Summer Means Salads with Fresh Herbs, and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (7-8-14)

This Middle Eastern Tomato Salad is a sure sign it's summer!

It's definitely summer weather at my house, and I couldn't be happier about it.  And although I'm still trying to figure out how to create a garden like I had at my old house, I do have an abundance of fresh herbs growing in those pots along the sidewalk that I mentioned about a month ago.  I started with six pots, but quickly decided I needed more basil, so now I have 4 pots of basil, and one each of mint, parsley, rosemary, and dill all thriving in the sun.  (They're in one of the few places here that gets bright sun all day long, so I need to remember to go out at dusk and take some photos!) There's also sage, French tarragon, thyme, Greek oregano, and more parsley growing in a little strip of dirt on other edge of the sidewalk, so I'm doing pretty well in the fresh herb department.

I've also been been to the farmers market three times, which is helping a little with the garden envy.  (If you want to see what I'm buying there you can follow me on Twitter or Instagram.)  And when I couldn't wait any longer for tomato salads, I bought some tomatoes from Costco and made a salad with sliced tomatoes, Buffalo mozzarella, and basil vinaigrette that I served at a family dinner party.  And there were just enough tomatoes left to make my all-time favorite Middle Eastern Tomato Salad for lunch, so life is good.

Now here are a few more things I've been thinking about . . .

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Summer Means Grilled Vegetable Salads, and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (6-17-2014)

Whole Wheat Orzo and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Feta, Olives, and Herbs

Even though the official first day of summer is a few days away, lately I've been thinking of those things I love to cook in the summer but never make any other time of year, and grilled vegetables that get turned into salad are at the top of that list.  I love grilled vegetable salads, and there are a couple on the blog that are my all time favorites, starting with the Whole Wheat Orzo and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Feta, Olives, and Herbs shown above.  I could eat this all summer long!  Two more grilled summer salads I'm equally crazy over are Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Basil, Thyme, and Feta and Grilled Zucchini Greek Salad.  Did you notice the common ingredient in these three favorite grilled salads?  Yes, I do love Feta cheese and recently my favorite Feta cheese showed up again at Costco after I hadn't been able to find it for a couple of years.  It doesn't take much to make me happy; finding that Feta at Costco again totally made my day, and the summer has gotten off to a good start.

Now, here are a few more things I've been thinking about . . .

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Summer Means Basil Vinaigrette, and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (6-3-14)

Grilled Halibut with Basil Vinaigrette, and it must be summer because I already have Basil Vinaigrette in the fridge!

It's feeling like summer, and recently I wanted to make some Basil Vinaigrette, which made me realize how much I'm seriously missing the garden from my old house.  Last year I tried growing a few vegetables and herbs on the deck and in the kitchen window, but even though they started out well, the plants on the deck didn't produce much and keeping herbs watered in a sunny kitchen window turned out to be a challenge.  So last week I decided that while I plan for my future greenhouse (hopefully next year!) I just had to plant some things outside.  I do have parsley, several types of sage, French tarragon, thyme, and Greek Oregano by the front walk, but I was missing a few of my favorite herbs, so I got some visiting nephews to carry up the containers I'd used on the deck and planted a row of big pots by the front porch.  Now I have pots filled with basil (x2), rosemary, flat parsley, dill, and mint, and can happily cook with herbs all summer long!  And I've already got Basil Vinaigrette in the fridge, so life is good at Chez Kalyn.

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Thoughts on the Documentary Fed Up, and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (5-20-24)

I thought I knew a lot about sugar and the obesity epidemic, but this movie was a real eye-opener.

