Foods I need to make, like ASAP

The title pretty much says it all guys. I don't know if this is a known fact, but I am basically obsessed with food blogs. In fact, I read as many, if not more, food blogs than I do makeup ones. (Scandalous, I know!)



Anyway, here are a list of recipes that I am just itching to make:

Smitten Kitchen's Lighter Airy Pound Cake. Deb is pretty much my go-to girl for anything baked or dessert-y, and I've been dreaming about delicious pound cake for, like, months. Besides, nothing says "hi, I'm a good neighbour / tenant" than the gift of freshly-baked goods. I must make this, as soon as it is tolerable to bake things (it feels like 40 Celsius here!)

Also from Smitten Kitchen: Cantaloupe Salsa (because mango salsa is so 3 seasons ago). Okay, I lied, I already made this. In addition to being freakin' delicious, it goes equally well on oven-baked BBQ chicken (Baste chicken breasts -- bone in, please -- w/ BBQ sauce. Bake at 350F until done.) as it does on leftover BBQ chicken on a green salad. Goodness gracious.

Not Eating Out In New York's Feta Tahini Dip. I love Tahini to unhealthy states. Normally, I just use it for my quick and easy Hummus (1 can of chickpeas [white beans are also a delicious option], a couple generous TBS lemon juice, about 3-4 cloves garlic, 2-3 TBS tahini, salt & cayenne pepper to taste). But Feta AND Tahini, together at last? Be still my racing heart.

Roasted Zucchini & Rainbow Chard, also from NEOINY. Despite my meat-loving tendencies, I also have a fondness for greens. Swiss Chard, with its pretty emerald and ruby hues, appeals to me. A cool friend introduced me to the joys of raw zucchini, and suddenly I just can't get enough. So this recipe (though the zucchini is cooked) looks absolutely divine. Toothy crunchy zuke, wilted chard, and capers? Cannot be bad. I think this would go awesome with some crispy pan-fried tofu slices too!

Chimichurri sauce, a la Simply Recipes. Seriously, rare steak (recipe here) & parsley & garlic & OMG this cannot go wrong. Incidentally (and again, contrary to the title of this post), I made this tonight to great reception. Must do again. So so good!

Okay, so while I sweat up a storm trying to make these things, maybe, out of heat-sympathy, you should also try these recipes! They sound truly amazing, and definitely worth turning on the oven for!

Raspberry Jelly

Hey friends, super quick review today. Tonight. Whatever.

If you're into the nail polish scene, chances are good you've heard about China Glaze's Summer Days releases. A collection of polishes chock full of their signature glass-fleck sparkle? Sure to make polish afficionados everywhere drool with desire.


(Wow, this is not the most helpful photo. For better, obsession-inducing photos of the whole Summer Days collection in action, check out Michelle's post at All Lacquered Up.)


For the past couple of days, I've been wearing Raspberry Festival from Summer Days. It's a bright, happy and pretty clear red with pink glitter suspended in it. I would have thought the base colour would have been more pink/purple, given the name, but's it's more of a cherry red. I loves me some purple, so I can't help but be a wee bit disappointed, but it Raspberry Festival really is a great colour in its own right. The sparkle is just so pretty, and the jelly-ness of the base makes it look like lucite, or melted cherry cough drops on my nails. (I've quickly developed a weakness for jellies... they are just so shiny and cool and awesome!) There's a cool pink/light purple flash coming from the sparkle that keeps it interesting. Definitely a fun lighthearted colour for summer!

Application was pretty good... thinner than usual China Glazes, but also runny. For a Big 3 Free forumlation, I'd say it's an A-. As for wear... I put on some Revlon's ColorStay Always On topcoat (for iron-like protection), then layered Essie's Good To Go (for speed drying) over top. I've had it on for 2 full days now and there's just a teeeeny tiny bit of chippage (looks more like tipwear, really) on my dominant hand. China Glaze doesn't always last very long on me, so I'm happy with this.

If you're into reds, you should definitely check this out! The jelly-sparkle combo is really quite addictive!