Ricotta dip for Plums!

This is a really yummy summer snack. Today we had it as a side to BLT's for lunch! It is this:

Ricotta cheese

Fresh mint
Sugar

Add some chopped mint leaves, and a little bit of sugar (both to your taste) to the ricotta cheese. Mix it up and dip some sliced plums. Refreshing!

Maggiano's Little Italy

This restaurant is a chain that you can find pretty well anywhere in the U.S. We went the other night to the downtown Bellevue Maggiano's, and I just wanted to share that it was worth it!! If you live close to one, go for a date night. We just got an appetizer - bruschetta, excellent - and dessert. I got the Chocolate Zuccoto Cake. Hello...it was amazing. The word I'd use is 'succulent'. The most succulent food I've ever tasted! Go!

A salad trick

I have always had a love/hate relationship with salad. I love the way it makes me feel, but I am gagging it down the whole time I'm eating it. Enter Tamari Sauce and Toasted Sesame Oil. I learned this at my mom's when we were visiting last fall. Just put a little bit of each on your salad and it tastes amazing!!! It's a kind of cooked flavor, rather than a raw one and I think that's why I like it so much. Try it!