easy ways to spoil your friends
plus 3 recipes for a berry special summer dinner party!
Like you, I am beyond heartbroken over the tragedy in Texas. This community has donated close to $13,000 so far to World Central Kitchen, who is on the ground there to provide fresh meals to those who need them. If you’d like to donate to their efforts, you can do so through the link at the top of my IG profile (you have to be on the mobile app to access it), or directly through their site.
I think we can all agree that the abundance of produce is one of the best parts of summer. The season’s bounty is vast and delicious, from tomatoes and zucchini to cucumbers, corn, watermelon, and BERRIES. So many perfectly ripe and juicy berries.
Aside from the blackberry bush we discovered the other day at the new house, Driscoll’s has long been my go-to berry source. Their Berry Patch (AKA, their collection of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries) is available at nearly every grocery store and they’re always the best, sweetest, and juiciest — especially right now in peak summer. Their berries are hand-picked from small farms across the globe, including many in Pajaro Valley, California, which is less than an hour from my home! Berries are often associated with cobblers and crisps in the summertime, but I love using them in savory meals (remember this strawberry salsa?). My love of putting a savory spin on berries is actually what inspired the Berry Special Dinner Party menu that I’ve been rolling out this week on IG, and that I’m going to share with you in a downloadable and printable PDF here! You'll find the recipes plus a timeline for prepping it all below. It’s a truly perfect summer meal, and I can’t wait for you to cook it. Thank you to Driscoll’s for sponsoring today’s email and enabling the production of this summer dinner party menu!
I’m so excited to share this summer feast with you!!! It’s a perfect menu for a special occasion summer supper or a casual dinner party with friends. The pork chops and couscous are also great for any old weeknight. Here’s what we’re making:
It is a STUNNING and delicious meal, and so, so easy to pull off. To make it even easier, I’ve mapped out a plan of attack for cooking it seamlessly. Click here or download the PDF below to get all the recipes with notes and subs, plus the timeline.
PS, you'll see in today’s video on Instagram that I also added a simple spinach, strawberry, red onion, goat cheese, and pistachio salad with balsamic vinaigrette to this meal. Delicious if you want to add a salad, but the meal is plenty filling on its own!
Earlier this week in the chat, Lindsay said: “I would love to have a What To Cook recipe randomizer to help me choose what to make when I’m feeling stuck. I feel like there are so many amazing recipes in the archives that I still have yet to try!” Consider this weekly walk through the archives your recipe randomizer! Add one (or all) of these meals to your meal plan for the coming days — they will always be seasonal and delicious.
1. 20-minute summer sauté, 2024
This meal is exactly what it sounds like: a fast, flexible dinner built around whatever summer veggies you have on hand. A big handful of herbs, sprinkle of feta, and drizzle of balsamic at the end tie it all together. Serve it over rice, toss it with noodles, stuff it into pitas with a swipe of yogurt, or just eat it by itself. Great for clearing out the produce drawer!
2. esquites chicken salad, 2023
Inspired by Mexican street corn, this salad is smoky, crunchy, sweet, and creamy all at once. You’ll grill some chicken (or use a store-bought rotisserie to make it even easier), and toss it with romaine, sweet corn, and a creamy lime dressing. You can prep all the components ahead and assemble when you’re ready to eat — perfect for work lunches or an easy dinner party main.
3. sunshine pasta, 2022
Peak summer pasta! Here’s what makes this one special: the tomatoes marinate in olive oil, garlic, and salt outside in the sun (or just on your counter) for a couple hours, creating a no-fuss, flavor-packed sauce while you go live your life. Then you just boil pasta, toss it all together with some Parm and herbs, and call it dinner.
4. the dankest taco salad, 2021
This is SUCH a good and filling dinner salad. You can swap the romaine out for thinly sliced cabbage to make this a good all week salad. Or, if you’re not in the mood for a salad, use the turkey filling for tacos, nachos, or quesadillas that you either drizzle with or dunk into the spicy crema dressing.
Maybe it’s because my hormones are doing insane things right now (a weekish before I’m going to give birth to this baby), or maybe it’s because I had the best low-key dinner with some friends Monday night (we just ate a bunch of apps and dips by the pool instead of going to a restaurant, it was glorious!), but I am feeling an overwhelming amount of love and appreciation and gratitude for my friends right now.
July 2024 was the month before the book published, so I was doing a lot of press trips and work travel. George also travels a lot for work and honestly, looking back, this past year was completely insane — there was a six-month period where neither of us where home for more than eight days in a row. The ways that our community started to show up for us then, and have continued to show up for us once my book tour finally ended and I then immediately got pregnant with our surprise baby #4, have astounded both of us.
All of these small acts of giving and kindness are what help a relationship grow from an acquaintanceship into a friendship into a “village,” so I wanted to share some of the ways that people have shown up for me over the past year. Accepting help can be HARD, but I try to remember the “Benjamin Franklin effect” — the theory that when someone does a favor for you, they actually end up liking you more afterward. This happens because our brains justify helpful actions by convincing ourselves we must like the person we helped, creating psychological investment in the relationship. So asking friends for small favors and graciously accepting help actually strengthens your bond rather than making you a burden. A good thing to remember next time you don’t want to ask for or accept help, right?
I pay back all of the help that my community gives me with returned favors as often as I can, but often due to my travel/work schedule, I find myself paying it forward with gifts and “treating” moments — treating everyone to pizza when we do a beach pizza night because they’ve all picked my kids up 80 times, bringing a friend a little treat from their favorite bakery in NYC when I’m traveling for work, buying a friend’s lunch when we go out because they take Mattis to baseball every week, inviting their family over for an impromptu dinner on Friday night so they don’t have to worry about cooking a meal, etc.
