This summer I want to…
1. Make lots of homemade ice pops with these Zoku molds
. (I’m embarrassed to say that I own about six different kinds of ice pop molds but these are my favorites!)
2. Learn to cook a better steak. Take it off the grill sooner. Let it rest before serving. Convince husband that he actually prefers medium over medium well.
3. Make more recipes from the Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
cookbook. Her recipe for The Milkiest Chocolate In The World was the most labor-intensive ice cream I’ve ever made–but also the best darn thing to ever grace my turquoise Cuisinart ice cream maker
.
4. Use (or give away) all the produce from our little backyard garden and try very, very hard not to let anything go to waste.
5. Share something deep-fried with my kids at the Ohio State Fair.
6. Grill shrimp. Convince rest of family that they actually like shrimp.
7. Eat only the summer desserts that are really, really worth it. Like this individual Key Lime Pie from Cap City Diner here in Columbus. Eating half of it required me to discreetly unbuckle the belt on my dress (worth it).
8. Cook more homemade pizza on the grill, which results in a terrifically crispy crust. (Here’s an easy crust recipe you can make in your bread maker.)
9. Make pesto with fresh basil. Lots of it. Stock it away in the freezer.
10. Freeze as much summer produce as possible so that in a few short months when I’m wearing sweaters, I can remember what summer tastes like.
Read my summer food bucket list from last year.
What would be on YOUR summer food bucket list?
Deanna Segrave-Daly says
Um, I’d basically copy and paste your summer bucket list right into mine (down to the fried dough indulge!) I’d add eat as much fresh corn on the cob as possible, appreciate all the zucchini I get in my CSA while I have it and eat fresh seafood at the shore. Such a fun post – we can compare notes in September at Blog Brulee 🙂
Sally says
Absolutely to fresh seafood at the shore! When we went to the beach last year, the crab restaurant wasn’t serving crabs–they’d been overfished. I almost cried.
Dana @ RealFood-RealFamily.com says
I’ve already made about 15 cubes of pesto so far! I try to make enough to get me through until the spring. And you are smart to freeze the summer produce. We made a summer bucket list as well and today’s adventure was homemade whole wheat pita chips. SO easy and SOOO delicious!
Sally says
Dana–I’ve never tried that. Good idea!
Amanda says
hi! Do you have some ice pop recipes to share? I’ve made some in the past but nothing my kids really LOVE!
Sally says
Hi Amanda–I often pour in leftover smoothies. The ones pictured are literally just a couple of cups of fresh strawberries, rinsed and de-stemmed, pureed in the blender with a drizzle of honey. Couldn’t be simpler!
Katie @ Mom to Mom Nutrition says
Girlfriend let me teach you to make that steak! How about I’ll make the steak and you make the pizza! 🙂 Love your list. I’m with you on the pesto too!
Sally says
Katie–Yes please! Since you can’t come over, how about a tutorial on your blog? 🙂
Elizabeth @ Enjoy Every Bite says
This is such a fun list! I’ve always been too intimidating to make pizza on the grill. Maybe this summer will be the summer that we try it 🙂
Liz - Meal Makeover Mom says
I love your bucket list and to that I’ll add two from my list: Grill more fruits (I’ve been on a grilled veggie jag for years, and it’s time to include things like peaches and plums to the grill basket) and make more salads with herbs as the focus vs. lettuce. As for fried food, one of my fondest food memories is the fried onion rings at the Nauset Beach snack bar on Cape Cod 🙂
Emily says
Your Summer Bucket list inspired me! But I decided to tackle some running goals instead. Although I have two out-of-control basil plants and I have never made pesto–I will definitely need to give it a try!
Rosemary says
This is such a nice refreshing blog! And I totally agree with the pesto making! I LOVE pesto – any pesto! Lately I have been addicted to sun-dried tomato pesto. Carry on with the great posts Sally.
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says
LOVE THIS!! Your number one is totally on my list. I bought the Zoku molds a few months ago with great intentions of making so many different popsicles and have yet to make any of them. Need to get on that ASAP!
Colleen says
My kids want to try to make homemade ricotta cheese this summer so that is on our cooking bucket list for 2016.
They also want to try making a bunch of different flavours of homemade ice cream, gelato or sorbetto so I guess that is a must try as well…