The Little Things Newsletter #472 – Life, la...

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I was in Park City, UT this week and the weather was fantastic. Lovely cool nights and gorgeous days with sunshine – zero complaints about any of that. I’m back in Ohio now though and enjoying a sunny, rain-filled day.

If you’d told me years ago, while we were living in Phoenix, that I’d someday watch the weather forecast and come to love the variety of weather changes we might see in a week, I wouldn’t have understood that. Now? I live for the changing seasons – winter, spring, summer, and fall surely have their beautiful moments and I enjoy them all.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  Pork, shrimp, and vegetables are folded into a paper-thin lumpia wrapper and then fried to crisp golden perfection in this traditional recipe for Filipino lumpia. Almost 30 years ago, I tasted lumpia for the first time and I fell in love with them at first bite.

Old-fashioned split pea soup is a hearty, satisfying soup made from dried split peas, savory ham, and tender chunks of potatoes. It’s a classic winter soup that is also perfect for a chilly, wet spring or summer evening.

Tiny bite-size pieces of chicken are tossed with spices and oil before they’re cooked to juicy perfection in the air fryer. These air fryer chicken bites have become one of my favorite lunches of late. The leftovers keep nicely in the fridge for a few days and they’re a great option for tossing into salads or eating on their own whenever I’m hungry.

Tempting and versatile, these rosemary garlic potatoes are tender roasted potatoes with a crisp garlicky, rosemary crust. They are the ultimate in potato side dishes.

Sweet corn, summer tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh basil, and parsley are tossed with a bright, tangy vinaigrette to create this summer corn salad.

Sweet berries, spicy jalapenos, onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime combine to make this strawberry salsa. This comes together in about 15 minutes and the salsa disappears almost faster than that every single time I make it.

Fresh and creamy strawberry ice cream is sprinkled throughout with Nerds candy to create this super fun Nerds ice cream, it’s a completely irresistible kid and adult favorite.

What I’m CRAVING: I tried bavette steak (also sold as “flap steak”) for the first time this week and it was so good! I’d never even heard of it before. The closest thing to it would be flank or skirt steak, but the texture is more delicate and tender.

My friend Sommer told me that that bavette is her favorite cut of beef and I have to agree now that it’s pretty awesome. I found her guide to cooking bavette steak and now I’m semi-obsessed with finding it near me. 

My FAVORITE THING this week is my new wind machine fan. Admittedly, it’s a beast, but it’s an affordable beast and it moves air like nothing else. There’s a space in my kitchen by the stove where it doesn’t matter what I do, it’s just plain HOT to stand there when things are cooking. (Not a normal warmth either, it’s like the air just sits right there and doesn’t move.) So, I keep this fan in the corner of the kitchen and when I want to use it, it’s as easy as can be to set up and blow air across the kitchen.

What I’m LISTENING to: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins has been another fun listen this week. I enjoyed reading the whole trilogy years ago, and we’ve watched the movies too, so the audiobooks have been a fun listen this summer.

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith — that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 ESV

Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile!

Mary