What could be better than a recipe that doesn’t keep you in the hot summer kitchen for very long and uses a vegetable that there is no shortage of in the summer months?  Zucchini noodles will definitely be one of our go to summer dishes – it’s gluten free, it’s easy, and it’s delicious.

This dish has the versatility to be eaten hot or cold and made with whatever ingredients we have handy in the GMS kitchen. Since we didn’t have a mandolin handy, we used a regular cheese grater to shred the zucchini lengthwise.

Then, we heated them in our wok for a few minutes in a smidge of olive oil, along with onions, sundried tomatoes, garlic, and Trader Joe’s pesto, along with salt and pepper to round out this delectable dish. The possibilities are endless, though – feel free to add any veggies you want and use red sauce, white sauce, lemon sauce…you get the idea.

What are some of your fast favorite summer dishes that keep you out of the kitchen in these hot & sticky months?

Hey y’all! Did you know there was a National Macaroni Day? We didn’t, either, but once we found out we were SUPER excited to pick some of our favorite Macaroni recipes to share with you to make on this most excellent of food holidays.

First of all, we want to share some delicious macaroni salads with you – delicious cold salads for summer. Our favorite first is Mom’s Macaroni Salad, but we love this Caprese Macaroni Salad, too.

We also love this Late Summer Pasta that perfectly reminds us the glory of a full garden and fresh vegetables. Something about fresh tomatoes is just so summery, don’t you think?

Of course, my favorite macaroni dish is this Broccoli Rabe & Italian Sausage dish that Corelyn made for me – divine! But, if you’re into a more traditional macaroni, try our Baked Penne Pasta, which will remind you of childhood (unless you’re not Italian, in which case it might just remind you of a delicious restaurant meal you had once.)

We hope that you celebrate National Macaroni Day in style, whether you’re going to have gluten free macaroni, or macaroni made of veggies, or just a good slice of lasagna. What’s your fave macaroni dish?

Hello Folks – Happy 4^th of July weekend! There is a great deal to look forward to over the next few days.  BBQs, hitting up the beach, spending time with friends and loved ones, and of course fireworks! I wanted to keep it simple and offer a few red, white, and blue drinks that can make your holiday BBQ or a bit more festive.

Strawberry Daiquiris

Our red drink is the tried and true go-to drink for the hot outdoor BBQ scene. Easy to make, incredibly tasty, and extremely festive! Unlike most of my drink recipes, this one can be made in bulk so you spend less time mixing and more time drinking.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

6 cups of ice (Or enough to fill your standard blender)
4 ounces of frozen strawberries
½ cup of white sugar
1/8 cup of lime juice
½ cup of lemon juice
¾ cup of rum
¼ cup of Sprite or 7-Up
½ lb. fresh strawberries for garnish

Directions:
Simply put all the ingredients (except for the fresh strawberries) into a sturdy blender and hit chop for the initial breaking up of the ice and then puree. Let the blender do the work for you until it is at your favored level of smoothness. Then simply serve garnished with slices of fresh strawberries.

Mojito

Our white drink is my go to favorite on a hot summer day, the always classy, Mojito. Many don’t make this drink because they worry it’s too complicated. I can assure it is not, and will add a wonderful minty flavor to your holiday event!

Prep Time: 2 Minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of simple syrup
1 lime cut into 4 wedges
1 ½ ounces of white rum (1 shot)
½ cup of club soda
10 fresh mint leaves
ice

Directions:
There are varying methods on how to make a mojito, but the simplest is as follows. Take the mint leaves and one lime wedge and drop them into a cocktail shaker. Then take a muddler and use it to crush the initial ingredients together. Once you have pulverized the first round, add two more lime wedges and the simple syrup to the shaker. After a few more moments of additional muddling, add the rum and a few ice cubes and shake all the contents together, with the exception of the final lime wedge and the club soda.  Pour the entire contents of the shaker (do not strain) into a glass filled half of the way up with ice. Fill in the remainder of the glass with club soda and garnish with the remaining lime wedge.

