This past weekend I participated in a FB celebration of Brenda Novak's Love That ! Cookbook. This is part of the big charity project for diabetes research. So along with the boxed sets, including the SWEET SEDUCTION boxed set with my story WANDERLUST in it, there is also a fantastic cookbook. ALL proceeed from the boxed set and this cookbook go to charity. :)

And as part of teh celbration, I was asked to demo a recipe of my choosing from the book. It's a beautiful cookbook and I had a hard time choosing because I love to cook, but decided to go with one of my favorte things--salad.

Here are the posts from the facebook event. Just me and my makeshift selfie stick. The recipe was really tasty and easy. Let me know if you try it!

BACON LETTUCE AND TOMATO SALAD from Brenda Novak's LOVE THAT! Cookbook

First, I’d like to preface this by saying that this weekend my husband and kidlet are out of town at the NASCAR race in Talledega. This means mommy got the weekend to herself, which is great—until I realized I was supposed to demo this recipe with pictures and had no one to take pictures, lol. So guess what makes a great selfie stick? A kid’s golf club, a big rubber band, and my phone. : ) You do what you gotta do right? I figure MacGyver would’ve been proud.

So I chose the Bacon Lettuce Tomato salad because there’s nothing easier to make at home when I’m flying solo than a yummy salad. And I happened to have all these ingredients on hand, which is nice because you can throw it together very easily. Plus, it has two of my favorite things: avocado and bacon!

Ingredients: Bacon, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Avocado, fresh basil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil

So here we go:

1. First I grabbed some fresh basil from the little garden I started this spring since the dressing called for basil. You could probably put any herb you want in the dressing. Cilantro would be yummy. Or even use dried herbs if you’re in a pinch.

2. Then I got all of my stuff ready to go. I think chefs call it mise en place. I love to cook and I’m usually excellent at doing this part—organizing upfront. But then my husband will tell you that afterwards, all goes to hell because then it’s like the Tasmanian devil once the cooking starts. It’s not uncommon for me to cover every surface in the kitchen before I’m done, lol.

3. I washed and dried my lettuce in the salad spinner. You want to make sure it’s mostly dry so the dressing will stick. And I used baby red lettuce because that’s what came in my produce co-op share this week. But any lettuce you like would work.

4. Chop all your good stuff up.

5. Put everything but the dressing in a bowl.

6. Mix your dressing ingredients together. My tip for that is if you have a mason jar (or tupperware container), dump everything in there, pop the lid on tight, and just shake it up (bonus points if you sing the Taylor Swift song while doing it). I find it quicker and cleaner than bothering with a bowl and a whisk. And if you have leftovers, it’s easy to store.

7. Pour your dressing on. (And applaud me for managing a selfie WHILE pouring dressing. ;) )

8. EAT! :) It was delish.

If you'd like to buy the cookbook and/or one of the boxed sets, get them now because they'll only be avaialble for a short time! : )

Kindle | B&N | iBooks| Kobo | Google Play

My favorite chimichurri (Photo by me)

I'm on a plane heading to NYC this morning, so this will be a quick post. (But be sure to check in this week as I have guests on both Wednesday and Friday--and a contest on Friday!)

But I wanted to share a new website that I'm slightly obsessed with. Everyone hearts Pinterest--and I have an account--but after my photo debacle, I'm wary of pinning anyone else's copyrighted stuff so I only use it for very specific purposes. But now I've found a site that gives me the fantastic food pics and recipes that I liked on Pinterest, but I can simply favorite the ones I like instead of having to "repin" or "reblog" them.

The site? FoodGawker. And OMG, the beautiful food and fantastic recipes on there. I could literally fall in and lose an hour before I even realize it. I LOVE to cook (and consider myself a bit of a foodie). It's one of my favorite hobbies, and I try my best to cook healthfully. So, I was happy to see how many healthy recipes are on the site. Also, I've started baking with the kidlet on Sundays, so this will give us endless sources of new dessert recipes. So yay for new obsessions!

Check it out. But be warned, you may get sucked into the black hole of delicious food photography. : )

Am I the last one to find out about this site? Anyone else on there? What's your favorite site to get lost on?