Time for an installment of Weekend Things:
1. I saw my cookbook, Peanut Butter Comfort, on the shelf at Barnes & Noble for the first time a couple days ago and it was an amazing feeling, albeit quite surreal.
2. According to Bon Appetit, a great way to get to know a destination is to rent (or swap) a house that has a killer kitchen and let the markets be your guide to adventure.
Invite your friends on the vacation to share costs to keep it more affordable than staying in hotels. Cooking with friends, staying in a great house, and exploring the local sights and sounds of your destination doesn’t sound too shabby.
3. The Secret Lives of Yogurt Containers – Ways to use them after their intended use has been eaten
4. I always have so many empty yogurt containers because I bake with Greek yogurt or sour cream in almost every quickbread or muffins that I make.
One of my favorite recipes using Greek yogurt is Six-Banana Banana Bread. Between 6 bananas, yes six, baked into one loaf, and Greek yogurt (or sour cream), it’s ridiculously moist, soft, fluffy, and tender bread.
5. Mayonnaise is one of those foods that seems to carry strong opinions from people; either loving it or loathing it. I like mayo, but I love Miracle Whip. I grew up with it, and I love the Tangy Zip of Miracle Whip.
Cook’s Illustrated recently did a taste comparison of storebought mayos.
Interesting that Hellmann’s Light came in ahead of higher priced, organic, Spectrum brand.
6. You could use mayo in place of the sour cream in Corn and Double Cheese Dip. It comes together in under 5 minutes, and can be kept vegan or light, by using whatever variety of cheese, sour cream, or mayo fits your needs.
7. This is what I want my pantry to look like. I keep my sugars in canisters, but my flours I keep in bags. I want to change everything over and use canisters but the reason I haven’t is they take up more space than jimmying a bag into my already tight pantry.
But this just looks so much more appealing than my hodgepodge.
8. Confused about what differences between a latte, cappuccino, mocha, and macchiato? Read this to channel your inner barista.
My favorite coffee drink lately is this Creamy Boozy Iced Coffee
9. However, I’ve been trying to drink less coffee overall. Days can go by without drinking any. Some days are harder than others because I love hot beverages and the act of sipping and nursing a mug of something warm is so comforting, but in the summer it’s easier to go without.
The Liberator tea from Java Tea Company, a local San-Diego area business, helps me get over my coffee hump. There’s some caffeine in it, but not as much as coffee, so I can enjoy the taste in the late afternoons when I crave coffee the most.
It’s a dark chocolate mocha loose leaf tea and there’s little chunks of raw cacao that are mixed in with the tea leaves.
I brew the tea in this Teavana PerfecTea Tea Maker and when hot water is poured over the little chocolate chunks, they dissolve and flavor the tea. Who could say no to chocolate tea.
10. Mother-of-Pearl Boxes, Small Box $34 at West Elm. I think that’s a great price for something so pretty and appears to be solidly made, with a wood interior. I love Mother of Pearl and could stare into that shiny, pearly abyss forever.
Thanks for the entries in the 25 Fast and Easy Recipes In a Snap and Cookbook Giveaway
What are your Weekend Things?
Mayo fan? Would you or have you taken a vacation with friends? Tea or coffee – any favorite kinds? Favorite was to use yogurt? Storing dry goods – any tips?
If you’ve made anything, done, seen, or bought anything fabulous recently, feel free to link it up in the comments.
I’m so excited your book is in a real live store!! How cool!
I love that pantry and all its jars, it makes me swoon! It’s hard for me to have open shelves like that as I have adventurous kitties who like great heights. :) Super congrats on your cookbook, must be an amazing feeling – but you totally deserve it (x10!)
Lol about your kitties. No pets right now for us but yes, never thought of that and how cats are adventurous :)
Good stuff; I love these kinds of post. must….have…..chocolate tea! I am looking into that, thanks. I drink ice coffee in the summer, hot tea the rest of the year – never chocolate, how have I lived!!
Glad you like these posts. A couple times a month, fun to do :)
How surreal to see your cookbook on the shelf! I’m a tea drinker too, that blend sounds incredible.
