Just a Girl with a Kitchen

There are people in our lives who are "kindred spirits", according to Anne Shirley (of Green Gables).  These friends are just good for my heart, and I love how, no matter how much time passes between visits, we always just pick up where we left off.  This weekend, I have the pleasure of spending time with a kindred spirit, Norma, who has been one of my dearest friends for twenty years!  She is staying at my apartment while she's in Dallas for a conference, and I am thrilled to have her here.  So far, we've stayed up way too late talking, tried to catch up on the last seven months, and (of course) eaten lots of food.  My wonderful friend also happens to be a lover of yummy, healthy recipes, so we like to cook and talk about recipes when we're together.  It's HOT in Texas in June, so I decided we should have something cool and light for dinner.  I recently tried farro for the first time, and I've been itching to make something with it at home, so I started r

Tonight's dinner was inspired by my good friends Rebecca and Jeremy.  They are grilling gurus, so when I go to their house, we often dine al fresco on something delicious they've grilled up.  The last time I was there, Jeremy grilled bacon-wrapped shrimp, and I've been drooling over it ever since. Maybe it's the heat or maybe I'm just craving something different, but I have only been hungry lately for food cooked on a grill.  One of the (few) downsides of living in an apartment is that I can't have a proper grill.  Sure, I could trek all the way to the common area grills, but the heat, bugs, and my summer clothing style (best described as homeless chic) aren't something I want to deal with in public.  So, I've been trying to come up with a creative way to replicate bacon-wrapped goodness that doesn't require actual grilling skills or totally bust my calorie allotment.  I finally tried it out tonight with chicken, and it was amazing!  I love being a