cucumber watermelon spritzer

With warm weather comes patio season, and with patio season comes cocktails. Because, honestly, is there anything better than a summer night spent sipping cocktails whilst a light breeze tosses your hair? (Answer: Nope!)

Grandma's homemade apple pie

Last weekend, I spent my Saturday learning how to make my favorite thing in the world: my grandma's homemade apple pie. Let me just start out by saying, my grandma makes THE BEST apple pie in the entire world. At 84 years old, she's had a lot of time to perfect the recipe. But the funny part? She doesn't actually have a recipe. Which is what I learned when I asked her to teach me how to make it.

Quinoa with shrimp and veggies

Last night Adam came over for a quiet date night at my apartment, and since we've both been trying to be healthier I decided to make quinoa for dinner. I haven't used quinoa for a year, and I'd forgotten how easy it is to make. I used a recipe that I sort of made up last year when I wanted quinoa and didn't want to go to the store, so I threw together a bunch of ingredients I already had in my kitchen.

In the kitchen: Roasted garlic alfredo tortellini

So now that I'm transitioning into the Wonderful World of Grown-Ups, I decided to try this thing called Learning How to Cook.

Okay, so I have a basic understanding of cooking, and I can bake chicken and salmon to a temperature that doesn't kill or infect. But eating barbecue chicken breast and mashed potatoes every night can get pretty old. Hence, I'm finally diving into my food boards on Pinterest.

That's where I came across this yummy tortellini recipe. It's actually pretty simple to make, and I only had to use my training wheels (aka my mom) a few times throughout the process.

The flavor was so rich I didn't even eat a full serving of it. I would definitely use less or no butter if I ever make it again — and I probably will because it was boyfriend- and mom-approved. Success!