my spiralizer for cutting the cucumbers, it can be a little tricky, you have to be patient when spiraling a cucumber.  I shred the carrots and chop the nuts (this is still tasty if you need to leave them out because of an allergy) and onions and then mix up this fabulous dressing!

This recipe is light for a hot summer day.  It can be eaten alone, with some shrimp or as a side dish.  It also stays well in the refrigerator for a few days,  so I like to make a double batch and nibble on it throughout the week. If you can’t make larger quantities of a recipe to eat throughout the week then whats the point? It keeps me on the healthy track and that my friend, is smart cooking!

Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad

Thai Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cucumbers
  • 2 carrots
  • 3 green onions
  • 1/4 cup peanuts

Dressing

  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Cut cucumbers, carrots and green onion. Chop peanuts and mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

  2. Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl.

  3. Pour the dressing and over the top and toss.

 

Chocolate Lava Cake
Recipes

Chocolate Lava Cake

I was inspired from our trip to Italy to make this amazing cake!  I know that sounds funny to you but on our recent trip to Italy we hiked a volcano!  The volcano we hiked was Stromboli.  After a long arduous trip up 3,000 feet of vertical,  a six mile hike with lots of sweat, dust and heavy breathing, we finally got to the top!  On the climb all I could think of was of was guzzling more water,  jumping in the ocean to cool off and molten chocolate cake!  Lava pouring over the top with vanilla ice cream!  Oh, how refreshed I would be, if I could just take one tasty bite!

Upon our return from our amazing vacation to Italy ( I will expand on another blog post)  I had to make it. After that hike I owed it to myself and quite frankly I couldn’t stop thinking about it!  Have you ever had edibles on your mind and they wouldn’t go away until you satisfied your cravings?  Well if you answered no then I am completely embarrassed,  but if you can be obsessed about food than Bon Appetite!

One of my favorite things about either baking or cooking is when I can make something that is simple, delicious & looks like I spent all day in the kitchen!  It’s a huge win!  A lava cake looks so fancy (the shape, the powdered sugar, the lava) and difficult.  I could never figure out how to get the “lava” in the cake but this recipe makes it super easy.  You are likely to find the ingredients in most pantries so if you need a quick dessert this is one to grab!  Plus your family will think you are a chocolate rock star after eating this cake!  I can’t guarantee there aren’t a ton of calories but I’m okay with that.  I guess I will have to go back to Italy and hike Stromboli again.  I don’t think my family will mind!  🙂

Plated Chocolate Lava Cake

 

Chocolate Lava Cake

Ingredients

  • 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks

Instructions

  1. Add butter and chopped chocolate to a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave in 10 second increments and stir until smooth and set aside.

  2. Whisk flour, powered sugar and salt together in a small bowl.

  3. Whisk eggs and egg yolks together in a small bowl.

  4. Combine the flour and egg mixtures together in a bowl and stir until there are no lumps.  The batter will be thick.

  5. Spoon batter evenly into non-stick sprayed muffin pan.

  6. Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes.

  7. Cool for 1 minute.  Flip the pan on to a baking sheet to remove the cakes. 

  8. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings. 

I'm on Pinterest
Lifestyle

I’m on Pinterest!

I have to tell you that I never thought that I would be a part of Pinterest!  I am excited to share with you that I have created a collection of inspirations and recipes for you to enjoy and Pin! What I love about Pinterest is that you are able to “pin” something to your board and then keep it there forever for your reference. You can create your own pin boards.  Maybe you enjoy traveling to the Caribbean.  You can create a pin board of places you want to visit in the Caribbean.  It is a super fun and easy way of organizing yourself and you can interact with other users.  I have a pin board of recipes.  I look at my boards as a way to keep all of my favorite recipes in one place.  Gone are the days of having a recipe box.  This is the next generation of recipe boxes!  That said, it is also a way to find your favorite places to travel, inspirations of DIY, tips and hacks for all kinds of interests.

Because Pinterest is a lot of pictures, I want to give a shout out to my photographers, Rachel Pastukhov and Levi Perales of Tyn Foyal Photography.  They do a stunning job on all of my pictures.  They are the ones that bring beauty to every blog post and now I have the blessing of sharing all of the pictures on Pinterest!  I have created a board of my favorite things.  I have boards on gardening, entertaining, home, shop my style, travel and many more for you to enjoy!  If you are not on Pinterest I encourage you to check it out and follow me!  It is with excitement I make this announcement and I look forward to sharing more with you!  I hope you start pinning with me!

My Favorite Summer Dresses
Style

My Favorite Summer Dresses

There is really only one time of year that I love to wear a dress.  It is in the summer!  I do not like wearing them in the winter because it is so cold outside and I don’t care for pantyhose or tights.  I also don’t particularly like wearing formal gowns.   I just don’t feel like myself or comfortable.  However when it comes to the summer I prefer wearing a dress.  I don’t know what it is but I just feel more comfortable and relaxed.  I have some friends who haven’t really worn many and they need to jump over to the other side!  They are great!  I like them on hot sticky days especially a linen dress that is a blend.  They are light weight, easy to wear, and you don’t stick to them.  I always check to see what the fabric is made out of.  I want to make sure that if I do sweat it won’t stretch a lot and it won’t show sweat marks.  It is the worst and I have had that happen before.  One time it was so hot outside that when I got up my butt was soaking wet!  Talk about a problem!  It was embarrassing.  So make sure to check the fabric.  The last thing you want is for someone to tell you sat in something when it is actually your own sweat!  Ugh!

I have below some of my favorites.  Make sure to note the fabrics are lightweight and breathable!  All good things when buying a dress.

What's In My Bag For Summer
Lifestyle

What’s In My Bag This Summer

Wow!  Can you believe that summer is in full swing?  I am loving the early morning sunrises and the late sunny nights!  And of course all of the warm weather.  It makes you feel alive doesn’t it?  Well… today I am sharing what is in my bag.  It’s so funny to me that people just love knowing what is in someone’s bag.  I guess because it is a little taboo.  I never really gave it that much thought and maybe that is why it is so easy for me to share all of my favorites with you!

What's In My Summer Bag

The bag I am currently carrying around I purchased several years ago however, I found something similar to it on shop style.  Make sure to click the pictures below so you can find out where to buy one.  I love this bag because it’s kinda retro, lightweight and summery. Anyway, several of the items I am carrying are my absolute favorites right now.  I had a post a few months back about my love for Beautycounter.  They are the best!  Their lip gloss goes on so well and it is just the right amount of color for me during the day.  I also have some good stand by’s.  One is Nars lip pigment.  ABSOLUTELY the best.  I am not one to put lip color on several times a day so this solves that problem.  It is not drying and it is super consistent in color.  I usually put Beautycounter lip gloss or Bare Minerals on top of the stain.  I also have to have a spiral hair tie.  To be honest, I prefer my hair up and out of my face.  I realize most of my pictures are to the contrary but hair up is me! Another favorite for YEARS has been RayBans.  I just found out that you can even customize a pair!  I love the classic aviator because they look good on anyone.  They are well made and hold up to my abuse. The one thing I hate about a larger bag is I can’t find anything.  To help me out I love having several small bags and this clear cosmetic bag is great, I got several from Amazon.  I can easily identify what I need and they are a quick clean up!

I love being able to show you what is in my bag and my hope is you will enjoy these items for yourself.  They are great!  Maybe you can share with me some of the things you love in your bag!  I am open to new ideas.