This is a recipe from the author of my current cookbook obsession: A Kitchen in France (recipe here on her blog). Her book is organized by season, which I love, because I try and cook as in season as possible. The window for zucchini blossoms is short and with the storm that rolled in last night, I rushed to pluck these off the plants before they got demolished by the wind and rain. See my modified recipe below!

not the most appetizing picture in the world...but so delicious! and I had to taste-test one of course ;)

Ingredients: 

• 5 zucchini flowers, stamens removed 
• 1-1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper 
• 1 can of cold beer (add in 1/2 cup increments)
• 5 pieces of cheese, cut to size (I used local Farmer's cheese)
• 5 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• oil for frying

Directions: 

• Heat oil in a fry pan
• While the oil is getting hot, remove the stamens from the flowers, rinse and pat dry
• Mix together the flour and seasonings and then add in the beer, 1/2 cup at a time until it forms a sticky batter.
• Stuff the flowers with the cheese and tomato, dip into the batter and then carefully drop into the oil. Cook, turning over, until golden brown.
• Rest on a paper towel to remove excess oil and serve immediately.

Our herbs, zucchini and pickling cucumbers are already coming in fast so I'm thinking of doing a garden recipe series featuring what's in season and how we're incorporating them into our meals. How is it almost July already?!

One of my favorite traditions at the beginning of summer is our annual mother's day brunch and father's day picnic. I've said this before, but I'm so lucky to have married into such a big family. I get not one, but two sets of in-laws and our best friends also happen to be our brother and sister-in-law.

Kulp get togethers wouldn't be right without our forced pictures haha it's become another tradition of Jen and mine to make everyone take nice family pictures ;) Happy Father's Day!

Oh my gosh, we made it to Friday! I don't know why or how but we stayed up late like every night this week and by the time yesterday rolled around I was so exhausted. This meal put me into bed at an early hour last night and now I'm ready for our super busy weekend! Happy Friday!

Ingredients (~4 servings):

• 25-30 scallops
• 4 T butter, divided  
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup clam juice 
• 2-3 T cornstarch 
• juice of 1 lemon, plus more for garnish 
• 10 oz whole wheat angel hair pasta
• 2 T capers
• handful of parsley, chopped  

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 250 degrees,
• Boil your pasta as directed. Drain and set aside once done cooking.
• Melt 2 T butter in a cast iron pan. Toss in your scallops and cook on all sides, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Once seared, take them out and put in the oven to keep warm.
• Add in additional butter and garlic to pan. Cook garlic until fragrant (2 minutes)
• Whisk in corn starch to make a roux. 
• Whisk in clam juice, lemon juice and white wine.
• Mix in pasta, continuously stirring to coat.
• Once all the liquid is absorbed, dish out pasta, top with scallops, capers and parsley and serve!

I've been trying to spend more time reading these past few weeks because after a long day spent in front of a computer the last thing I want is more screen time. But I mean Murder She Wrote is also on Netflix now sooooo it's all about balance, right? ;) Here's what I'm reading this month . . . 

First  up - Anthony Bourdain's book, "Kitchen Confidential". My mom gave this to B for his birthday but since he wasn't finished his current book I nabbed it out from under him to quickly read. I thought this would be more of a memoir and it sort of jumps around, but overall it's not bad. It's definitely a good read for anyone who is interested in all things culinary world. And definitely for anyone who enjoys Bourdain's tone of voice and sense of humor.

My SIL, Jen, and I both ordered this book and plan to read it together. She's organizing her house in preparation for baby (!!) and I am in full blown summer cleaning mode. We got some industrial shelving for our basement and it's time to let go of junk we've had since before we were married. 

Lastly, Serving From the Heart. I've been wanting a new devotional for a while and this one stood out to me because I've been struggling with the community aspect of our faith. For a socially anxious and private person it's hard for me to put myself out there. I always feel better after I do it and I know it's one of the best ways to connect with like-minded people while helping others so I'm hoping this will give me the nudge I need to step out of my comfort zone. 

What are you reading?

I didn't mean to take such a long break from writing here, but I sort of fell into myself at the end of May. I had written a whole post about it and then hemmed and hawed as to whether or not I wanted to share it because to put it bluntly, it's depressing. I think at the end of the day it just felt good to put proverbial pen to paper and it helped me push through what I was going through.

With all of that being said, June came crashing in like a blazing unicorn of happiness and I've been really grateful that summer is finally here. Shifts in season do that for me and with how busy we've been, it's made me realize how fast the next couple months are going to fly by. I made a promise to myself to truly enjoy this (hopefully) last summer as a family of two and I've been getting back to some old hobbies. I'm not an overly outgoing person and although I love our friends more than anything, some of my favorite hobbies are solitary ones like reading, gardening and working on projects around the house. I can't wait to share some DIY-related things I've been working on as well as some recipes over the next couple weeks. Happy June!