When it comes to dressing, I have always been a ranch kinda girl. Never blue cheese. Ever. Blue cheese is too strong.  And…chunky. Oy. I am so not a fan.

Ranch on the other hand is dressing perfection. Creamy, not chunky and loaded with dill. Which I think is my favorite part.

And even though I am such a huge fan of ranch, I am not a purest by any means. Peppercorn ranch is good. Jalapeno ranch is good too. Sriracha ranch, oh mama sign me up. That is why it is so surprising that I’ve never tried an avocado ranch before. The avocado adds just the right amount of, you guessed it, creaminess. And you also feel a little bit better about eating it because there isn’t a drop of mayonnaise in sight.

There is buttermilk though, which is why you will only feel a little bit better.

• A boy and is dog. I hear about how these are supposed to be such great relationships. With our dog it’s a little different. I think Pumpkin is just a little jealous because she was here first. And she is not a fan of the fact that Kellan is so mobile now. So instead of hanging out with us she hides most of the day. That is why when I noticed that they were sharing some cheese on the couch I just had to snap a picture. It is rare that she lets him get this close to her. I hope it happens more and more! Any tips for getting a dog accustomed to a toddler?
• Do you have any tips for making your own household cleaners? I’m thinking about doing one with vinegar for every day cleaning. My neighbor also mentioned that she makes her own laundry soap. It seems like a nice idea but I’m not sure if it’s for me. Have any of you ever tried making your own cleaners or laundry soaps?
• I harvested my garlic last week. It turned out really well. It is curing now and we should have enough to get us through the summer. I wish I could say the same for my red onions and radishes. They both looked promising until I pulled them out of the ground and found that they were very very small. Oh well. Better luck next year. I do have more room in the garden now though, what should I plant?
• Have you read any good books lately? I haven’t been able to really get into a book all Spring and I am looking for a good book to read. Do you have any recommendations?

That’s it for Monday Musings but be sure to check back later this week when I share a recipe for a fabulous dressing and scrumptious pizza!

I got an email a couple weeks back telling me that Whole Foods was going to have a one day organic blueberry sale. They were going to be selling pints for $1.99. A steal right? I knew I had to get in on it so I made sure I was there to snatch up a few pints for myself.  It’s like that shirt that you totally don’t need and probably won’t wear but must buy because it is on sale. So I bought them. And then I got them home and realized I had no idea what I was going to do with them.

I initially thought muffins but, let’s be honest, there isn’t a shortage of blueberry muffin recipes.

Then I thought about something chocolatey so I took to Facebook and Twitter to ask what people thought. While some said “yay” there was an overwhelming amount of  “nay”s so I decided against it.

I thought ice cream but I don’t have an ice cream maker. I should get one.

I’ve tried blueberry cookies before. Not really a fan.

What was left?

Cake.

Once I decided that I was going to bake a cake with the blueberries, adding lemon to the batter and frosting it with a cream cheese frosting just seemed right.

And it was. It worked together beautifully. In fact I am going to go ahead and say I loved this cake. And that is saying something because I am usually a chocolate cake kinda girl. So if you’re a fan of blueberries you’ll want to try this cake, and even if you’re not crazy about them I bet you’ll like it too.

This recipe is another that is the result of Sunday dinner. Although, I’ve actually never made it for Sunday dinner. You see, a couple of weeks ago our friends were over and we were snacking on Caramelized French Onion Dip while Ryan was grilling burgers. I was munching on a chip and looked over at my friends and said the following words:

“Caramelized French Onion Dip Burger.”

They immediately stopped chewing, looked at me and said “THAT would be good”

I tried it that night by just adding some to the burger that Ryan was making, and while it was good it was missing a little something so I had no choice but to make it again later on in the week. This time I added mushrooms that are sauteed in bacon and that did it friends.

That. Did. It.

And it is no coincidence that I am sharing this just a few days away from father’s day. Dads love burgers like moms love breakfast in bed. And if you make this burger for the man in your life, it is sure to make his father’s day spectacular.

