Happy Saturday!

I have something fun to share with you this week. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I went to Phoenix to shoot some mini cooking shows. We had an amazing time shooting them and this week, I finally got to upload one of them to the blog. I am so excited to be able to share them with you. You can check it (and the delicious recipe on which it’s based) right here.

And for all my fellow salad lovers out there, I have a new, fun salad page to share with you. It collects a link every single salad recipe along with tips on storing salads and what to put on and in them in one place. I got your backs, salad fiends. Find the Ultimate Salad Recipes Guide here!

While in Salt Lake City this week, I went to Les Madeleines and did what I like to think of as a run of the pastry case. In other words, I sampled just about everything that tickled my fancy. I like to think of this as recipe research. I’ll be making some of what I tasted soon, so you’ll be in on the fun before long.

If you make it to Salt Lake City, please stop in there and try their goodies. Don’t forget to try the oh-so-good churros ice cream. I had it in a chocolate waffle cone and boy was I happy!

THINGS I LOVE (the $20 edition):

I thought it’d be fun to have a theme for this week’s THINGS I LOVE. This week’s theme is items under $20 and includes items I love for my kitchen that are under $20 each.

The first item is this fish spatula. I know that doesn’t sound super exciting, but this is an item I reach for every single day in my kitchen at least once, but often more like two or three times. It’s not just for fish. It is the ultimate for fried eggs, great for making stir fry and taking it from the pan, excellent for lifting cooked chicken breasts or thighs from the pan and draining away grease, and so much more. It is both thin and flexible, but not so flexible that it will drop heavy things. I love it so much that I have three of them. Yes, I just admitted that.

Aluminum half-sheet pans are another thing I reach for more than almost anything else. I make cookies, pizzas, sheet cakes, sheet pan meals, roasted chicken, and about a million other things on them. I also use them to organize my ingredients before I start cooking, laying the prepped vegetables, aromatics, and whatnot out in order.

These paring knives have been in my kitchen for over a decade. They’re inexpensive enough that I don’t feel bad having a handful of them. They’re dishwasher safe, they’re flexible, and they’re sharp. It’s the trifecta of handy for knives!

This Mix and Chop is more useful than you might think at first glance. I use it to break up ground beef, turkey, or chicken in the pan, mix ingredients for meatballs or meatloaf, mash potatoes in the pan, and more. I love this thing.

This silicone spatula. I won’t go so far as to call this life changing, but I will definitely say it’s a staple in my kitchen. It’s sturdy, heat-proof, and weirdly habit forming. I wasn’t sure what I thought of it when I first got it a few years back, but in very short order, I realized I was reaching for it more than any other silicone or rubber spatula in my extensive collection. Now I don’t want to be without it.

WHAT LOOKS TASTY:

I’m loving the look of this Best Strawberry Shortcake Cake from Glorious Treats makes me a little teary with happiness. It’s everything I love about Spring and early summer in one dessert.

These Asparagus and Brie puff pastry packets from Half Baked Harvest dings ALL of my chimes. I can’t wait to give these a try.

These super fluffy looking Japanese Soufflé Pancakes with Lemon Curd and Blueberries from Closet Cooking. I’m not much of a breakfast for breakfast person, but I am all over breakfast for dinner and this looks amazing.

FUN DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK:

Okay, the mega nerd in me is VERY excited about this website that is new to me. Chewable Structures is engineering with food, basically, but it is visually exciting and fun. What kid wouldn’t love a watermelon and blueberry version of the Golden Gate Bridge? And while it’s certainly kid-friendly fare, I think most adults would be intrigued and entertained by the edible structures made by the tutorials on this page.

BRAIN FOOD QUOTE:

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

-Gustav Flaubert

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