helloooo summer!

Summer is here! Almost everyone is off traveling the world, but a few people, including me, are still in town. Rochelle and Maria came over for dinner the other night; they’re off to Ghana to do some pretty neat cervical cancer research (and lots of pap smears…exciting!!) On the menu was southwestern pizza, herbed polenta fries, watermelon salad (that Maria made and I don’t have a picture of!), and almond berry sorbet. It was probably one of the easiest (appetizers, entree, and dessert in less than 45 minutes and minimal clean up. get out!) and healthiest dinners ever…enjoy!

So excited to eat!!!

Herbed Polenta Fries from Gourmet.

Polenta is seriously my new favorite food. It might also be because I tend to eat it with a good amount of parmesan, salt, herbs, and butter. Meh. Either way, this stuff is good and I’m sad I didn’t discover it earlier. I added some salt, and used rosemary and thyme. I broiled them for about 15 minutes before getting impatient and just setting the oven at 450 and baking them for another 10 more (about 2″ from the top element). So crispy and delicious! They flew right off the plate!

Southwestern Pizza from TheKitchn

 Black beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, and avocados. Talk about healthy and delicious…and so much better than taco bell. We bought whole wheat crust from Trader Joe’s, and used Trader Joe’s hot sauce instead of the chili en adobo that the recipe called for. So beyond delicious; we would have had seconds if we weren’t already so full from the fries and watermelon salad.

Almond berry sorbet from FitBottomedGirls.

This made me rethink my secret desire to buy an ice cream maker. And I’ve been emailing my friends about buying an ice cream maker for the better part of the year – even during the middle of winter. So this is kind of a big deal. It was a little runnier than a true sorbet, but definitely fulfilled the sweet dessert cravings. We used a mix of frozen blueberries, strawberries, and (lots of) raspberries. The almonds really added something too. So freaking good.

Roasted brussel sprouts

What I had for dinner the other day – roasted brussel sprouts… it’s so easy! Tossed with grape seed oil, trader joe’s everyday seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes. Baked at 350F for 25 mins or so and topped with parmesan (but after I took the photo). Delicious!

homemade jam

My first time making jam and it was a lot easier that I thought! My friends are always making strawberry jam (while we play Mario Kart), and that inspired me to get my box of sour blueberries and start cookin’.