Oh, Zucchini.

I'm sorry to have been such a delinquent hostess around these parts... I was on a lovely vacation, which has been followed by what can only be described as a data analysis frenzy. As a result of said frenzy, by the time I finish for the day the last thing I want to do is look at my laptop, I'd rather do more important things like pander to Charlotte's whims and watch the first season of Game of Thrones. You know, the important stuff.

At any rate, boy do I have a lot of backlogged recipes for you! To get through them, I might get a bit thematic... so today's post is brought to you by our old summertime friend, zucchini.

Zucchini #1
First, I'm going to tell you how to make the best grilled zucchini ever. You might be thinking "meh, I know how to grill zucchini" and planning to skim right past. But, do you really want to be making sub-par grilled zucchini for the rest of your life? Do you? I didn't think so. Fortunately, it's super easy, and only has 1 secret ingredient.

Here's what you do... take your zucchini and slice into appropriate sized pieces- small enough to cook through, big enough not to fall through the grill slats. Coat with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and... tumeric! It's the tumeric that does it. Much like when I used it in eggs, it doesn't give an aggressive flavor, but rather just adds another subtle level of taste that really really makes it delicious. Try it!

Zucchini #2
This recipe was borne of a need to put something together fast out of the things in my kitchen, but was actually delicious. It was inspired by this Egyptian style spicy couscous recipe, but here is my version.

The Stuff:
1c couscous
2c water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1/3-1/2c carrots, grated
1/2 tsp corriander
3/4 tsp cumin
pinch cayenne
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8c water
1 can drained and rinsed garbanzo beans

What to do with it:
Prepare couscous as usual (either according to package directions, or just boil the water, pour in the couscous, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit).

Heat oil, sautee onions, zucchini, and carrots until soft; add garlic, cayenne, cumin and corriander. Stir in beans, and add the extra water so the mixture is moist. Mix in with couscous, and there you go!

This was so simple, really flavorful, came together quick and reheated really well for lunch- what else can you ask for? Plus it's vegan, if you're into that kind of thing. Well worth a try!

Summer Decorating Experiment (Part I): Mason Jar Pendant Lights

Ok, so people all over the interwebs are making these mason jar lights, and they're so cute I finally couldn't stand it any more (who are these people, you ask? some of them are here, and here and here...)

I wanted a weekend project, but I'm kind of swamped these days, so basically was going for pretty much instant gratification- I wouldn't call the results here instant, but it was close. I followed the instructions over at secretpocketblog, and I suggest you do the same. If you can find vintage, or colored, jars, that would be really cute, but I just used regular mouth quart canning jars by Kerr, which I got at Smart and Final. I then went and got cord components from Ikea ("Hemma". unfortunately, they force you to buy a lightbulb you don't need with it, but oh well). The lightbulbs I used here were display bulbs (found easily at the drugstore)- 40W clear Showcase/tubular bulbs.

The basic idea is simple- you trace the outline of the circle where the lightbulb screws in onto the flat part of the jar lid. Then, you use a hammer and a flathead screwdriver (on top of a board, or something you don't mind the screwdriver punching into) to punch out the circle. Stick the fixture through, screw on the bulb, screw on the jar, and you're set!

I felt like the light was a little industrial for my living room (although it would be great over a desk or workspace), so I used some fabric I had sitting around and wrapped it around the jars and glued it with a glue gun.

The light these put out is so nice and warm (without actually seeming like colored lights, which might be a little much) and the curves of the glass make light patterns on the ceiling. I love them! (note- it is REALLY hard to take a good picture of a lit lamp, turns out, but these at least get the general idea across).