cucumber lemonade

cucumber lemonade on the deck!

I began this summer by expressing, in no uncertain terms, just how terrible New York City summers really are — sticky airlessness occasionally broken up by eerily refreshing droplets of cool water on your head that turn out to be filthy window a/c run-off, and you know, given that NYC lets people with absolutely no relevant skills install their own window a/c units, you might not want to walk underneath them at all, is all I’m saying. Right, I’ve digressed again. I think I hoped that if I aired my grievances about summer early and unflinchingly, I could get through the season without my least favorite of my writing tics, whining about the weather.

english cucumber from the grocery peeled the second batch
cucumber juice with skin cucumber juice without skin
fine mesh strainer for the cucumber puree another way to strain the cucumber juice

And I did, just not because of that. Despite dire warnings from the Farmer’s Almanac that we were going to have one of the more “humid and thundery” summers on record, to my delight, we experienced the opposite. Before Labor Day, there wasn’t a single day where temperatures crept above 91 degrees. In 2013, a year when I broke my don’t-complain-about-the-weather rule basically every time I opened my mouth, there were 16. [I promise, I’m getting somewhere with this.] Of course, NYC still has to have the last word and in the first week of September was back to its muggy air/scorched sidewalk ways. And it was in that week that when getting my weekly fix at this new dumpling place my neighborhood was graced with over the summer, I picked up some of their housemade cucumber lemonade and have not been able to talk about anything else since.

many lemons

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6 Ways to Maximize Your Trip to the Farmers Market — Kitchen Tour

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Who shops and eats here: Batya Stepelman of Sparrows & Spatulas, along with her husband, Matt Berman, and their young sons, Otis and Theodore
See her kitchen: Batya Stepelman’s Open, Garden-Powered Kitchen
Where: Denver, CO
Rent or Own? Own

We recently toured the open, garden-powered kitchen of Batya Stepelman and were inspired by her city garden and how she finds ways to bring healthier meals and more vegetables to her family’s table. Before visiting her home, Batya and I took a trip to the Cherry Creek Farmers Market, where we sketched out meals for the week, selected from seasonally ripe produce, and even gained some helpful gardening advice.

Batya shares her best time-saving tips on how she makes the most out of a trip to the farmers market and how local, seasonal eating influences her cooking style.

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What Your Favorite Childhood Lunch Box Says About You — Personality Test

When you’re a kid, it’s not so much about what’s in your lunch box, but what’s on your lunch box. Were you a Scooby Doo kid or more of a Strawberry Shortcake kind of gal? Did you like the hard plastic lunch boxes, or did you prefer the vintage metal look? You can learn a lot about someone based on their favorite childhood lunch box.

So think back, way back, and remember what your favorite childhood lunchbox looked like. Got it? Now read on to see what that says about you as a person now.

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20 DIY Pantry Staples That Are Even Better Than Store-Bought — Recipes from The Kitchn

Think about some of the staples you keep in your pantry or fridge and use on a daily basis — peanut butter, marinara sauce, tomato paste, mayonnaise, granola, chicken (or vegetable) stock, spice blends. The list could go on and on. Have you tried to make these things yourself?

If not, you should! You might not always save time making these everyday items, but they’ll taste fresher, you’ll have fun making them, and it might even save you a little money. Here are 20 pantry staples that are easy to make at home, and in some cases even less expensive than the store-bought versions!

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Recipe: Slow-Cooked Brisket and Onions — Slow Cooker Recipes from The Kitchn

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If you ask me about comfort food, I will answer promptly: Slow-cooked brisket. This old-fashioned pot roast, cooked quietly in the slow cooker all day with just a handful of ingredients and a mess of caramelized onions, makes a rich broth and meat that melts in your mouth. Sunday dinner, weeknight supper — whenever you eat it, this is a classic dish both convenient and comforting.

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