Pasta salads are basically a 4th of July tradition. At least to me for a couple of reasons. First, the end of June/beginning of July the temperature begins to start hitting over 110 more frequently. This makes cooking or consuming heavy meals uncomfortable. Second, everything about pasta salad screams summer and al fresco eating. I mean BBQs, picnics, or even just casual meals at home can welcome a tasty pasta salad. And, I won't lie, as an Italian, I'm a fan of any dish featuring a good noodle or a really good antipasto.  Antipasto Pasta Salad combines two things I've joyously grown up eating. This is one of my favorite pasta salad recipes.

I guess you could say Memorial Day weekend was all about guacamole wars. I'm not exactly sure how or why that happened. I mean I have my tried and true go-to recipe any time I need to contribute guacamole to anything. I make it so much I have it memorized. Rather than sticking with that, I ended up beginning the weekend with Beyoncé's recipe and ending the weekend with this one from Joanna Gaines. I guess you could say having guacamole, rosé and watching the premiere of the Bachelorette has become quite the summer tradition. So what better time to try this?

It might be a cliché or make me "basic" but rosé is my favorite when it comes to wine. Reds are hard on my stomach and some whites can be a one-way sugary nightmare ticket to headache town. At least I know when it comes to most rosé's I have it made in the shade (especially at restaurants where there's added pressure). I should preface this by saying I am not a wine expert by any means. I, like most, learn through experimentation. Despite my friends trying to flood me with pina coladas, rosé is always my summer drink.

I forget where I saw these brownies first, but the second I saw them I knew I needed to make them. There are a couple reasons I was really excited to try these brownies. The biggest one being I had never made brownies or ganache from scratch before. Crazy right? I love to bake, but making brownies and ganache seemed daunting. Luckily, these brownies have completely changed my mind about that!

I'll say right up front. I'm not a food blogger. I envy their ability to create delicious recipes and take perfectly shot images of their final creations. That said, I do like to play around in my kitchen whether it's creating meals I find delicious or trying out recipes I come across. Many years ago my friends were obsessed with sushi. Every time we wanted to go out to eat, sushi was always the dish of choice. Okay, so maybe that slightly had to do with the fish bowl sized cocktail 6 people could share. I couldn't stand fish so I always found myself eating cucumber salad instead.

Truth be told, I have been living off steamed rice bowls for the last month or so. Partly because I don't have to worry about cooking rice perfectly and I can add just about any veggies I want. I've been sticking with greens for the most part because my body desperately needed them with warmer weather increasing daily. But, I think it's time to change things up. Especially because spring is here and finally some of my favorite foods to cook with and eat are now in season. I'm talking mango, corn, spinach, strawberries, pineapple, asparagus and plenty more. There's nothing better than a nice pineapple or mango popsicle on a warm day, am I right? I went in search of recipes that were light, look delicious, and featured some of the seasonal ingredients. 

Okay, real talk. Looking at all of the social media posts of meals couples made on their Valentine's Day dates was barf-inducing. So finally after logging out when I just couldn't take anymore, I went browsing my bookmarks, Pinterest, and Tumblr to create a list of #GOALS for the year. Being single can suck when it comes to cooking because when it comes to purchasing ingredients you have to be really strategic. Most ingredients, if not all, aren't packaged for one so creating a menu of meals has to use whatever I've purchased so it doesn't go to waste. Good news is I learned how to cut the recipe for pancakes for a single serving.