Happy Tuesday! We are finally home and just now getting back into the swing of things after being gone all last week. It’s so hard coming out of vacation mode! I’ve been doing minimal cooking, and am pretty sure our suitcases might not get unpacked for a few more days. With this heat, I’m not super excited about turning on the oven either, which is why I’m sharing this delicious, no-bake appetizer option. When I was making this dish the other day, I remembered I had a jar of apricot jam in the pantry (leftover from these apricot almond crumb bars). I’m on a huge apricot kick right now, so it was the obvious choice. The sweetness of the jam was the perfect compliment to the tang of the cream cheese in this spread. This did not last long. In fact, everyone filled up on so much of this that they could hardly eat dinner. This has become one of my staple appetizer options since it’s super easy to put together, and is a real crowd pleaser. You could change it up with whatever jam sounds good to you, or even do a spicy chutney if that’s more your speed. Also, if you don’t have a cheesecloth, you could use a few sheets of paper towel instead. It won’t be as pretty (as you can tell from the unevenness in the picture), but works in a pinch.
Savory Apricot Coeur a la Creme
Apricot Almond Crumb Bars
I’m in a bit of denial about the fact that we are already halfway through June. The weather here has been topsy turvy, and until very recently, it’s felt more like fall than summer. As a Floridian living in the North, I crave hot summer months. While everyone else is complaining about the heat, I am happily soaking it all up. My running friends want to push our runs earlier and my mommy friends want to move our playdates inside to avoid the heat. I, however, love to get out there and get my share of the hot weather because I know it will gone all to quickly. Unfortunately, my kids seem to have inherited my husband’s Canadian blood because they become totally flushed and uncomfortable the minute the temp goes above 70. There go my visions of summer picnics!