Pavlova

This felt like a really long month, and was filled with ups and downs. Working at home everyday is definitely taxing on my mental health, and I’m still figuring it all out. Spending time in the kitchen helps though, and I love having a project to work on which usually results in an excuse to deliver treats to someone, so it’s a win-win all around. Here’s what was going on this month:

  • One of my missions for July was to try to recreate Half & Half Spindrift at home. I’m obsessed with Spindrift (Danielle and I bought three cases of it in Palm Springs to drink in five days), and especially this flavour. It’s basically a sparkling Arnold Palmer, which is half lemonade, half iced tea, and definitely not a thing in Canada (at least not to me anyway). I mixed up a super simple lemonade recipe, made a batch of cold brew unsweetened iced tea, mixed the two together and topped with sparkling water. SUPER delicious and refreshing! You could definitely add a shot of vodka or bourbon to this too for a summer cocktail.
  • It kind of sucks not having a BBQ in the summer, so instead of having FOMO, I made this Crispy Oven Pulled Pork from Smitten Kitchen and it was outstanding! I also made the slider rolls she links in the recipe and it was the best dinner I’ve made in a long time. I didn’t even get a picture of it, but will definitely make it one more time before Summer is done.
  • I can’t remember if I’ve talked about this before, but I’m obsessed with the new episodes of The Pioneer Woman where her kids are her camera crew! It’s just so real, and funny, and she seems more down-to-earth somehow, and I love it. I watched her make this Jalapeño Popper Potato Salad one Saturday morning, and made it the next week (except without the jalapeños actually!). It was so good, and I could write a whole post on my feelings about Potato Salad, so I think I’ll save all my thoughts on that for another day.
  • I ate so many strawberries this month, and it made me so happy! Most went into these Strawberry Pie Bars, and I also made two batches of Skillet Strawberry Jam, plus these Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins that I delivered to Kristine (I was mad they baked up so flat and that the crumble topping just melted into the muffins, but they still tasted good).
  • I had a couple of egg whites leftover from something or other, and I decided to make two mini pavlovas, after drooling over Roselle’s Instagram. I topped them with whipped cream, strawberries and icing sugar, and promptly remembered why I hate pavlova! It’s so weirdly crunchy!
  • There were a few recipe fails in my kitchen this month, and one was so gross I don’t even want to mention it, but on the bright side, I attempted to make Homemade Flatbread to eat with it, and it was so amazing!!! Definitely bookmarking this one!
  • And now the regular recap of what I was cooking this month, broken down into three categories:
  • Stuff I made from the archives: Kale Caesar Pizza (but on the homemade flatbread I talked about above), Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito Bowls (and now I can link to the updated recipe!), 5 Cup Salad!!!
  • Some of my favourite go-to dishes: Buying a rotisserie chicken is one of my go-to Summer moves when I don’t feel like cooking, so that happened a couple times this month. I made Ina’s Caesar Club Sandwich which is so delicious,  plus my friend Jenn’s Buffalo Chicken Salad Sliders (basically just shredded chicken tossed with mayo, Frank’s, diced celery and lots of salt and pepper). I also made these BBQ Meatballs again which I just love.
  • New things that I tried and liked: I’ve been watching Barefoot Contessa on weekend mornings too, and made Ina’s Chicken Cobb Salad (more rotisserie chicken!), and also tried Priya Krishna’s Roti Pizza with Cilantro Chutney (again on homemade flatbread instead of roti).
  • Take-out: Listen, I’m not ashamed to admit I picked up Fajitas-2-GO from Lonestar to eat while I watched the Raptors’ first exhibition game in The Bubble!

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • NBA IS BACK BABY! Yes, I cried into my fajitas as the Raptors took the court for their first game since March. Everyone is safe and healthy in The Bubble, so I feel okay watching them and cheering them on from my couch.
  • I finished Younger this month and I can’t even say how much I loved it. I was legit SO UPSET when I got to the end of the last new episode, which ends on a huge cliffhanger!!! Who knows when we’ll get Season 7?!
  • I also watched The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix and loved every single second. I was so obsessed with all the books when I was a kid and loved how they updated the show with a more diverse cast, plus made Kristy into a feisty feminist. Obviously ordered floral headbands off an Instagram ad after watching so I can be like Claudia.
  • I’m almost done Schitt’s Creek and there’s a new season of Selling Sunset coming next week, so I’ll save my reviews for those for next month.
  • This month we read Friends & Strangers for The Planet Byn Bookclub and the majority opinion on it was: meh. Kind of a let down since J. Courtney Sullivan’s last book is a masterpiece, but we still had a good discussion about the characters. Next up: the sequel to The Royal We, The Heir Affair.

Flashback!