I'm going to start things out on a serious note this week.  Over the weekend I saw the documentary Fed Up, and even though I've been on the anti-sugar bandwagon for many years, I was still stunned by the degree to which over-consumption of sugar is making Americans sick, and even more bothered by the claims of political maneuvering that's gone on to prevent the government from making people aware the dangers of too much sugar.  And I'm not the only one thinking about this; cookbook author and food expert Mark Bittman talks about Fed Up in the New York Times, calling it An Inconvenient Truth About Our Food, and well-known chef and blogger Michael Ruhlman writes On Seeing Fed Up (and you can watch the trailer there.) Also the blog U.S. Food Policy has a piece with links to facts about the diagnosis and potential solutions, and this opinion piece from The New York Times on Why We're Always Hungry supports many of the points in the movie.  Whether you're a parent, someone who has struggled to lose weight, or just someone trying be as healthy as possible, I highly recommend seeing this movie.

Now, on to a few more things I've been thinking about . . .
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Chard and Garlic Scape Pesto and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (5-6-14)

Spring has sprung, and I'm rushing the season and thinking about Garlic Scape and Chard Pesto.

It's feeling a lot like Spring at my house, and even though I already complained about it once, can I say one more time that I'm feeling pretty serious garden withdrawals?  At my old house I would probably have volunteer chard coming up in the garden by now, and one of my favorite things to make in the spring is Garlic Scape and Chard Pesto like you see in the photos above.  If you like garlic, but don't know what Garlic Scapes are, use that link to go and read about them.  Then hit up your local organic grocer or farmer's market and make some of this amazing pesto right away!

Don't get me wrong, I love my new house, and I feel more than blessed to have a house that's big enough that my enormous family can come here for a party.  But I'm also optimistically making plans for a bit more gardening on-the-fly this year (until I can build a real greenhouse, hopefully this fall.)  Tonight I told my neighbor across the street how I was just going to slip a few tomato plants in among the flowers in a sunny but sheltered spot by my garage.  "The deer will eat them," she said, without even thinking twice.  I guess we're going to find out whether deer like tomatoes, mint, and basil, because those are the three plants I've decided I have to at least try growing outside this year.

Now on to a few more things I'm thinking about . . .

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Kalyn's Kitchen Turns Nine Years Old (plus Some Things I'd Like to Know and 9 Favorite Recipes from Readers)

Kalyn's Kitchen is Nine Years Old!

Nine years ago I wrote my first unsophisticated little post on Kalyn's Kitchen, and now each year when this anniversary date comes around, I realize again how I never dreamed all the ways this little blog would change my life. I'll always be grateful to my brother Rand for starting me down the path to a second career as a full-time blogger, and to the fellow food bloggers who have shared their knowledge and helped me expand my skills.  I also want to send thanks to my long-time web designer Jennette who keeps my blogs running smoothly and makes me look good despite my limited technological knowledge!

One thing I've enjoyed greatly over the past nine years is how blogging has brought so many interesting, thoughtful, and creative people into my life.  Nowdays Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and Pinterest make it easier to connect with readers and fellow bloggers than in the early days, but things can also get lost in the noise of social media and I always appreciate people who make the extra effort to leave a comment on the blog or send me an e-mail.  And blogging wouldn't be much fun at all if no one was reading and interacting, so let me say a big thank you to all my readers, family members, and friends for your support through the years!

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Growing Green Onions, and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (4-8-2014)

I was amazed at how quickly the green onions grew in water!

If you're following me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you might have noticed the amazing results documented above in my experiment with growing green onions in water, but I still thought it would be fun to share the photos of how quickly they grew.  This really couldn't be easier, just cut off the root ends of the green onions (leaving enough to stick up above the jar or glass you're growing them in), fill with water and let them grow!  I replaced the water every 3-4 days.  

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Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (3-18-2014)

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of my niece-by-marriage Sara, who organized this surprise!

I promised to be more consistent sharing Things I'm Thinking About, and lately I've been thinking over and over about how blessed I am to have such a wonderful extended family.  If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you might have seen the surprise above that was a generous Christmas gift from the entire Denny family, but I want to document it here and formally thank my wonderful niece Sara who organized the purchase and delivery of Aunt Kalyn's Kitchen to the playroom that's in the unfinished basement of my new house.  (It was fun to notice that a few of the little ones were even sharp enough to get the joke in the name; some of them have seen Kalyn's Kitchen on the iPad!)

