10 cool recipes

I’m a little obsessed with these ricotta stuffed tomatoes from Stitch and Boots (which is, by the way, one of the best blogs out there). I’ve made them a few times with tomatoes from the garden and they are so tasty. The recipe makes 9 servings but Grady and I always eat them all within a day or two.

I’m thinking of making this zucchini tomato soup today, as my neighbor was kind enough to take some spaghetti squash off my hands and give me some zucchini. I definitely should have been more careful about cutting back the spaghetti squash. I don’t care about it spreading through the whole garden; we have plenty of space. But man. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat any more spaghetti squash for months. I’ve tried every recipe I could find and am just sick of that vegetable.

I was going to make this vintage fruit cobbler but some toddler got into my bag of peaches and made a mess of them. Do you think I could make cobbler with pears?

These peas, made from fresh or frozen, are so good. Grady gobbles them up like mad.

I made this mint syrup over the last couple days (because it takes about 26 hours to do), and am really happy with it. I thought it’d be more syrup-y, but the flavor is incredible. I’m really excited to make some late-summer juleps with it.

I’ve probably shared these pumpkin cookies before, but they’re worth sharing again. They’re delicious as is, and they’re also delicious when you make them a little more healthy; with applesauce and whole wheat cut into the normal ingredients.

Cade and I have made grilled zucchini several times this summer (for he is the master of the grill), and I’m in love with it. Salt, pepper, olive oil, smoke. So easy and delicious.

I made this a few days ago and it was delicious. I left out the olive oil because I was planning on using it in cheesy quesadillas, and it was still super tasty. Though not at all spicy; I think if I did this again I’d add a little more oomph. But man, the quesadillas were incredible.

The apple trees I saved a couple years ago are actually producing apples now (eep!) and I think I’ll make these baked apples with them. If I can refrain from eating them all raw.

I started making refrigerator pickles with this recipe, and have since begun wonderful adventures in experimentation. I seriously recommend that every house have a jar of homemade pickles in the fridge.

I wrote this on Sept. 5 and made no attempt to pretend I’m writing it on the date of posting; so don’t come to my house expecting to eat the stuff I said I cooked; it’s all long gone.

10 cool recipes

(I suppose I should apologize for explain why most of the “10 cool” posts are of the “recipes” and “random things” varieties – I just have a lot more links saved for those than the other categories. Let me know if it gets too monotonous, and I’ll work harder to find other awesome stuff. But right now I have less than ten links saved in all of the other categories, so I can’t make a full post out of them.)


This applesauce cake from Cornflower Blue (one of my favorite blogs right now, by the way) looks sooooo tasty.


I traditionally fail at cooking asparagus. (I know. It’s supposed to be the easiest thing ever. I just don’t have the magic touch.) But this recipe for pan-fried asparagus from AllRecipes looks delicious and do-able.


These vanilla cupcakes with raspberry filling from A Beautiful Mess look too delicious. I’ve never actually made real cupcakes before, but I might try these.


Lemon Whippersnappers
from AllRecipes. Get in my belly.


Chocolate, peanut butter cookie dough, toasted marshmallow cupcakes
. This post just became NSFW. From Craft.

I’m keeping this Mexican Cucumber salad recipe from AllRecipes in my “things to do with all those damn cucumbers from the garden” file.


This Grilled Corn Salad from Craft looks super tasty, too.


I’ve been recently craving roasted garlicky cauliflower so hard. This looks incredibly delicious.


Homemade pickled red onions! This recipe from Use Real Butter looks sooooo incredible.


I’m making this Strawberry Mint smoothie from A Piece of Lisa tomorrow for breakfast. Pretty excited about it.

10 cool recipes


I made this Yogurt Parfait Pie from Cooking with my Kid (as well as a bunch of other stuff, all of it edible thank-you-very-much) for the 4th of July Party at my house, and it was deeeeelicious. Generally the recipes on that blog are a little bland for my tastes, and I think next time I make this (there will definitely be a next time) I’ll add some vanilla or … I don’t know. Just a little something extra.

