One Year Give Away!

One year ago today I started this blog! It's been fun to write about two of my favorite things: cooking and being married! I've really enjoyed hearing from you all things that you have liked making that you saw on the blog! To celebrate one year I wanted to do a small give-away! I am going to give one reader a five dollar gift card to Starbucks so you can stop in for a quick caffeine burst on one of these hot summer days! Here's how it works: leave a comment below telling me your favorite summertime activity. If you already a follower of the blog you can leave 2 comments below to increase your chances. If you aren't a follower you can become one and earn a bonus entry (so you can leave 2). Otherwise, it's one comment per person. The winner will be randomly selected on Monday July 4th. So leave a comment below with your favorite summertime activity and win a Starbucks gift card!


contest limited to U.S. addresses only please

It wouldn't be a blog entry without food so I wanted to give you all a great recipe for a quick but nice summer meal. Last night we made cedar salmon with couscous and grilled scallions. This meal was so easy, but it looks nice (something good for guests!). To do the salmon I used a cedar plank (soaked for about 4 hours). I'll admit it wasn't my favorite way to do salmon, but everyone should try it at least once. If you don't have a cedar plank you can just grill the salmon. Here's how you do it:

For the salmon you'll need: 2 6oz salmon fillets (or one 12 oz) 1 tsp each salt and pepper, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 4-5 lemon slices and evoo. Heat the grill to 375. Meanwhile, sprinkle each fillet with the salt, pepper, and paprika. Drizzle them with evoo. If you're using the cedar plank, lay it down on the grill and then place the salmon on it. Place the lemon slices on the salmon. Grill for about 15 minutes on the plank until cooked through. If you're just grilling the salmon cook on the first side for 3-4 minutes, then flip and do the same.



For the scallions you'll need: 1 bunch of green onions (scallions), salt, pepper, and evoo. When you put the salmon on the grill prepare the scallions. Cut off the root ends of the scallions and then drizzle them with evoo and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the salmon has been on the grill for 5 minutes, add the scallions and cook until the salmon is finished. Keep and eye on them to make sure they aren't burning.

Prepare the couscous according to the box directions. Once it is cooked, you can add in your favorite oil based salad dressing such as Italian or a Romano Basil Vinaigrette. Once everything is cooked, plate it up, and enjoy!



Good luck!