Summer time and the livin's easy...

5 things that complete my summer -

1 - My summers always officially start with a trip to the sev for a pina colada/banana slurpee. That is the taste of summer.

2 - Bob's Brainfreeze. It's like a snow cone, but at least 10 times better

3 - Our garden. I love planting fresh veggies, but I hate waiting for the seeds to sprout so I end up staring down the dirt looking for signs of life. Even when I was away at college, I'd find time on my weekends at home to search for tomatoes, peppers, raspberries, and whatever else I could find to take home with me.

4 - Bonfires in the canyon. Next time you have a fire, try roasting starburst candies instead of marshmellows. Just spear a starburst and roast it over the coals until it gets nice and melty. Let it cool down a bit before you eat it though. Molten sugar on your tongue will not feel nice, trust me. If you've roasted it perfectly, the outside will have a little crunch to it while the inside will be super soft! So much cheaper and easier than the traditional s'more. Plus you can't burn them and there's no sticky mess!!!

5 - BBQing all the time! A couple years ago a couple of my friends and I decided to grill ourselves up some dinner. None of us had ever grilled before. Good news - it's easy enough that 3 teenagers can figure it out without major issues! We made a flank steak with grilled veggies and wild rice, with turtle cheesecake for dessert (definitely one of my favorite recipes ever). It was planned like 2 weeks in advance. We were geeks like that. It all turned out amazing and the marinade we used was great! I've used it on a lot of things since, even chicken! Though I nix the oil when I marinate chicken...it just feels wrong to bathe chicken in oil unless I'm frying it up. I think her brother came up with the marinade. He should have just made us dinner that entire summer because everything he made was delicious. Try it straight up or make it your own -

Marinade:
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 c. green onions, sliced
Mix and allow meat to sit in marinade for at least a half hour

We grilled our veggies shish kabob style. We used red and green bell peppers, zucchini, red onion, and i think mushrooms too. Just chunked, tossed with a little olive oil, speared, and then grilled. Plain, simple, and super cheap.

And the cheesecake recipe? You'll have to talk to Aunt Betsy for that one.




Apparently my summer revolves around food.