Have a Lovely Weekend.

I agree with the Miranda article except that…she obviously belongs to Ravenclaw, not Hufflepuff. I love Miranda.

I cried like Gaia describes during the first episode of Girls. I’m also in my late 30’s and I was flooded with this wonderment that I had lived long enough for a show to unapologetically show women (and YOUNG women) as whole and complex people.
My husband was dumbfounded – but then I asked him to name anything like it – that was just women and where the lead character looked anything like Hannah.
For everything that seems to be going so badly, I’m so grateful for these artistic representations. There is so far to go but I’m still astonished we’ve come this far.

When I lived in Seattle, a Spanish tapas place opened up called JarrBar. Focused more on tins but had sliced meats and cheese. This tiny place was the reason I fell in love with tapas. I eat sardines in tins, olives and cheese as my go-to-snack.

http://www.jarrbar.com/

My mother has been a candle non-burner for about half a century, until she recently started questioning herself and started lighting all those candles she’d saved up over the years, because you know, they were candles after all. That’s when we realized that some candles are probably just not meant to be burnt, as it just doesn’t look right when your pretty candle shaped like a cathedral is on fire, and it looks downright morbid when you light your Santa candle and Santa’s face turns into a creepy, melted mess.

I cried at the end fight scene of the girl ghostbusters movie. I realized I had never seen a movie where all the protagonists were females kicking butt in a non-sexualized way. The future is female!

Make “Dinner A Love Story’s” corn and bacon hash! Sooooo good!!

A super simple side idea is thin-sliced apples tossed with lemon juice. The lemon juice keeps them from turning brown and it’s a light, refreshing snack to offset the heavier items often at cookouts.

I LOVE what Gaia says about Wonder Woman. I was crying too, and couldn’t figure out why! Gaia’s comment described perfectly what I wasn’t able to articulate.
Also, one of my friends who saw the film before I did explained, “This is the First time I have ever seen a strong female lead who is not tough and hard on the inside. But has innocence and optimism paired with complete strength.” Such an amazing movie, and I hope we’ll see more movies with strong admirable women as the main characters who have purpose aside from finding love interests.

~ Rachel H.
ltnat.wordpress.com

This potato salad recipe from epicurious is great. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/creamy-potato-salad-with-lemon-and-fresh-herbs-238804

We have this thing on exploring the area marked in the subway stops. So tomorrow we’re going to jump on a random line and hop off where we feel like it.

Jo, it just completely dawned on me why I love your blog so much. On any given day your blog an articles uplift me as a woman. I leave your site feeling strong, sophisticated, worthy. I don’t ever leave feeling inadequate or self conscious as social media can often cultivate. Kudos to you and your team for supporting and representing so many strong women. Have an awesome weekend!

I’m currently LOVING Smitten Kitchen’s Broccoli Rubble & Farro Salad: https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/05/broccoli-rubble-farro-salad/. I’ve been eating it for lunch the past few weeks but plan on making it for an upcoming cook out for my veggie friends. I also LOVE making spicy watermelon salad. I don’t really have a recipe but I’m sure there is something out there so I normally just wing it. A bunch of cubed watermelon, toss in olive and salt – def need more salt than you think and then add a lot of aleppo pepper flakes. In a pinch red pepper flakes will do and I bet you could add mint and that would make a wonderful combo. It’s always a hit at my cook outs.

Ooo panzanella IS amazing, one of my fav’s. I’m suggesting my mother’s German potato salad – we do it with brown rice vinegar and NO bacon. Just 5 lbs halved potato’s steamed, peeled (skins slip off easily after steaming) and cooled, then sliced paper thin on a mandoline into a bowl. Toss with rice vinegar (1/4 c or so), same amount of olive oil, a squirt of agave (2-3 Tbls), a Tbls or so of sea salt, fresh black pepper, paper thin sliced or diced red onion (about 1/4 cup) and chopped fresh dill (1/4 cup). Let sit for a couple hours at room temp to marinate then try not to eat the whole bowl! It’s a real melting-pot version of GPS but I’ve grown up with it and love it because it’s lighter and there are no worries if it sits outside all day (which never happens because it’s delicious!).

Ina’s buttermilk potato salad. Crowd pleaser. I mean, you can’t go wrong with Ina!

I am reading No One Can Pronounce My Name right now. I’m about halfway through, so I don’t have any reviews yet, but I am enjoying it so far.

As for the side with hamburgers, my husband made some twice-baked potatoes for our last cookout that were a big hit. He baked potatoes, cut them in half, and scooped out the middles. He mashed the inside of the potatoes with milk, butter, salt and pepper, and mixed in real bacon bits and shredded cheddar cheese. He scooped all of that back into the potato skins and finished them on the grill. Everyone loved them.

Watermelon,feta, mint salad. Easy, refreshing side I’d highly recommend.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi96-Ds7bHUAhWGOyYKHQUoCUoQFggwMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftoriavey.com%2Ftoris-kitchen%2F2011%2F06%2Fwatermelon-feta-salad-with-mint%2F&usg=AFQjCNFqaRsVA2kW9aD4PaBk8aU6FYieGw&sig2=e8OnVgmU6fGE1zWtqI3QZA

Cavatappi with Spinach, Garbanzo and Lemon
8 cups coarsely chopped spinach
8 cups hot cooked cavatappi (about 12 ounces uncooked spiral-shaped pasta)
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese (use the herbed for more flavor)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (19-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or other white beans, drained
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Freshly ground pepper
Chopped fresh herbs (if using plain feta. If not, mint, basil, whatever you have on hand)
Lemon wedges (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss well.

Put some peanut butter *on* your burger! Yum yum yum yumyum. Makes it so rich (because a quarter pound of red meat isn’t rich enough?) but not nutty!
And, Tina Fey. Sigh.

This salad is tasty (and holds up if you have leftovers)…but I only make it when corn and tomatoes are at their peak.

http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/corn-and-cherry-tomato-salad-with-lemon-tarragon-vinaigrette

Our current fav for burger side is Trader Joe’s cruciferous crunch sautéed along with corn on the cob with plenty of butter and a sprinkling of chile lime seasoning!

I served Food 52’s Orzo Summer Salad last weekend at a BBQ and everyone went wild for it – it’s light and yummy and the leftovers just get better and better. I like to toss in 2 lemons, because I’m a citrus freak :)

https://food52.com/recipes/12716-orzo-summer-salad

http://lisaiscooking.blogspot.com/2017/05/corn-green-beans-and-parmesan.html?m=1

I made this corn and green bean salad this week and it was delicious!! From the Tartine All Day book. (SF Bay area native and lifer here).

my mom’s black bean and corn salad! 1 can each of black beans, corn, chickpeas, 1 red pepper chopped up into tiny pieces, cilantro, lime, olive oil. Just mix together! So good + healthy + provides some nice protein for the vegetarians :)