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SIDESSALADS

Pasta With Ricotta, Olives & Tomatoes

This pasta dish - which reminds me of Caprese Pasta, but is just a little more salty and spicy and grown-up tasting - is both awesome and awesomely summery. It's one of those dishes that takes thirty seconds and can probably be assembled from stuff you already have in your refrigerator (especially if you happen to be Italian and keep things like dry ricotta hanging around, in which case you probably don't need my advice on excellent pasta combinations), and that makes the perfect addition to a day at the beach, or a picnic, or a backyard BBQ.

Or the middle of the afternoon for no reason whatsoever, because it's just that good.

P.S. I take zero credit for this dish: Francesca's mother made it as part of our dinner last weekend; yet another example of Why I Love Visiting Francesca's Family.

SWEETS

Mango & Greek Yogurt Smoothie

I have a major mango problem lately.

I cannot stop eating them. As cravings go, though, this is a pretty stellar one to have, since mangos are full of amazing things like antioxidants, fiber, Vitamins C and E, and folic acid. (They're especially good for your skin: Vitamin A helps to maintain a healthy complexion; antioxidants protect against free radicals; beta carotene makes your skin glow.)

And now my son is obsessed with them, too. The other night I showed him how to cut up a mango, and remembered my grandfather - who ate a mango after dinner almost every night of his life - showing me the same thing when I was a little girl, and got teary about it.

Eat

Microwave S’Mores

We've had our fire pit (which I managed to sorrrrt of reassemble post-tree-collision so that it functions while I figure out whether or not to buy a new one) for two years now, and have never made s'mores. This felt like something we needed to fix.

The only problem: as a city girl who genuinely loves camping but is completely at a loss when it comes to edible things and campfires (my hamburgers, without fail, end up being flipped right into the coals)…I'm not very good at making them. I basically just burn the marshmallows and call it a day. On the positive side, however, s'mores are good even when they're not especially good.


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