Kara's Birthday

So, my husband Dane and I have this friend named Jack. When Jack told us that he had finally started dating this great girl, we were excited. When Jack told us that this girl had just so happened to have moved to Russia, we were skeptical of her existence. (Think, “Darn, I wish you could meet her, but she’s in Russia. Take my word for it; she’s real.”)

Then she finally moved back from Russia, and we discovered, not only is she real, but also, she is awesome.

Go Sporting!

Thanks to Kara, I’ve had some new adventures in gardening.

 

Wait, when was the last time I watered my plants . . .

Kara is a much more impressive gardener than me, and you can see her blog here.

Dane and I missed Kara’s birthday party while we were on vacation, so we had a belated celebration. Who doesn't love a good party?

It was unanimous between the four of us: we should grill. We have to grill. We stuck to good ol’ fashioned burgers--both meat and veggie--but I wanted to try something a little crazy for our side: roasted beet and pear salad.

This recipe comes from Anne Burrell, whom I love, mostly because she talks to her food. The salad is essentially shredded pears and roasted beets tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette over greens—specifically arugula. However, I do not love arugula, so instead I used a spring mix. I also went without the marcona almonds that the recipe calls for because my grocery store isn’t posh enough to carry those. And because money.

I like big beets, and I cannot lie.

Roasting up the beets was easy peasy. The shredding was a little tedious, but I actually enjoyed the mess (which is weird for me).

Tip : Rub baking soda on your hands to get rid of the pink beet stain if you don't like the whole ax murderer look.

The salad was tangy and sweet and definitely not boring. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product (sorrynotsorry, we were having a party!), but food network didn’t forget, so you can go check out the source. 

Last, but certainly not least, Kara made dessert—lemon lavender cookies. I love it when Kara bakes cookies, because she adds in fresh herbs from her garden. Here is the base recipe for those--have fun with it! Add your own lavender or other herbs and flavors and go with or without frosting or glaze.

Enjoy! 

-Madison