• This week we've been enjoying all things salad - including the difference between greens, two types of Caesar salads, a warm goat cheese salad, and how to make perfect salads.
• This week also found us planning Molly's pup Oliver a super-fun puppy paw-ty. Check out our ideas and throw your own pooch a festive party!
• If you've got time to lounge around and read, be sure to look through our summer reading selection. We'll be posting a new book every day in August.
• Don't miss out on these August Must Haves.
• Even though we've been celebrating all summer, Thursday was actually National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.
• Speaking of national days, Friday was National Watermelon Day.
• In reality tv news: I'm surprised by who got kicked off of Top Chef and I'm surprised by Gordon Ramsay's soft side.
• Twenty-six people love ice cream and want to tell you all about it. These twenty-six folks sure know how to work their way into my heart.
• I went to the garlic festival and ate pickled garlic, chocolate garlic, garlic fries, garlic ice cream, garlic chicken, garlic corn, well... you get the idea.
• Although the filling in this deep dish lemon tart was absolutely smashing, I can't help but wonder what would happen if I could somehow smash it together with Twinkle's Swedish Strawberry Cake.
• And finally, in one of the strangest things I saw all week: Christopher Walken teaches you how to cook a chicken.
  

Croutons are high up on my list of favorite salad toppings. There is something about crunchy bread moistened by a tangy vinaigrette that I'm crazy about. Naturally, I'm a huge fan of bread salads or panzanella as they are known in Italy. A classic summer side, this salad with its fresh tomatoes, herbs, and crisped green beans, pairs nicely with grilled poultry and fish. It would also complement a plate of lemony, seafood pasta or a platter of deli meats and gourmet cheeses. If you don't have champagne vinegar, use white wine vinegar instead. Make this scrumptious salad this weekend, get the recipe, read more

A few years ago, while facing her 30th birthday, Julie Powell decided that even though she had no culinary background, she was going to master Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. So she built herself a blog and gave herself a year to complete every single recipe inside. There were ups and downs, but over the course of 365 days not only does she learns how to make a clafouti, but she learns a lot about herself. While reading the compelling memoir, entitled Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment, you'll have the opportunity to step inside one gal's attempt to change her life.

Personally, I found the journey to be wonderfully heartwarming and a pleasure to read. Powell's prose is witty, provocative and had my stomach growling, my heart aching and my mind enthralled. I'll have to warn you though, if you're looking for a book about French cooking, you're going to have to keep searching. While it is definitely sprinkled with food, the memoir is really a vehicle for what the author was going through during that period in her life. You may not find the secret to unlock your inner Julia Child, but you will find a really entertaining read.