Here are some ways my people have shown up for me and my family that I never want to forget and feel worth passing on:
So many countless rides to and from school and summer camp for our kids while either George or I are traveling for work. Kadee, Leslie, and Charlotte especially — I owe you gas money and my endless adoration.
One week in the midst of my book tour, George also suddenly had to be away for work. The big boys were so, so devastated. I was so, so anxious. I texted our friends Kate and Michael to ask if they could come over to play one day as a distraction while we were gone and instead, they planned an epic school night sleepover. The boys had the best night ever. My anxiety evaporated. It meant so, so much to me.
Inviting George and the boys over for dinner while I’m away, or me and the boys over while George is away, is just such a kindness. It makes me feel so cared for!
So many texts like the one above when friends know that one of us is traveling and the other is home alone with the kids.
My neighbors Tucker and Victoria dropped off a ziplock of frozen crab cakes (Tucker’s a chef!) for George while I was on tour with a note that said, “save these for when you’ve had a really long day and you need to eat something really delicious.”
It’s about a four-minute walk from the parking lot to the Kindergarten classrooms, and when I have all three kids, it’s a bit of a shit show some mornings. Fellow kinder parents would see me getting all three kids out of the car and be like “Mattis can walk with us!!” — it was always the hugest relief. I tried to reciprocate and offer this as much as possible when I’d run into a kinder parent in the parking lot when I did not have all three kids to store up my “walk in” karma bank, haha.
And here are some really nice things people have done for me specifically since I got pregnant:
My girlfriends are constantly taking pictures of me pregnant, because they know how nice it is to be able to look back at these. Love George to bits but he would never think to be like, "The lighting is so cute behind you right now! Put your hands on your hips and look at the baby!"
I posted on my Instagram that I was craving lemon bars but too tired to make them for myself. My friend Jenna (pictured above) showed up with them for me the next day. I cried.
Whenever I leave a hangout with kids by myself, I have a few friends who, without fail, always help me get my kids and my stuff to the car. They carry Cashel (age 2), they carry my stuff, they help get all the kids buckled in. Buckling a two-year-old into a carseat at the end of a long day at a million weeks pregnant is honestly extremely hard, and this always makes me feel like I could weep with appreciation.
Changing Cashel’s diapers without even asking (because I would say no). A few months ago my friends Jen and Jess whisked him away to change his diaper and it was the most epic blowout ever, poop got all over the bed, they earned triple friendship points that night.
I have a few friends who always drive past my house on the way to the good coffee shop in Carmel Valley. They’ll text me, “what can I bring you from the Creamery?!” and gah, it makes my whole day!
I’ve mentioned that my friends and I do a lot of potluck-style dinner hangs, and for the past few months my plate is always made and brought to me. Could I do this myself? Yes. Does it feel really good that my friends are thinking of how they can help lighten my load and help me Couch Monster during a party? Major yes.
I already talked about the surprise baby shower! I’ll never forget it.
I have majorly cut down on my Amazon spending, but there’s no denying that there are some great deals to be had this week. Here are some of the things I use, love, and always re-link when they go on sale.
Ultima electrolytes // 20% off ($35.99). I drink these daily — before workouts, during travel, or when I’m feeling meh!
My beloved back heater // 33% off ($39.99). This has SAVED me during this pregnancy. I learned about it from my friend Bobby who has bad back pain. I turn it on every single night before I go to bed. Weird bonus: When I have a kid who’s having a hard time falling asleep, I let them cuddle up in it and they pass out immediately?
Laneige lip sleep mask // 20% off ($19.20). I keep this cult-fave lip mask by my bed, in my purse, and in my car. I have other lip masks that I also love, but this one is by far the best price.
A very good instant-read meat thermometer // 40% off ($12.59). This thing is super fast, super accurate, and such a good price right now. A key accessory for Grill Girl Summer!
Kindle paperwhite // 22% off ($124.99). If you love reading in bed, on the beach, or in total darkness while you’re waiting for your toddler to fall asleep, this is your device!!
Dyson V8 // 36% off ($299.99). I actually cannot live without my Dyson stick. We use it, truly, 20 times a day. It has majorly cut down on my mom anxiety — when the kids make massive messes I’m like, meh, whatever, because I know how quick and easy it’ll be to clean up!
Weber Spirit 3-burner grill // 23% off ($499.00). I love this grill! Easy to use, easy to clean, and built to last.
My fave shampoo // 20% off ($31.20). Smells like a spa, super clean ingredients, and actually hydrates my hair. The conditioner is also on sale too!
Easeland mattress cover // 33% off ($39.92). My secret weapon for making any bed feel hotel-plush! So many people who have bought this have DMed me to tell me how obsessed they are.
For more Prime Day picks in the baby gear / kitchen equipment / home / big kid toy genres, see my full list here.
I know this community will have a million more amazing ideas for ways you can support and show love to your friends, so please share them! We’ll randomly select one winner from the comments next Tuesday, and that winner will get to choose a friend to send an annual paid subscription to What To Cook When You Don’t Cooking to!
Also, congratulations to Lexi, the winner of last week’s summer product haul giveaway! We typically use a random number generator to pick the winners for our So Into That giveaways, but we went with the top comment instead to help celebrate Lexi’s clean bill of health 🤍 I loved seeing all of you show Lexi love by liking and replying to her comment.
In 2019, my husband had to have emergency brain surgery. One of the moms in my daughter’s daycare class made her lunch, complete with snacks, every day for the entire week he was in the hospital. We weren’t even great friends, but it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I think about it all the time.
And now I’m crying again. Thank you for being so generous. I’m excited to have won the giveaway! I, too, have been the recipient of SO MUCH kindness in the last year that it’ll make me cry just thinking about it.