Sometimes the perfect serving dish isn't a dish at all

Call me crazy, but I love spending hours in the kitchen, preparing big family dinners.  Although I cook every day for my little Gordita, it's not all that often that we host a big family gathering for dinner at our place.

One of the dilemmas I found myself in when preparing breakfast on Christmas morning was finding the perfect dish to serve the fruit salad in.  I wanted to use something pretty, and decorative, not just any old plastic tub.

And although unconventional, I found the perfect vessel.  In fact, it worked so well, I may never use it for flowers again.

Cucumber Noodles with BBQ'd Corn and Lemon-Dill Dressing

I think I'm in love...with Lolo the Vegan Yum Yum Lady for intoducing me to cucumber noodles, among other things.  Today's lunch was inspired by her cucumber noodles with sweet corn & creamy brazil nut sauce post from last summer.  In this heat, who doesn't want to be as "cool as a cucumber?"  Bah-dum, okay, I had to say it.  Ahem...  Anyways, I confess I didn't go raw though like Lolo did, I used BBQ corn on the cob kernels that had cooled to room temp.  Yum, yum, YUM!Cucumber Noodles are in!

Lemon-Dill Dressing

2 1/2 tbsp Nayonnaise

1 tbsp fresh dill

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Snip dill into fine pieces with scissors and whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over noodles and toss gently.  Sprinkle pumpkin or sunflower seeds on top, if desired. 

To make the noodles I used this instrument, which I think is actually a lemon zester?  Hey, whatever works, right?!

Vegan Potato Salad

Hooray for Summer! This has always been my favorite time of year. Besides the warm breezes that lazily drift through the afternoons, there is so much fresh, ripe produce available in any color of the rainbow.

One of my favorite summer meals is one that includes potato salad. I picked up some beautiful blue russian potatoes (which are actually more purple than blue) at the local market, and used them to make this potato salad delightfully more colorful. There's also red new potatoes, gala apples, scallions, radish, pumpkin seeds, fresh dill, nayonnaise, and a dash of salt & pepper. I first had this particular potato salad (or one very similar) at a friends house several years ago and it has remained one of my favorites ever since.

Also in the theme of summer, I've been taking Naimah to the park quite a bit lately, and thought maybe it was time to give the swings a try. Here she is on her very first swing!

A Salad Just Isn't a Salad Until...

...it has tortilla strips! I am so addicted to them right now. Every salad needs a crunch, and these are waaaay better than croutons. Whoever invented these is a genius! I've been eating salad almost every day lately thanks to these. Yum!