Is “barbecue” a verb or a noun or both or what? Â I have said, “We’re going to barbecue tonight.” Â But not, “I’d love some good barbecue tonight.” Â Although since my daughter started to go to school in Texas, I’m starting to get used to the barbecue lingo. Â And I do love me some barbecue! Â My first meal when I go visit her is either my favorite juice bar (The Gem) or a barbecue joint (I die for Pecan Lodge.)
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I am not a big drinker, but I do like a little something when I am having dinner with friends on the weekends.  I am partial to a class of red wine or rosé, and occasionally I love a fun cocktail.  My husband and I like different kinds of drinks, but one we agree on is a Moscow Mule, especially in the summer.  Have you had one?  It’s a very refreshing drink made from vodka, spicy ginger beer (which is not beer at all, but similar to ginger ale,) and lime juice, and served in a copper mug.  So good!
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I think there might be more than a billion cookie recipes out there. Â Perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but there are more cookie recipes than you and I can make in our lifetimes. Â So thinking about the fact that there are zillions of cookie recipes at our fingertips, how come oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies are the ones we always turn to? Â They’re at every bake sale, picnic, BBQ, bakery, and in every dream I have about eating a dozen cookies in one sitting. Â When I offer to bake homemade cookies for my family, what do you think they ask for? Yep!
I accept with gratitude the privilege of growing older, so I don’t want to complain about it.  But.  Every 5 years or so, I get away with less and less with respect to what I can eat.  Sure, I could exercise more.  But I’m kind of busy and I already exercise a healthy amount.  One of those foods that is over for me is the bagel.
Bagels are nothing anyone really needs in his or her life. Â They are completely devoid of nutrition and loaded with simple carbohydrates (and I mean loaded) which turn into sugar lickety split (and then the pro-inflammatory hormone insulin surges and fat gets stored.) Â Even if I were to exercise like a maniac to burn off so many carbs, there’s the fact that I don’t feel great after eating a bagel.
Pancakes are made once or twice a week in my house. Â My whole family is crazy for them and IÂ am have even taught my kids how to cook their own. Â Many a morning I have to leave early for work, so I’ll make pancake batter the night before and pull it out in the morning before I go. Â The kids know how to grease the griddle with coconut oil, sprinkle the pancakes with blueberries and flip when ready.
These ricotta pancakes came about when I had extra ricotta after a pizza night. Â Being totally honest, I am not a huge fan of pasteurized cow dairy and I do try and limit it with my family. Â Dairy is a bit inflammatory, somewhat hard to digest and full of hormones. Â So we eat it sparingly. Â But I have to admit, ricotta pancakes are delicious. Â They’re everything I want a pancake to be — light, fluffy, but still hearty. Â These are much higher in protein than a “normal” pancake and I love getting protein into the kids in the morning! Â Add some lemon zest and poppy seeds for fun and smother them in fresh blueberry sauce and I am in heaven.
I don’t know about you, but to me the perfect recipe is one that is tasty, easy, healthful, and appeals to everyone in my family. Â That is a tall order for sure. Â Most people that I talk to in my classes struggle with having a wide range of great entree recipes and that’s where I have a hard time, too. Â I only like seafood, but my younger daughter doesn’t. Â My husband likes everything well done, but I don’t. Â My son likes everything plain and simple, but the rest of us like strong flavors. Â You know how it goes.
A crisp is one of my go-to desserts whenever I have friends over.  I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t thoroughly enjoy a bowl of drippy warm fruit with a sweet and buttery crunchy topping.  I have peach-blueberry and apricot-cherry on this site, but I mix and match fruit all the time.  I love that crisps are mostly fruit and I love using whatever fruit is in season.  They are super easy to make and can be prepped ahead in many ways.
Sometimes, a little freshening up is in order. Â I put this chopped grilled vegetable salad on my weekly dinner planner and when I pulled the image for it, I cringed a little. Â The photo did not do it justice at all. Â This salad is one of my absolute favorites and one that I posted almost 5 years ago. Â In all fairness to me, I didn’t even know how to use a camera when I started this blog, and although I am still no photography expert, I think my images have improved since 2011. Â So I thought I would pull this post from the archives and give it a facelift, especially on the eve of Memorial Day weekend when you might be inclined to make a fantastic, crowd-pleasing salad such as this one.
