It’s the most wonderful time, of the year… I truly love fall and the minute it wasn’t hot and humid anymore I was so happy. We all were. My fam does not like to be hot. One day I changed the babe into shorts and out of socks & sneakers and he was so much happier! Yeah, maybe we were all just hot. Phew! I’m rejuvenated to cook again! I love the crisp in the air.

September was busy. We had a weekend in Maine to see some family and a long weekend away for our 5th anniversary to Rockland & Camden Maine. It was so wonderful and getting away was JUST what we needed.

My fav dish I cooked this month was definitely the Pad Thai. I can’t get over how easy it was! I’m glad to know those flavors can be mixed up so quickly!

Also, it is so stinking easy, but the Dunkaroo Dip was just so fun. Sprinkles! Funfetti! Yay!

Ooo yes. Let’s talk about the Chicken Marsala Pizza. I loved this on the pizza and don’t think it at all trashed up what should be a nicer dish. Make all the expected flavors in unexpected platforms. Now I want Chicken Marsala Risotto or maybe a Croque Monsieur flatbread. Wait for it!!!

September was a really good month in the kitchen for me! I also was proud of the Tailgater Burger because who doesn’t need Cheetos dust in their life?

The Little One: 
He’s such a little person now. He has a lot of thoughts, though admittedly, sometimes we cannot tell what he’s saying. I think he gets the concepts of “more” versus “all done”. He’s funny with identifying whose items are whose around the house and I was shocked that he knew where different pieces of his laundry belonged. The words are totally flowing and it cracks us up. My fav recent one is horse: “harsss”. He had a fun weekend while Mr. J and I went away. The day we were coming back, I couldn’t wait to see him.

This Year’s Goals: 
The Year of the: Seasonal Decor: I’m falling behind on the decor but I’ve got this for Halloween.
do something a different way: I’m doing “chores” during the week instead of having to do them on the weekends. Laundry & bathroom cleaning seems better suited for a nothing-special-Tuesday rather than hitting my radar on Saturdays!
drink more water: ehh, I’m on it. I feel like I drink less when it isn’t hot!
make more interesting side dishes: maybe simple is still good? The babe loved orzo with a herby grilled chicken
cook more soups & sauces: I made Chicken Marsala Pizza which involved a sauce
watch more movies: Joy & The Revenant…quite diverse!
make working out a higher priority: I’ve kept running a bit and morning workouts have definitely become a habit.

Let’s chat about all the summer foods & flavors we still need to eat:

I definitely need more corn on the cob, plus cooking it and cutting it off the cob (or freezing it off the cob) are great options too. This Heirloom Tomato & Corn Tart is soooo good.

Plus, watching this guy with an ear of corn cracks me up:

Obviously I need more tomatoes: Tomato sandwiches for B, L, D. I loved this ricotta pie with tomato though it seems sacrilegious to cook beautiful tomatoes.

Lobster is a must, I haven’t had any yet but will ASAP

I also need to make some summery cocktails. I have a few in mind…possibly featuring ice tea or lemonade. We’ll see.

I got my s’mores fix last weekend, but there’s no such thing as too many s’mores. I’m sure I will keep featuring the bounty of herbs we’re growing too. Mr. J grills pretty much year-round so that’s not necessarily a must-do. Labor day doesn’t quite mark the end of summer for me since the kiddo’s routine is the same all year but I do look forward to fall.

What’s left on your summery food bucket list?

August feels a bit like a blur. It was too hot for me but our beach vacation was fantastic and I really appreciated having a full week off…something I haven’t done in 1.5 years! I didn’t cook much but I was really happy to whip up quick meals meaning easy family evenings without stress. That also means not as much to blog but throwing something onto the grill and adding an easy side seems like a no-brainer. I cooked a bit this weekend to make up for it (get ready for a really fun burger)!

My fav food I made this month was a Shrimp Scampi Flatbread

I jumped on board the train for overnight oats with a blueberry sauce and I was a fan! I’m sure I’ll make another kind.

