(Image credit: Kelli Foster)
Here’s the drink I’ll be sipping on all summer long: Thai iced tea! I used to reserve this refreshing drink for combatting the heat when I ordered spicy curries at Thai restaurants, but not anymore. I recently discovered that making your own Thai iced tea is surprisingly easy.
The free breakfast buffet is one of the purest pleasures of the hotel experience. This is not necessarily because it is unusually good, in any common definition of the word. While there are exceptions — I have experienced exceptions! — the breakfast buffet at a mid-range hotel is almost certainly some degree of mediocre. The bagels will not be the best possible bagels; the fruit is unlikely to be the best possible fruit. The scrambled eggs have probably been slowly coagulating in a trough on the steam table for at least half an hour.
However, these are not bugs, but features. Hotel breakfast is magical not in spite of its mediocrity, but because of it. It is the glorious flavor of vacation. And here’s how you can make it all even better.
Bad habits are hard to break, but maybe that’s because we’re thinking about them all wrong. What if it’s less about breaking a bad habit and more about making space for something better? Here are five ideas for small, simple changes you can make to help you feel better about yourself and your kitchen this summer.
(Image credit: Diana Yen)
You might not think “summer” and “stew” belong in the same sentence, but stewing and braising aren’t winter-exclusive cooking methods. The colorful spectrum of summer vegetables can be slow-cooked until meltingly tender and sweet — and it’s quite easy to do with the help of a slow cooker. Ratatouille, the classic French vegetable stew, is a perfect candidate for this hands-off cooking method.
(Image credit: Linda Xiao)
Don’t think pineapple is the only fruit that gets to have all the fun when it comes to upside-down cakes. Here, a sparkling combination of inky sweet blackberries and tender nectarines gives a classic yellow cake a jewel-toned finish. If you’re due to bring a summery dessert to an office party or barbecue, you’ll want to save this recipe for just that.
We’re in prime picnic and backyard barbecue season, with the biggest day of them all — the 4th of July — right around the corner. This time of year wouldn’t be complete without one of my favorite side dishes: potato salad. Chunks of well-seasoned, fork-tender potatoes tossed with some crunchy veggies and a touch of mayo or perhaps a nice vinaigrette — it’s a summertime staple.
No matter what your favorite potato salad style is, be sure to avoid these five common mistakes when making your next batch.
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy )
From Apartment Therapy → How To Start a Home Worm Composting System
There’s good news in store for rosé-lovers: An affordable line of the pink wine just won a prestigious award for its cost and quality. This means you can enjoy high-quality rosé without having to break the bank.
(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)
I have to admit an unpopular opinion: I am just not into mayonnaise-based summer salads. When it is hot out, I want to eat light and refreshing salads, not thick and creamy ones. So when I say this is the best pasta salad ever, it’s with that opinion in mind. But a mayo-free pasta salad can still come with a degree of creaminess. In this case it’s by way of an olive oil-rich vinaigrette and a sprinkling of flavorful soft cheese.
Start by choosing the right pasta for the job, making an oil-based dressing, and adding some personal flair with a number of optional add-ins. Learn how to make your new favorite pasta salad right here, right now.
There’s this common misconception among soon-to-be-parents that life will be — more or less — the same after kids. As the mother of a toddler and a baby, I can say that this is most certainly not the case. Life with kids changes all sorts of things, including how I want to vacation.
I used to think that all-inclusive resorts were for spring-breakers in it for the all-you-can-drink aspect, budget-strapped retirees who live for buffets (even bad ones), or folks too lazy to plan their own adventures. But once I became a mom, I saw all-inclusive vacations for the sanity-savers they really are.
Having kids broadened my understanding of the all-inclusive, and now I’m hooked. Here are three reasons why.