Love that link to the uses for yogurt containers. I always save them and always find uses, but those are some pretty unique ways. I’ve been making my own yogurt with goats milk the past few months and I love it. Homemade yogurt is quite a bit runnier, so I still buy greek yogurt for baking, but I love the goat-y taste so much more for snacking!
How exciting to see your book on the shelves of barns and noble?? Congrats again, Averie!!
Lately I’ve been using mashed up avocado instead of mayo- I wish I’d know that substitution when I was younger because I love it!
Vacations with friends could be wonderful, and also challenging :)
So thrilling to see your book in Barnes & Noble! Have a great weekend, Averie!
Congratulations on seeing your book! That must have been super cool! I don’t use mayo much but when I do, it’s Helmann’s light all the way. Glad to see it did pretty well. I’m not about to blow all my calories on mayo so light is the way to go.
Aaaw that’s so great about your book!!
I often see pantry shots like that one in Elle Cuisine, it is beautiful, but not realistic! My containers get all opaque with time,touching them with greasy baking fingers and all..nothing pretty about that. But you know what would be THE solution? Square containers. Or rectangular. No space wasted!!! That would be improvement.
My weekend things are..well, having an entire weekend! I got the saturday off and am lying on a blanket in front of the house reading a cookbook and hopefully tanning a bit..
I looked into some square containers a few months ago and then just kind of got sidetracked but yes, I need to do that. Thanks for the nudge :)
Wow – that yogurt and banana bread looks SO GOOD! Yum! I do use yogurt a lot in baked goods too – definitely adds to the moisture!
Iced coffee makes me want to put down my warm cuppa :)
Have a great weekend
Thanks – you too!
It’s great to see your book on a shelf in a good place :)
What a cool feeling to see your own book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, I can only imagine. Maybe someday, I’ll know for myself what that feels like. ;)
I can’t even go a few hours without coffee, I’ll get a headache. I need the bean! I don’t like yogurt, but I do enjoy baking with it because I love what it does to baked goods.
I never just sit down to a bowl of yogurt. Or a banana. But I love baking with both of them!
I drink more iced tea in the summer and I love to try different flavors. My latest favorite is rooibos with cardamom, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon (warm or cold with a splash of almond milk)! I also love ginger-peach for iced tea. As for mayo, I kind of got hooked on making my own once I tried it a few mos ago. It’s so easy in the vita (and I’ve read even easier with an immersion blender). I also like miracle whip and would like to try a batch of homemade with a similar flavor. I have decided on the avocado brownies (I’m stocked up on Hershey’s Special Dark). I know they’ll be fabulous, so I’ll report back later today! We got home yesterday from our little getaway in Saugatuck MI. It was a relaxing, peaceful few days on the lake with good weather.
rooibos with cardamom, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon (warm or cold with a splash of almond milk) = that sounds so good!!
I make tea and I doctor it up with vanilla, cinn, nutmeg and vanilla almond milk, too!
Saugatuck – one of the first ‘trips’ Scott and I went on when we first were together was to Saugatuck! We were living in Chicago at the time and I remember it so well! Feels like a lifetime ago. Glad you guys had fun!
And yes, can’t wait to hear what you think of the brownies. The blueberry muffins are…amazing. If you change your mind, they are highly recommended!
I have wanted to try cooking with yogurt to lighten up some of my favorite recipes. I will come back to your wonderful recipes for help! Weekend things … my only thought for the weekend is getting back home! Missing my family … so a plain and simple weekend at home sounds divine! I am actually in the mood to cook. Been on a business trip for two weeks and even though the food in Brasil is scrumptious, I can’t wait to get back to home cooked meal. I have one vegetarian daughter and my oldest wants to tackle either a vegan month or a gluten free month to regulate tummy pains. I don’t know how it will go. We will certainly try. Wish me luck.
Sounds like a whirlwind! Safe travels back home and good luck with your kids and all their various dietary wishes – thankfully I only have 1 kiddo to keep it all straight for :)
I’m a coffee nut-although in this heat I try to cold-brew it so it is strong and cold! Not a yogurt lover, but I do like what it does for baked goods.
My weekend thing is work! That, and spicy food (summer is margarita time but it helps to have mexican food to soak it up;)):
I never just sit down to a bowl of yogurt. Or a banana. But I love baking with both of them for the results!