Blueberry Margarita

Our bluish drink, rounding out our patriotic ensemble is the always delicious, Blueberry Margarita. Another terrific thirst quencher for a hot summer day!

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 lime wedge
4 ounces of tequila (2 1/2 shots)
3 tbsp of simple syrup
¼ cup of fresh blueberries
ice
salt for garnish

Directions:
First thing you want to do is prep your glasses. Take your lime wedges and coat the lip of the glasses. Then flip your glasses over and coat the lips with salt or seasoning of your choice. Drop your blueberries (save a few for garnishing) and lime juice into a cocktail shaker and muddle until completely pulverized. Then add the tequila, the simple syrup, ice, and the leftover lime wedge rinds to the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain the contents into your ice filled, salt lined glasses, and garnish with a few remaining fresh blueberries!

These drinks are all very fruity and fun and may not seem that powerful, but they are so please remember to drink responsibly!

Enjoy the holiday weekend and take a few moments to thank or remember those past and present, that sacrificed so much of themselves so we could have the opportunity to be free.

Becca here, your British correspondent in the North Country! I had the pleasure of attending foodie heaven recently in London! Taste of London was on in Regent’s Park, and it was a dream come true.

When I moved to London, everyone asked me “What are you going to eat?!” A legitimate question as I now live in the land of fish and chips. The beautiful thing about living in a city like London is, you can find ANYTHING. Do you want Indian food? Great, and it’s cheap! Do you want Mediterranean food? Yup. Nepalese? Check. Icelandic? You betcha!

Taste of London brings together the best of the best of London dining, both fine and fast. 40 London restaurants bring their four best dishes to the festival and serve tapas style portions to feed the hungry foodies. Lucky for me, veggie options were plentiful!

You might need a snack while you read about everything I had to eat… Of course I had already memorized the menu and circled everything I wanted. Special thank you to my hand models Cristina and Colin!

Our first stop was MEATLiquor. An odd stop for a vegetarian? Nope! They have a lovely halloumi and mushroom slider. Halloumi is a magical cheese that you can grill and it won’t melt. It is one of my favorite food discovers since moving to London. Keep an eye out for more on halloumi to come…

Assado was cooking up a beetroot, vegetable, and coconut puff pasty. It was similar to a samosa, really light and fluffy, not too heavy on the beetroot, and complimented with a yummy garlic mayo.

At the L’ANIMA stand, they were serving up fettuccine with peas, broad beans, and shaved black truffle. I MUST get my hands on some more black truffles!

I had an interesting dish from Salt Yard – zucchini flower with goat’s cheese and drizzled honey. It reminded me of tempura, but the addition of cheese and honey was an unexpectedly delicious combination.

I really hesitate to say this was my favorite dish because everything was SO good, but these huitlachoche truffle quesadillas from Peyote were truly incredible. Beans, cheese, something spicy, and that oh so special black truffle!

My last savory dish was mac and cheese crisps from Avenue. Basically, breaded and fried macaroni and cheese topped with a spicy tomato sauce. Let’s just say, I’ve got a reservation at the restaurant in a few weeks!

This brings us to dessert. I started with Tartufo’s L.A. butterscotch budino. It tasted like caramel pudding, but extremely fancy pudding!

Bar Boulud was serving macaron ice cream sandwiches. Yes, it was in fact a French macaron with raspberry ice cream in it!

It was time for a bit of a chocolate fix. Chocolate cake with crème di mascarpone from Theo Randall hit the spot!

Last, but certainly not least, on my eating adventure was amaretto tiramisu from L’ANIMA again. Tasty, and slightly alcoholic! Win win.

Not pictured, lots and lots of wine to wash it all down!

Are you hungry yet?

It feels like summer now, doesn’t it? Summer to us means high temps, swimming pools, suntans (or sunburns for those of us with a fairer complexion), and most importantly: GRILLING. Who doesn’t love a good burger or grilled veggie kabob? Corn on the cob…we’re drooling just thinking about it! May your summer days be filled with plenty of sunscreen and lots of delicious food, and may this calendar background keep your computer summery and bright!