you can't really call it "cooking" but it's been delicious...

so, i've been doing very little baking lately.  and even less cooking.  cooking isn't my favorite thing, and even less so when it's over 90 degrees every damn day!  however, i've been using my csa veggies and some herbs from my garden, and trying to empty my pantry.  this is motivated equally by trying to save money and my determination to not waste food!  these recipes are easy, and i found them/the ideas for them from a few online sources (which i'm linking to here).

kale salad


remove stems and chop a big bunch of kale (really get into it so you end up with little square-ish pieces), chop an avocado and add to kale.  add enough extra virgin olive oil and a little salt to coat the salad, you want it glistening a bit (i use my hands to do this).  add 1/2-1 apple (sliced thinly and chopped into bite-sized pieces) and some crumbled feta cheese and a little lemon juice and mix it all up.

corn, chickpea, and black bean salad with basil vinaigrette


boil or grill 3-4 ears sweet corn, cut the kernels off the cob.  combine corn, 1 can black beans, and 1 can chickpeas.  for basil vinaigrette: combine the juice of 3 limes, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, a big handful of chopped fresh basil, 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil (i didn't really measure, just tasted), salt and pepper.  whisk until thoroughly combined, and dress salad.  this recipe was adapted from this one.

i'm evidently too lazy to get a photo of each of these, so you'll have to use your skills to tell which is which.

oatmeal pancakes


this recipe is wonderfully delicious, and i changed it not a bit from smitten kitchen (one of my favorite food blogs, and an absolute haven for great pictures of delicious food).  i'm not going to reprint it, go here to find it.  i made these this morning and it's the best breakfast i've made in a long time!  i can imagine eating these as snacks and dinner and with a lot of different toppings.  today i had them with just a little maple syrup (they're a bit sweet on their own, so don't need much).

garlic scape pesto


so, i've been looking at garlic scapes from my csa, in a pile on my counter, multiplying for weeks after each csa pickup.  i knew i wanted to make pesto, but kept putting it off.  the good news is that you can let your scapes sit for weeks out on the counter, and still make something amazing and delicious with them!  you'd think i was advocating laziness or procrastination or something... anyway, this is also super easy, and freezes well.  in a food processor, combine 1 c chopped scapes, 1 c shredded parmesan,  a couple handfuls of walnuts, juice of one lemon, and puree until smooth.  salt to taste.

odin and i are headed to wisconsin for three weeks.  by the time i get back, my garden should be producing tomatoes and peppers and maybe even a couple baby eggplants.  and perhaps i'll even be so ambitious as to make meals with them!

cinnamon chocolate cupcakes with nutella buttercream frosting

my dear friend megan is moving to colorado this week.  i'm going to miss her so much!  last week we had a little going-away party for her with some great mama friends.  and i volunteered to bake something sweet for the celebration.  megan knows how to pick her sweets!  she chose these delicious cupcakes from a fantastic looking blog, so i can't take credit for the idea or base recipe.  i did make a few little changes, mainly cutting out a bit of sugar in both the cake and frosting.  i highly recommend these little heavenly cakes, and they were very well received by all mamas!  here's the original recipe: 52 Kitchen Adventures

cinnamon chocolate cupcakes 

1 1/3 c flour

3/4 c cocoa powder

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/3 c sugar

2/3 c coffee, cooled (i used some cold brew i'd already made)

2/3 c whole milk

1/3 c vegetable oil

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

beat egg and sugar together until well combined.  mix in coffee, milk, and oil.  whisk dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.  lower mixer speed and add dry ingredients slowly, mix just until combined.  use cupcake papers, and fill about 2/3 full.  batter is very thin (don't worry!).  bake at 325 for about 20 minutes.  cool on wire racks.  makes 16-18 cupcakes.

nutella buttercream frosting

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c nutella (!! what what!?  that's how you know it's good!)

2/3 c powdered sugar

1 tbsp milk

beat butter and nutella together until smooth and creamy.  add about half the powdered sugar and mix.  add milk and mix.  add the rest of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  you may need a little more or less sugar or milk to get a good consistency.  i baked on a 95 degree day (because i LOVE megan) and the frosting was a hot mess at the end of this.  however, after an hour in the fridge, it was beautiful and easy to work with.  frost cupcakes when they have completely cooled.  this made more than enough frosting.  enough so that both odin and i could thoroughly taste test.

now that i'm looking at the pictures again, i wish i were eating one right now! 

at least one person claimed this to be the best cupcake they'd ever eaten.  it makes me really happy that so many people blog about all sorts of deliciousness they're baking up at home!