Silicon Valley Wife...Eats

The Food and Drink I Have Made and Loved

Summer is always a conundrum to me.

A)There is more free time. What to do with it? Well, how about eating and drinking and being merry. That sounds divine, amiright?

B) It is hot. What to do about it? Well, how about wearing less clothing and wearing bathing suits and running around outside in garments that would make your Victorian ancestors roll over in their graves?

Herein lies the problem. I'm generally pretty chill in terms of body image, but the balance here is a pretty fine one. Below, you'll find a list of some of the most delicious things I have made in my kitchen that have made my bathing suit just a smidge bit tighter this summer (worth it? absolutely).

1. Classic Mojito Pitcher: These went down so easy, and weren't too heavy on the rum. Clearly, you could add more to the recipe, depending on the level of #turnt you are trying to accomplish.

2. Mint Julep: So easy. So refreshing. All you need is one of these and a good book, and you are set for an hour or two at the pool. Trust.

3. Tomato Crouton Casserole: Norma knows how to make a damn good casserole. I love this every time my mom makes it, and I found this little sucker in the Taste of Home Potluck cookbook that she had given me in 2011. FIVE YEARS AGO. What. Anyways, I did change the recipe from the OG a little. First, ain't nobody got time to peel a damn tomato. So I didn't do that. Also, I used fresh basil in addition to the dried, because I have so freaking much of it. I also used a loaf of French bread as the croutons, and that was divine. Oh! And I didn't see that the recipe wanted medium tomatoes, so I ended up buying eight gigantic tomatoes, and only using four. Sidebar, a man tried to hit on my whilst I was buying six pounds of tomatoes. I wonder if this has worked for him in the past? Apparently I'm the kind of gal who looks like she knows her produce, if you know what I mean. Upon re-reading this paragraph, I think I used Norma's recipe as more of a suggestion and less of an actual recipe. R-R-R-R-REMIXXXXX.

4. Pasta Pomodoro: This was low-key amazing. I'm not even sure if I used that trendy phrase appropriately, but stick with me here. It was so quick, so simple....just freaking delicious. I did riff on the recipe a little and add chopped basil, because, as mentioned previously, I live in a forest of basil now.

5. Key Lime Pie: This pie is NOT for the faint of heart. It is very tart. Also of note: key limes are essentially little walnuts with eight drops of juice per fruit, so it will take you 300 years to juice and zest the little buggers. But, this is great. I did discern from the comments that there is some kind of turf war going on between this recipe and Emeril's recipe for K.L.P., but since I only know Giada's, I'm recommending this one for now.

There you have it---and summer is not over yet! I'll keep you all updated on all the other great things I am eating and drinking---and the 1920's-style bathing suit I purchase as a result. :)

-xx

SVW