• While I really enjoyed the food and all that I learned at the conference about ways to improve the blog, my favorite part was the people that I got to spend some time with. Some I had been friends with for a long time through twitter. Others I had met at previous conferences. And others I just met there and we became fast friends. And because they are such awesome people and pretty talented ladies, I wanted to make sure that I mentioned them here so you could check out their blogs too. Lisa from With Style and Grace and I shared a flight from Seattle and talked the whole way. Alice from Savory Sweet Life was my room buddy. I got to spend the most time with Kristy from Sweet Treats and More, Christy from The Girl Who Ate Everything, Carrian from Oh Sweet Basil, Monique from Ambitious Kitchen and let me tell you, these ladies were super fun. I even learned that Carrian and I grew up in the same town and she even went to the same high school as Ryan! Small world right?!
• In other conference news, everyone wanted to know where I got my super cute coral colored earrings. I have been meaning to share this and haven’t. They were made, by hand, by Jodi of Garlic Girl.  You want them, trust me and you can buy them here.
• In family news, the memorial service for my step-aunt was on Saturday while I was away. From what I hear it was a beautiful service. My step-aunt was so loved in her community.
• I also wanted to take the time to mention Simply Sweets by Jen in my hometown of Vancouver, WA. The customer service has been above and beyond. The day that my step-aunt died was to be the celebration of her parents 50th anniversary and my mom had ordered a cake from Jen to celebrate the occasion. The cake was not eaten so my family had asked Jen if she could re-purpose the cake for my step-aunt’s celebration of life service. But instead of that Jen offered to make an entirely new cake for my family. In addition to that, next year, on my step-grandparents 51st anniversary, she offered to make them another cake. It is not everyday that you come across a business like this and this kindness has been greatly appreciated by my family and I just wanted to say thank you.

I feel that I am just now getting my groove back in the kitchen since being pregnant even though it has been 19 months. For the longest time I felt like I just didn’t have nearly as many ideas as I had before. Or I would try them and they would be a total bust and something I’d never want to share.

Recently, though, I’ve been on fire. I don’t know if it is because I’m getting more sleep now that Kellan is finally sleeping through the night or what but I have quite a few recipes in my queue that are just waiting to be shared.

But this bread. Oh this bread. It has jumped to the front of the line and I just had to share it now.

Why?

Because I made this last week and I still keep thinking about it.

That is when you know a recipe is a good one. And that is why I couldn’t wait any longer to share it with you.  So without further ado: perfectly cheesy and spicy jalapeno popper cheese bread.

I just wanted to write this post to say the only thing I can really think of at this point: hold your family close. Share meals together. Hug. Play together. Sing. Dance. Laugh. Don’t go to bed angry. Love each other unconditionally and don’t take each other for granted because it really can all change in a split second.

And to Aunt Carol, while we didn’t get to spend too much time together or get to know each other very well in the years since our families joined, we will cherish the time we did spend with you, we will always love you and we will forever miss you.

I love my job.

I love my job because I get to test recipes like this.

I love my job because when I get to test recipes like this, I get to eat the end result.

The first go around with this recipe I used a small 8 x 8 pan so I didn’t use as many marshmallows or as many chocolate chunks. I’m not going to lie, I did enjoy eating those. However, I wasn’t 100 percent sold.  I wanted to add more marshmallows. I wanted more chocolate. And really I just wanted to eat more bars so I gave it another go but this time in a 9 x 13 pan and was very pleased with the results.

The second time around the cake layer, which I forgot to mention has graham crackers mixed in, is moist and delectable. Because I used chocolate chunks the chocolate layer is almost like a candy bar in the middle. And finally the marshmallow layer is a layer of gooey marshmallow goodness that gets a nice toasting from the broiler. These are pure heaven I tell you.

If want something a little more sinful serve them warm on top of vanilla ice cream.

You can thank me later.

Flanken style ribs might not be all that popular but I am not quite sure why. They are inexpensive. The fact that they are thin cut means that they cook up very quickly. They usually have some good marbling. And when they are marinated the result is a tender, very flavorful cut of meat.

My grocery store always stocks flanken rips so I have been experimenting with different recipes using them over the last couple of months. Perhaps because I was first introduced to flanken ribs kalbi style, I have always been inclined to do an Asian style marinade with them. This recipe is the latest I tried and is definitely a favorite in our house. I served them with some sesame noodles and edamame and Kellan and Ryan kept asking for more. Reluctantly, I shared.

Next time, I’ll make a double batch.

Ahh Memorial Day. The end of May. Soon school will be out. The sun will be shining. The temperatures will rise. It will be summer.

For most people.

Here in Seattle not so much. It was about 55 degrees today. In May. I put Kellan’s heavy coat on him. In May. I have to bring my tomatoes in at night. In May. But it’s alright, we’re used to it. And to be honest, I don’t really mind it. I just make dishes like this, turn on my “Brown Eyed Girl” Pandora radio station, crank up the heater, pop open a Corona and pretend it’s summer. It will be here soon enough.

Probably July 5th.