Eat, Watch, Buy: Things I Loved, July Edition
Rabbit, rabbit (rabbit?) friends. Anyone wake up yesterday and say this like I did? Can’t stop, won’t stop. And just like that, we all made it to another month. Look how far we’ve come! Let’s keep going, hm?
If you were an original reader of my email newsletter, you’ll remember that at the end of each, I included a handful of links to things I wanted to share with you. Products to buy (that I tested myself), recipes to cook (that I made myself) and a few other random things like people to follow, things to watch and beyond.
When I pivoted to the blog format, I transferred most of those things to the My Faves section of the site, but not everything fits there, so I’m starting this new Eat, Watch, Buy post which I’ll do at the start of each month.
As always, I want this to be a community and conversation so I’d love to hear from you on some of your own favorites from the month! Here, I’ll go first:
Eat
Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Pizza from What’s Gaby Cooking?
This recipe encompasses a perfect trio of Ps: pizza, peaches and prosciutto. I don’t have a grill, so I just baked it in the oven on my pizza steel. I also thought I had balsamic glaze, and then turned out I didn’t, so I just splashed it with balsamic vinegar and…yum. This was fresh, salty, cheesy and chewy. If you’re feeling cook-y, check out this recipe for dough, which was excellent.
Lomo Saltado from Skinnytaste
Lomo Saltado is a FREAKING DELICIOUS beef stir fry from Peru. My BFF is Peruvian, so I hope she’s not reading this because she’ll 100% text me to tell me this recipe isn’t how she’d do it, but regardless, this was GOOD and so easy. I’m pretty sure it came together in about 20 minutes…maybe 15. Peruvian food has a lot of Chinese influences due to a large immigrant population, so this recipe has both Latin and Chinese flavors which come together beautifully. I made the fries in the air fryer in a flash, and drizzled it all with an aji verde sauce that just takes it over the top.
Spinach and Parmesan Orzo from Emily Bites
Cheese? Good. Orzo? Good. Spinach? Good enough. I threw this together one night because what’s not to like about everything in that recipe title and it’s just simple and yummy. Swap whole wheat orzo for regular, and light butter for full-fat if you want, or don’t. It’s really flexible and a great side dish for most proteins (salmon, chicken, shrimp, beef).
Watch
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi on Hulu
My friend Sara recommended this to me, so I threw it on one day after work and didn’t come up for air until it was done. It was such a wonderful look at the immigrant and native cultures in this country through food. When I wasn’t mesmerized by Padma being nearly 50 and looking like that, I was enthralled by the stories shared.
Down to Earth with Zac Efron on Netflix
Talk about a pleasant surprise. As in, when I finished watching the show, I sat on the couch, contemplating my very life and how I live it. It’s safe to say Charles is missing his left ear because I literally talked his ear off. Zac was more “bro-y” than I expected but he was not really the star of the show to me. The places he visited and the people they interviewed were. My favorite episodes were the ones set in Sardinia, which explored why people in this Italian region live so long (the largest centenarian population on earth if I remember correctly) and in Puerto Rico that brought me to tears for at least half the episode.
Buy
1. Fresh Hesperides Grapefruit Body Lotion, $26: I’m disgusted with myself that it took a stupid-expensive body lotion to make me finally care for my dino-scale skin. No one is lazier about lotioning up then I am, sadly. Being that I can’t stand the look of my limbs anymore, I knew I had to trick myself into slathering on moisture post-shower with something that smelled so good, I would look forward to it every day. And this stuff smells good.
2. Ninja 5.5qt Air Fryer Max XL, $130 (on sale): The air fryer eluded my interests for years. As a small appliance addict, I had to cut myself off because I had no more space to store things, so I used that as a quick excuse every time my mother waxed poetic about her air fryer and asked me when I was getting one. SORRY MOM, AS ALWAYS, I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOU.
Since I got this thing, I use my stove for dinner maybe…once a week? What don’t I make in this thing? Chicken breast, chicken wings, burgers, shrimp, corn on the cob, potatoes, fries, asparagus, green beans, tostones. It reheats food FAR better than the microwave, and has a ton of modes I’ve yet to fully explore. This thing is so clutch to my meals that I’m contemplating getting a second one.
3. Hay Clip Clip, $8.50: The Bodum French press (below) comes with a coffee scoop, but the handle is really short on it, and I hate being elbow deep in coffee grounds when the supply gets low. I love this one because it looks nice, and it clips to seal the coffee bag. Plus, it’s always right there and I don’t have to dig it out of a drawer every day.
4. Bodum Chambord French Press Coffee Maker, Chrome, $40: Having far more time in the morning than I used to when I had to commute across town, I’ve taken to (literally) dusting off my old French press and I haven’t powered up my Nespresso machine since…April? French press coffee is easier to drink than espresso, and I can have more than one cup without feeling wild. This thing isn’t fancy, but I usually prefer a no-frills product to something more “design-y” when it comes to kitchen things. It’s easy to see how much coffee you’ve put in, how it’s blooming and how much water you put in thanks to the clear glass carafe (as opposed to ceramic carafes).
5. Philz Coffee Ecstatic (Coarse Grind), $18: French press coffee calls for coarse grinds, FYI. Philz Coffee is reason enough to move to LA. Luckily, you can buy their beans online in your choice of grind so you can stay put. Ecstatic is strong, smooth, nutty and caramely.
YOUR TURN! Please share recipes you’ve been cooking, things you’ve been watching or reading or anything you’ve bought and loved. Sharing is caring, friends. :*