Domestic Little Me

So, my 10k got cancelled. Womp womp.

And as nervous as I was about it, I'm actually really bummed that it's not happening. But there might be a 5k I can jump in that Saturday morning at a local Blueberry Festival so whatever. What's a girl to do?

Yesterday's dinner party-ish turned out great. My inner-feminist screams at me when I say this but, someone should seriously buy me a frilly apron because my domestic skills are on point. And by "on point", I mean I can successfully somewhat follow a recipe, mix wine and fruit together in a pitcher, and serve dinner on paper plates. But hey - still an improvement from my old self!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad - a nice, summery take on pasta salad.

(PS - don't drink a Big Gulp of coffee before snapping pictures or your shit will look shaky like this)

I got the recipe here.

And my new favorite thing to make in the kitchen - SANGRIA! It's super easy to make and let's face it: you look classy as shit when you serve it to your guests.

Here's the Healthy Little Me Quick Guide to sangria. You will need:

• Fruit - a lot of it and a lot of different kinds. You really can't go wrong here but I used lemons, orange, limes, blueberries, grapes, and strawberries. (Last time I threw in some peaches and kiwi - it's really whatever you have or want to use.)
• Wine - You probably need two or three bottles of it. I usually use Cabernet Sauvignon but you could do a white sangria and use white wine, too. My trick is this: use one bottle of nice wine and one bottle of cheap wine (no one will ever notice and you won't go broke making it). Oak Creek $3 and some $7 wine from Chile I found at Trader Joe's. The cool thing about sangria is that it's easy to remake on the spot when your running out but still have thirsty mouths. Add another bottle of wine to the pitcher with some sparking water and BOOM! more for everyone.
• Tonic water/Club Soda/Ginger Ale - but I actually use the sparking fruit flavored water because it has no calories and tastes better. I use the lemon/lime kind. Annnnd it's super cheap (I think I paid $0.60 for a liter).
• Some people tell you to add Brandy and if you want to be an overachiever, go right ahead. To me, this is an extra step that involves me having to visit the liquor store and you honestly don't notice its absence so I never use it.

And BAM! Put it in the fridge for a few hours and you're golden!

Nice wine, cheap wine, and sparkling water.

I totally forgot to snap some photos of the kabobs but they were equally delicious. I did half chicken/half steak with red onions, red bell pepper, zucchini, and squash.

So yeah, I'm high-fiving myself for putting that little dinner together. It's definitely leaps and bounds from my old dinner parties of hotdogs and PBR.

What are some delicious summer recipes that you like to use?