Also: Apparently cornstarch is something that exists? I didn’t know that until shopping to make this.


I made these corn muffins (they not only have cornstarch, but actual kernels of corn in them) one night with Cade, and they were exceedingly edible. Just needed a little extra honey.


Something about m&m’s in cookies just makes my knees melt. This (gluten-free!) recipe is from Cooking With My Kid.


In a similar vein, these Glazed Apple Cookies are also making my knees melt. Bigtime. Glazed cookies are just the best.


Yup, these look disgusting. But I want to make them (out of fancy organic hotdogs & whole-wheat pasta, of course) for Grady! You cook the pasta & hot dogs together and it comes out looking like this disgusting alien mess that kids are certain to adore. Found at crafterhours.


Our (wonderful, constantly-sharing) neighbors made campfire dinners like this for us last night (meaning July 7, as I’m writing this on July 8), and it awakened a constant desire for tin-foil-wrapped ashy food in me. I think this is what Sunday dinner will be. (When I asked dear old dad what kind of meat he wanted in it, he replied “I don’t care, chicken?” Have I mentioned that he is so difficult to cook for?)


Almond-Apple-Cinnamon scones
. WANT.


I would love to eventually make my own noodles for soups. Are they more difficult than pie crust? Because I’m still not at all able to make pie crust, and I figured noodles should wait until that wall is hurdled.


This Vegetarian Lime Orzo looks incredibly good.


As does this Black-Eyed Pea Salad. I’ve recently renewed my love for Black-Eyed Peas. I’m getting the urge to make my own black-eyed pea hummus. Not sure if it would work, but it’s worth trying!

10 cool recipes


Robbie’s M&M cookies. I want to make these because my dad might actually eat them.


Cookies for breakfast
; because they’ve got banana in them.


Blueberry zuchinni bread
.


Blackberry, honey and yogurt pops.
Alas, my dad thought my blackberries were weeds and he sprayed them. So I’ll have to wait till next summer to make these.


Greek-style potatoes
. These look like a really nice side dish. I’m getting really sick of oven-fries.


Quick quinoa and corn saute
. I’m really nervous about quinoa — I don’t want it to be like my experiment with steel-cut oats. I was so excited to fall in love with steel-cut oats, but every time I tried to make them it was disgusting and now our relationship is ruined.


Baked mashed potatoes
. Awful picture, but I’m happy to find a potato that isn’t an oven-fry.


A lemon pie that isn’t a meringue? Ingtrigue!


I adore making candied almonds.

And for the grand finale … this is a brownie inside of a cookie. I just fainted.

10 cool recipes


This blackberry buckle recipe from Bless Her Heart looks just ridiculously scrumptious.


Get in my belly! Raspberries and Cream recipe from A Couple Cooks.


I made these Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins a couple craft nights ago, and they were delicious. Seriously, seriously delicious. And not entirely unhealthy. However, I don’t think they should be called streusel muffins, because there is too much butter in the topping for it to really be a streusel.


This Moroccan-style Stuffed Acorn Squash is one of my favorite things to make. It’s tasty as all get-out, easily customizable, and fun to cook up. Honestly, before this, I had never cooked squash. I had never even cut into a squash. I’m not sure that I had ever even eaten squash. This is an excellent introduction to it.


Mini Strawberry Pies
from Cooking with My Kid.


This Zucchini and Potato Bake looks outstandingly delicious.


I’d really like to make my own applesauce someday, and this Crockpot Applesauce from Cooking With My Kid looks like a great place to start.


I made this Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious even though I seriously over-cooked the beans. (But I only over-cooked the beans because dinner (at a neighbor’s house) started three hours after they said it would. Okay. Done complaining.)


These Orangettes from Smitten Kitchen look crazy good. I want to learn to make them really well not only because they look delicious, but I think I could impress people with them.


Homemade Pop Tarts
, found via Craft.

10 cool recipes


I’m thinking of making these for the family gathering on Easter. Peanut Butter Bars from Make it Do. Are any of my family members allergic to peanuts? I feel like that is something I would know.


