We recently had a summer happy hour at the Apartment Therapy Media offices, with cocktails served up by guest bartender (and ATM staff member) Michael Kuhn. When I went to get a drink, I noticed he was shaking up his delicious gin-and-basil concoction in a BlenderBottle. Having been unable to locate a cocktail shaker, he improvised with the shaker cup, which gave me a major moment of inspiration.
What else could you use a BlenderBottle for?
Ina Garten has the most gorgeous life. I thought I envied Ina’s fancy French range, or her huge collection of Le Creuset French ovens in Dune, but that was before I saw her library — and now I’m positively drooling.
Breakfast is too often the meal that gets forgotten, skipped, or phoned in. People say it’s the most important meal of the day, but it tends to take a back seat to getting oneself and possibly one’s family members all out of bed, made presentable, and off to school or work on time. So it’s easy for breakfast to become a cup of coffee on the go or a bowl of cold cereal.
The electric pressure cooker is my new favorite tool for quick summer dinners. It can cook tender ribs in less than an hour, make shredded beef for quick tacos, and, most surprisingly, cook up corn on the cob to tender, juicy perfection.
If you’ve ever shied away from steaming or boiling a big batch of corn because you were short on time or didn’t have the right equipment, this Instant Pot corn is for you.
Shopping with kids gets a bad rap. I wholeheartedly acknowledge that taking kids shopping will be neither quick nor easy, especially after wrestling car seats and transporting tiny tots through a busy parking lot. If you’re going to take your kids shopping in only one store, though, that store should be Costco.
You may think I’ve lost my mind because I actually want to bring my kids into an oversized warehouse filled to the rafters with pallets of ketchup and kayaks, but it is actually the best place to take your kids shopping.
A year ago, Julia Schipper moved with her husband and two kids (ages 2 and 4) from Washington, D.C., to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. While she and her husband have lived all over the world, being in Tanzania has brought new challenges and new joys. Food is more expensive there, but people also take more time to eat (goodbye, desk lunch). “Here it’s important to share your meal with others,” she says. “But having options is the biggest thing I miss.”
Sipping icy-cold sweet lemonade on a blazing-hot summer day is one of life’s finest pleasures, which is why we think making lemonade from scratch should be the easiest drink you make this summer. After all, it is just three ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, and water. There’s absolutely no reason you should be heating up the stove or breaking a sweat to squeeze lemons.
With this recipe you’ll learn two smart tips for making lemonade faster and more easily, plus we’ll help you find the perfect sweetness level for your taste with a ratio anyone can remember.
Here’s the one lemonade recipe you need for back porch swinging, park picnics, and even your own neighborhood lemonade stand.
Trader Joe’s is an amazing store for so many reasons, but one consistent complaint from shoppers is that the produce spoils quickly and isn’t necessarily as good as produce from other grocery stores. (See: Why Is the Produce at Trader Joe’s So Freaking Disappointing?) For these reasons, many people pick up their bagged salads (which we totally support!) and then move right through the produce section to shop for snacks, wine, and frozen goodies.
There is one piece of produce, however, that is, for lack of a better word, famous for it’s good value and quality. The item: the 19-cent banana.
White and gray kitchens have dominated the scene for quite some time now. Sometimes we’ll get lucky and see some blue or green, or even something more dramatic, like black. But for the most part it’s neutrals, and for good reason: You don’t update your kitchen that often, so you want it to last a long, long time before you redo.
If you’re looking for a new neutral, here’s a fantastic alternative to the same old, same old.
This may look like an inconspicuous tray of roasted veggies, but it is anything but bland and boring. These earthy mushrooms and sweet cherry tomatoes are caramelized with lots of fresh thyme and garlic and then finished with a hit of brightening balsamic vinegar.
It’s so simple, you’ll wonder why it’s been missing from your life for so long! Pile it on toast, spoon it over grilled chicken or steak, toss it with pasta, or just eat it straight from the sheet pan with a fork. I urge you to make this immediately and then reap its meaty, juicy benefits all week long.