dulce de leche brownies

remember the dulce de leche i made a couple weeks ago in my slow cooker? it's sole purpose was to end up in these brownies. a couple months after i started this blog, my cousin steve started his own blog dedicated to food. whereas i tend to steer clear of relatively complicated recipes most of the time, steve almost revels in them. he kicked off his blog with his own version of the alton brown smoker, a smoker built from terra cotta pots, a hot plate, and grill grate. but it doesn't stop there - there's strawberry rhubarb pie and italian style pizza. but what really gets me is his mexican - frijoles refritos and arroz a la mexicana & pork chile verde enchiladas - and these brownies.

great northern cornbread

along with those amazing peanut butter cookies, we had a huge spread of food for jason's birthday a couple weekends ago. i made another batch of homemade pickles and our good friend chris smoked pork and made cajun corn. this cornbread is the perfect accompaniment for barbecue - and i bet it would travel really well, also making it perfect for camping.

secret recipe club: minted pineapple lime agua fresca

this month, i have not one, but TWO recipes for the secret recipe club! since it's been abnormally hot and dry here - highs above 90 and 14+ days without rain - and from what i hear, it's hot everywhere, we could all use a nice, cold beverage. or a cold drink, if you live in our house.

secret recipe club: breakfast tacos

it's time again for the secret recipe club! each month, when my i receive my assigned blog, i click the link, and the first thing i do is read the about page. i like to see where people are from, what their background is. how are we alike? do they live near me? what do they do for a living? the basics, really.

and then i start reading through posts to find inspiration. i start by going back as far as i can in the history. and then i look through the posts in the same month i am cooking from them. that way, i get the best of both worlds - reinvent an old recipe and cook something that fits in with the time of year.

mushroom marsala fontina flatbread

when it's this hot, it has to be something pretty good for me to turn on the oven. which brings me to one of the most underutlized tools in my kitchen: the toaster oven. 

i bought a pack of premade flatbreads at the market last weekend for a dollar. topped with vegetables and cheese, they make the perfect quick, meatless meal. [not feeling mushrooms? tomatoes are finally in season. top a flatbread with sliced tomato, slices of fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. perfection.]