Strawberry Lemonade Bars

I haven't exactly been whooping it up this summer. I think it has a little something to do with the fact that I'm really pregnant and we've had several heat waves so far. But at least I can cook/eat like it's summer — and these treats are like summertime in a bar!

I do a lot of pursuing on Pinterest these days, and I came across this recipe there. Brad and I both really enjoyed it — it's light, refreshing, and so full of flavor. They're a snap to make, too, as long as you have a few lemons on hand. (And I highly recommend that you use fresh-squeezed lemon juice rather than store-bought. It'll make a huge difference in taste!)

Rhubarb Strawberry Sauce for Mom(s)

For some reason, pregnancy and blogging hasn't mixed for me. It may be because my baby bump precludes me from using my laptop comfortably on my lap. Or possibly because we've been trying to get so much done every weekend — we're definitely in the nesting stage!

We've painted the baby's room and our living room/kitchen, shopped for new baby furniture, registered, and I've been trying to make food to freeze so I'm not cooking dinner so much during the week. And at the end of any of these projects, all I've wanted to do is sit down with my feet up and veg.

I did, however, manage to make a few homemade gifts for Mother's Day.

Baked Berry Oatmeal

Breakfast is important! We all know that. You know what else is important? Not feeling like you're eating the same boring thing for breakfast all the time. And how about not feeling like you're having a carb fest to the tune of pancakes, bagels, waffles, or toast. That's important too.

You want protein? Check! Fruit? Check! Dairy? Check! A little fat (everyone needs a little fat!)? Check! And grains? Check, friends! It's a well-rounded breakfast delight that shouldn't send you into a carb coma an hour later.

I am in love with this recipe for baked berry oatmeal — something I found on Pinterest, my other new love. It's easy to throw together, and likely with items you already have in the pantry/freezer (assuming you have a bag of frozen berries lying around). I made mine with cranberries I had lingering in the freezer from the holiday season, but the original recipe called for raspberries. I think this is the kind of thing you can experiment with — I suspect any frozen berry will do!

Enjoy this item warm on the weekends or serve at a brunch. Or eat it leftover, as I did this morning at work, and enjoy it at room temp.

Brown Butter Cranberry Lime Muffins

Cranberries are a major commercial crop of New Jersey, which means that I can buy them fresh by the pound at the market — you may not find this to be exciting, but I really do.

Around this time of year I try to find at least 14 (give or take a few) ways use cranberries, and here's a distinctly fabulous (and interesting) muffin recipe that I adapted from Joy the Baker's lovely site.

This muffin isn't overly sweet thanks to the tartness of the cranberries — a tartness I very much appreciate. Then you have the browned butter, which creates a different flavor than you may be used to in an average muffin. And finally the scent of lime emanating from the container these were stored in — heavenly! I added some turbinado (raw, natural) sugar to the top for a sweet crunch.

Blueberry Cruffins

What's a cruffin? A word that Brad created for this recipe, which is for blueberry "crumb muffins." It works. This treat started with an Ina Garten recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake, which I decided to make into individual servings — hence the cruffin. It's a lovely recipe for this time of year when berry season is inching closer (although you can use frozen blueberries as well).