(Image credit: Emma Christensen)
If you’re renting a house or apartment for your summer vacation, you’re probably planning to do a little cooking. Whether that means grilling all week or simply using the kitchen as a place to make a pile of scrambled eggs for everyone in the morning, you’ll have to hit the grocery store at some point — so let’s talk grocery list.
(Image credit: Christine Han)
When friends come around for a backyard barbecue, it tends to feel simple. You’re comfortable in your surroundings; you know your grill and you know your pantry. But move that gathering to an unfamiliar place, like that beach house you’re renting for the week, and suddenly all bets are off — you’re most definitely in alien territory.
So how do you serve a house full of people when you’re out of your element, but still trying to channel that easy, breezy vacation vibe? These six recipes — covering everything from breakfast to dinner — streamline the cooking process to make vacation-kitchen cooking both fun and carefree.
(Image credit: raifu/shutterstock)
Oh, eggplant, you voluptuous vegetable. Short, long, round, narrow, and of course, the classically big-bottomed, you come in so many shapes. But you also come in so many colors. Some eggplants are deep and aubergine, a purple so dark it’s black like a Sicilian man’s eyes, beckoning me. Some are playfully striated like a tiger cub. Oh, eggplant, you shape-shifter, you color-spectrum challenger, you world-traveller, you meal-maker, you. Do I love eggplant? Yes, indeed.
Now, eggplants are all lovely to look at and lovely to behold, but cooking them is when they get to truly show their stuff. From this true lover of eggplant, here are five ways to help you fall in love with it this season.
(Image credit: Christine Han)
In my humble opinion, summer just isn’t summer without pasta salad. It rounds out a barbecue, makes a simple lunch, and can become dinner when it’s just too hot for a hot meal. That’s why it’s essential to have it around when you’re on vacation and living the easy, breezy summer rental life.
(Image credit: Veronica Roth)
From Apartment Therapy → Don’t Fall for It: 5 Things You Really DON’T Need At Home
(Image credit: Lauren Volo)
In the warmer months, I like to swap grain bowls for rice noodle bowls that I can enjoy cold or at room temperature. With the right mix of toppings and flavors, rice noodle bowls are satisfying without being too heavy. This recipe brings the flavors of sesame chicken to the noodle bowl, with a sweet and savory mix of tamari, sesame oil, brown sugar, and a splash of rice wine vinegar.
(Image credit: Leela Cyd)
From Apartment Therapy → Ten Things You Should Upgrade in Your Rental (and Then Take With You)
(Image credit: Mark Bourdillion/Love Productions)
Some people are still processing the Red Wedding; others are still working out theories of what happened to Tony Soprano; and then there are some of us who watch several bakers’ rye loaves proof and think it’s the most riveting thing on TV. These are the fans of The Great British Baking Show.
The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is an obvious winner for anyone who has ever tasted a peanut butter cup, and buckeyes are no exception.
Named for their resemblance to the nut of the buckeye tree, these chocolate-dipped peanut butter treats are easy to make at home with very little work.
The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is an obvious winner for anyone who has ever tasted a peanut butter cup, and buckeyes are no exception.
Named for their resemblance to the nut of the buckeye tree, these chocolate-dipped peanut butter treats are easy to make at home with very little work.