Greek Garbanzo Bean Salad from AllRecipes. Confession: I hate kalamata olives. Why on earth do people like those disgusting things?


Tomatillo salsa verde
from AllRecipes. Confession: I adore tomatillos.


Potato and bean enchiladas from AllRecipes. Potatoes in Mexican dishes = delicious.


Tomatillo guacamole
from AllRecipes. WANT.


Oatmeal with apples
from AllRecipes. I want to learn how to make zillions of types of oatmeal really really well. And different types of plain-Greek-based yogurt. So I can be the queen-mom of breakfast time.


Broccoli salad
from AllRecipes.


Portobello mushroom pasta
from AllRecipes.


Mini lemon blueberry scones
from Cooking With My Kid.


Cherry Crumble
from AllRecipes.

Written April 22.

10 cool recipes


This squash with tomato and feta side dish looks amazing. I’m really only distant acquaintances with squash, but I think this may be the next step in our friendship.

I actually made these spinach enchiladas once, and they were delicious — but I learned it’s really important to pick a tomatillo salsa that you know you’ll enjoy. I got the Sunflower brand canned green salsa, when I should have bought their in-house salsa from the deli. But my dad actually ate this. And it has spinach in it. I can’t convey how monumental that is.


Umm, I lost the link to this one somewhere between saving this post as a draft and sending my computer to live at the computer-fixer-place for two weeks. But doesn’t it look delicious?


I’ve never been much of a fan of any type of vinaigrette, but this mustard vinaigrette from Stitch and Boots looks preeeeeeeetty good. And also every single post on this blog is perfect, so I trust that this is delicious.


Tipnut posted a great round-up of homemade applesauce recipes.


This
is my go-to recipe for pancakes. The milk and vinegar mixture makes these fantastic. I add a little cinnamon out of habit, but it’s not necessary. My grandpa used to make pancakes with 7-Up, and I remember being obsessed with them. But this was the same grandpa who encouraged me to soak these 7-Up pancakes in pure corn syrup. Yeah.


AAAAAAH! This looks … just too perfect. Peppers roasted with garlic, tomatoes and basil. Can it be summer already so I can make this every day?


Succotash
! It’s a real thing!


I need to make a signature bean salad recipe. This one seems alright, but not perfect.


Yes, please.

Written Feb. 12.

10 cool recipes


Peas and macaroni soup
. Ugly picture, delicious recipe.


Homemade frappachino
from Craft Leftovers. I need to learn how to use my french press so I can do this, because those Starbucks frappachinos are awful.


These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are one of the three or so things I’ve made that my dad enjoyed eating.


I want to try these eggplant croquettes as a burger substitute.


Homemade york peppermint patties
. Need.


I feel like this recipe for easy bread pudding for one was made specifically for me. Thank you, internet.


Fresh rhubarb pie
.


Tres leches pancakes
.


If you’ve never had a fresh English muffin, you should really try these. So delicious.


A blackberry smash! I saved this link after I planted blackberries and before they were killed by a rogue weed-sprayer.

Written Nov. 13.

10 cool recipes

I decided to bifurcate the “homey” posts, because I was getting so many links to recipes. These are all going to be vegetarian, if you vegs out there are looking for something yummy. Also, food photography is really hard, so please be forgiving of how ugly this post is bound to be.

Stir-fried broccoli from Apricot Tea.

Pineapple zucchini loaf from AllRecipes.

Garlic broccoli from AllRecipes.

How to make dandelion wine from Tipnut.

Homemade granola from Cooking with my Kid.

Veggie Stir-fry from Allrecipes.

Black bean and tomato quinoa from Apricot Tea. I’ve been barraged with posts about quinoa – I must consume this mystery substance.

Tomato cake from Bounteous Bites. This sounds effing delicious. And it would be a great way to trick my dad into eating vegetables.

And tomato pie from AllRecipes, while we’re talking about weird tomato dishes.

The last one has no picture but sounds delicious: Indian Pudding from Allrecipes.