A few years ago another delightful surprise gift that was organized by Sara also made the blog, and as you can see, she's as creative as she is thoughtful.  Thank you so much Sara, for organizing this and helping to make Aunt Kalyn's playroom even better for all the little ones in the family.

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Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (2-25-2014)

If you need more fun in your life, I highly recommend getting a Mini!

In December I promised to start sharing things I'm thinking about, and then in January I got distracted by Daily Phase One Recipes and now it's been two months since I've shared one of these posts.   Happily it was a good two months with lots of holiday celebrating at Chez Kalyn, and the best present ever arrived on December 31 when I got my new Mini Cooper!  I've never cared much about cars, and for years I loved my Toyotas, but when I moved I needed a car that could get up the hill in the snow.  I picked the AWD Mini Cooper Countryman that's slightly bigger than the regular Mini (and thankfully not quite so low to the ground), and this is hands-down the most fun car I've ever owned!  And I've had the personal license plate for a while, but I think it looks even better on this car.  (If you live in Utah and are considering a Mini I had great service from Tyson Call at Mini of Murray.  And I'm sure some of you are wondering, so just for the record, Tyson and Mini of Murray have no idea that I'm giving them a little shout-out here.)

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Things I'm thinking About on Tuesday (12-24-2013)

Photo of Christmas Balls from All Things Christmas.

It's Christmas Eve, and I'm spending a few days celebrating Christmas with my sister's family including some very cute kids.  This may be a short edition of Things I'm Thinking About, but I do want to share a few Christmas things I spotted on the web, and of course I want to send out wishes for a happy holiday season to my wonderful readers.  My life is enriched so much by the nice messages I get almost daily from people who are enjoying the healthy food.  Happy Holidays everyone and thanks for your support of my blog!  And no matter how you're celebrating this magical the season, I hope you'll be able to spend time with those you love, hopefully enjoying some good holiday food.

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Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (12-17-2013)

Photo of Cinnamon Almond Hasselback Sweet Potatoes from Our Apron Strings

Thanks to everyone who left nice feedback on my first edition of Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday.  I'm happy that people are interested in this kind of post every so often, because I find so many fun things online that I want to share.  This time, it was these Cinnamon Almond Hasselback Sweet Potatoes from Our Apron Strings that caught my eye amongst all the Christmas cookie recipes I'm seeing everywhere.  This is a recipe that my friend Donna says has "Minimum Fuss" and "Maximum Impressiveness."  Really, what more could you want this time of year? 

Here's what else I'm thinking about this Tuesday.

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Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (12-3-2013)

This Chopped Brussels Sprouts Salad with Creamy Shallot Dressing from Pinch of Yum has my mind spinning!  (Photo from Pinch of Yum.)

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you might remember back when I used to do Five Fun Things on Friday.  Every Friday I wrote those posts about things I'd spotted on the web and sometimes a little about what was happening in my life.  I enjoyed sharing things that way, but eventually it got to be a burden to do it every Friday and I switched to Phase One Fridays, which I'm really committed to now because of how it perfectly fits the overall purpose of the site.

But lately I've been missing the opportunity to share things just for the fun of it.  After thinking about it for a few weeks, I've decided to do Things I'm Thinking About posts occasionally, probably not every week, and not always on the same day of the week, but when I find enough worthwhile things for a post I'll share them.  Of course, I'm always thinking about food, so let's start this first one out with the amazing-looking Chopped Brussels Sprouts Salad with Creamy Shallot Dressing shown above from Pinch of Yum.  The salad has a few ingredients that aren't especially SBD friendly. (Like bacon!  Did I mention there's bacon?) There's also a lot of juice in the dressing that would make it high in sugar, but I think it would be fun to try coming up with a diet-friendly version of this salad.

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