Blueberry Date Salad

I love a good salad! I’m so bad about posting salads that I make. I eat salad probably five days a week: both big dinner salads and side salads. This Blueberry Date Salad combination was too delicious not to share!  I made this fantastic salad for dinner last night with pan-seared chicken and gnocchio in…

Roasted Carrots with Goat Cheese and Almonds

Roasted carrots are so delicious on their own, they really don’t need a lot of help. Add creamy goat cheese as soon as they come out of the oven so that it melts onto the caramelized carrots and a bit of crunchy almonds and fresh thyme and you’ve got yourself a show-stopping side. This recipe…

How to Roast Butternut Squash

In an effort to bring you more basics, here’s how to roast butternut squash! Butternut squash is one of my favorite fall veggies. If it’s on a menu, I’ll order it. I love it on its own, in chilled pasta, on toast with a bit of ricotta for a fall crostini, and even in salad…

Lemon Parmesan Grilled Asparagus

This is a gussied up version of my grilled asparagus. With a squeeze of fresh lemon hot off the grill and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, this is an easy, elegant side dish that comes together in just five minutes. I really never measure when I’m grilling asparagus. Measure with your heart! Drizzle olive oil…

Simple Summer Salad

This simple summer salad is the perfect side dish in the summertime to showcase those juicy garden fresh tomatoes! Make this all summer long when you have an abundance of tomatoes and fresh dill. (It’s also perfectly delicious with fresh basil, Italian parsley, or oregano.) I couldn’t even count how many times I’ve made this….

Roasted Broccoli

While I have no real love for raw broccoli, I love roasted broccoli! I like it crispy with a squeeze of lemon and a dusting of parmesan. So good! When prepping the broccoli, you want to make sure that you cut off all the woody stems. Cut the florets off of the main stalk but…

Grilled Asparagus

I cannot believe I’ve never posted this before. Asparagus is one of my favorite things to grill! I absolutely love it with grilled meats and couscous and I LOVE leftovers in green salad and pasta salad. What’s awesome about grilled asparagus is that it’s great right off the grill, at room temperature, and even cold…

Carpaccio di zucchine e limone e mente

I was reading a book set in Italy a few days ago and the author described this dish, “ribbons of zucchini with freshly squeezed lemon juice and mint” and I just had to make it! Especially since I adore lemon and mint and since I love my raw Mexican Zucchini dish. I was confident I…

Burrata Summer Salad

Wondering what to do with all of those fresh garden tomatoes? Here’s a simple burrata salad to make use of an abundance of summer tomatoes. I’ve been loving my big, dark-hued Black Krim tomatoes. These juicy tomatoes have a brown-ish red color and slice up beautifully. For visual interest (and because I have an insane…