Balsamic Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is a lovely salad that will get you in the mood for warmer weather. Not to mention, it's really easy to throw together, this recipe makes enough to share, and it's healthy. Enjoy!

Guest Post: Row House Gardening

My friend, Steve, has an awesome vegetable garden that he tends to every year and because he currently lives in a row home, I've become pretty interested in how he is so successful with it (I tried some of the veggies from last year & they were great!). He's taken the time to outline how he plants and tends to his garden throughout the warm months, and hopefully he will be back throughout the growing season to give us updates and tips!

------------------------------

Spring! Finally a chance to get outside and enjoy some warmer weather. That’s actually how I got started with my garden a few years ago. Being a transplant from Texas, where there are essentially nine months of summer followed by three months of not-summer, by mid-March I’m getting antsy to get outside and do SOMETHING. While March is generally too early to plant annuals and vegetables in Maryland, I can at least get the indoor part started and get to work on my planting areas outside (…errr, not that that’s actually happened yet).

Like many in Baltimore, my wife and I live in a pretty standard-sized row house with a small backyard. My planting area basically consists of an 8’x 4’ raised planter (which was super easy and very inexpensive to build even without any carpentry skills), a 7’x 11’ in-ground planter and about a dozen large plastic tubs which I use for everything from lettuce to carrots and radishes. The tubs are 10 to 20 gallon containers and if you know a landscaper, you can probably get them for free, as they’re commonly discarded after the trees or large shrubs which they contain are discarded. You might even ask at Lowe’s, Home Depot or a local nursery if they have any extra. Help keep some plastic out of a landfill and grow a plant in it instead!

Food Bloggers Against Hunger: Cheesy Avocado Grits

There are millions of Americans that can only afford $3-4 per day to eat, and 1 in 4 kids in America don't know where their next meal will come from. For those of us with sufficient food on the table (and sometimes too much), this can be startling. Because of these financial restrictions, the food that is eaten is usually not enough, or is nutritionally barren. In response to the hunger epidemic in America and the new documentary, A Place at the Table, The Giving Table began a movement called Food Bloggers Against Hunger.

In doing what I can as a food blogger, I am helping to bring visibility to this issue of hunger and malnutrition in America, as well as provide a recipe that only costs $3-4 per serving (in this case for two servings). I have decided to make one of my personal favorites, Cheesy Avocado Grits topped with an egg. This recipe makes two servings and is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Leftovers Club: Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Blondies

Sweet & salty is just one of the best flavor combinations and this dessert does it especially well. I made these Chocolate Chip & Potato Chip Blondies for The Leftovers Club. If you remember, The Leftovers Club is the brainchild of Jennifer over at Savory Simple. It's an awesome group in which food bloggers share their leftover treats with one another. (Last month I made delicious spiced biscotti.) This recipe will make one pan of blondies and was adapted from Bake Your Day.

Review: HelloFresh

I was really excited when City That Breeds asked me to test out & blog about HelloFresh, an awesome new meal delivery system, or as they call it, "a revolution in your kitchen."

Here's how it works:
You choose the type of meals you'd like to try.
They send the recipes & all of the fresh ingredients directly to your door (in a huge box!).
You follow the recipe.
You eat a delicious meal to your heart's desire.
(And then, in my case, you blog about it.)

I had a great time trying this product out and, for the most part, was very impressed! I was sent three meals: Vegetable Enchiladas, Broccoli & Tofu Stir Fry, and Wild Mushroom Polenta with Thai Basil. All were easy to make, tasted great, and didn't require any trips to the grocery store (seriously, they even include the spices -- all preportioned for you!).

HelloFresh is great for those of us who are super-busy (who isn't?), frequent travelers, new cooks, and anyone who'd like to try something new.

Head over to City That Breeds to check out my full post, review, and photos.

If you're interested in trying out HelloFresh for yourself, please click on this logo & enter my code: HB8NRR for $20 off of your first HelloFresh box!