For a brunch party I made these biscuit cups with sausage gravy. Adorable and perfectly portioned!

The Little One:
He loved the beach! It was really fun and just. so. easy. I loooove this tiny town we go to because the beach is huuuuge and being able to walk to the beach allows us to come and go. We pretty much went in the morning, popped back to the cottage for lunch & naps and then back to the beach until dinner. After the little one was asleep, it was time for Olympic viewings and ice cream runs. The best.

He’s been eating up a storm and loving to be outside, especially on the swing set. He loves having his own bowl and spoon. He got his very own ice cream cone on vacation and he ate corn on the cob. So fun! He’s talking even more.  

This Year’s Goals: 
The Year of the: Seasonal Decor: ehh, I missed this month
do something a different way: no, I probably didn’t
drink more water: I need to do better outside of work, at my desk I do well.
make more interesting side dishes: these Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus were fun
cook more soups & sauces: Does jazzed up gravy fit?
watch more movies: none this month it was all Olympics, all the time.
make working out a higher priority: I ran a 5K! That was HUGE for me.

I didn’t really mean to disappear but ohh well. It happens. I had visions of returning from vacation, making one quick thing the weekend after vacay which I’d blog. It just didn’t happen.

Then, I did make something to blog the other night but it wasn’t amazing and it “crisped” too much in the oven so it really wasn’t photogenic. There goes the 2nd thing I had planned for the blog this week! It was a roasted tomato/basil/mozzarella/garlic/truffle oil calzone. Tasty, but not so pretty.

In other news, the beach vacay was so wonderful. The Little One was so happy in the sand, being able to walk right into the ocean, and finding hermit crabs. He thought the crabs were turtles (which is our fav word he says) so “turt-tle” they were. The little one got his very own ice cream cone for the first time and ate corn on the cob. We ate nightly ice cream and watched a lot of Olympics…complete with Olympic bingo I found!

I didn’t cook anything during vacation but brought some lunch things like Mexican Street Corn & quesadilla stuff as well as Sesame Peanut Noodles. Both were easy to prep the sauce in advance and bring the rest to just assemble onsite. I like them as leftovers too.

Then, we got back Friday evening and had the whole weekend at home which totally got us back into the normal groove before returning to work/daycare. I’ll say, how much rest do you need when you’re 1.5 years old and returning to days of water-play, snacktimes, naps, and stories?

Saturday morning I ran a 5K. Cra-zy. I wasn’t sure I’d be ready but I did and I’m so proud of myself. It was hot, I was definitely struggling, but I ran the whole time and wasn’t last…my two goals! 10am mid-August is hottt. My ap said 3.6 miles but whatev. Seeing Mr. J and the little one by the end got me there. I have more work to do before attempting another but it was good.

Now I’m on a mission to eat all the summer things before labor day. Go!

All of a sudden it was Independence Day. Now all of a sudden it is August. I’m so ready for the heat to be over but I hate to rush through any season. I truly didn’t cook much.

One of my fav’s this month was this peanut sesame sauce for noodles

And the little one would definitely agree. He was slurping them up while we were eating after already having dinner.

Also, summer means fresh sides and this pineapple, cucumber, and mint salad was sooo refreshing.

Also, don’t miss the Californian Burger with In-N-Out Sauce, avocado, and lots of herbs.

The Little One: 
He is speaking so much more! He has so many thoughts and feelings. He eats sooo much! His favorites are fruit, cheese, and whatever I’m eating. He was really into pulled pork I made and he loooves long spaghetti. In August we’ll have a trip to the beach and he’s going to have a blast.

This Year’s Goals: 
The Year of the: Seasonal Decor: I got an awesome watermelon welcome mat. love it.
do something a different way: 
drink more water: yes, that might be the only good thing about this heat
make more interesting side dishes: yes, I made maple bacon creamed corn which was delectable.
cook more soups & sauces: Ehh. Maybe the condiment for In-N-Out sauce counts?
watch more movies: we watched Room
make working out a higher priority: Running has been going pretty well a few times a week. I’m up to 2 miles.