Cookbook Giveaway

Dinner tonight was nothing fancy, so let's breeze through quickly and get to the good stuff!

I planted beets in our garden this year, and while they don't produce like crazy - nothing like the tomatoes and cukes - they are so worth the wait. They have a delicate, mild flavor and are only slightly earthy, and go really well in salads.

I wasn't starving this evening and didn't feel like a big meal, and since Matt was out coaching soccer and I was on my own for dinner, I was all aboard for a simple beet salad. 

I roasted a few beets in the oven for about a half hour while I finished up work, then chopped them into large chunks while they were still warm.

I finished them off with a drizzle of olive oil, a handful of garden pea pods, and some herbed goat cheese.

And now for the giveaway! I recently started writing for Jersey Bites, an online resource for NJ restaurants, foodie events and recipes. You can check out the team page here (including the bio of yours truly) and soon you'll be seeing some new recipes of mine over there. 

This week, Jersey Bites is giving away two copies of Melissa d'Arabian's brand new Ten Dollar Dinners cookbook, and you all have a chance to win! Melissa d'Arabian was a winner of The Next Food Network Star, which you all know I'm obsessed with, so it's pretty neat to see her taking off in the food world. 

Her new cookbook is filled with healthful, budget-friendly dinners, and would be a great addition to any kitchen. To enter for a chance to win, just check out Melissa's Black Bean Nacho Burgers recipe on Jersey Bites here, and leave a comment with your email address. You can earn extra entries by posting about the contest on Twitter and Facebook. You have until August 17th to enter. Good luck!

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Unless you're living under a rock you probably know that it's Shark Week, and being married to a biology teacher means we are learning about Great Whites all week long. Off to dig into my coveted pint of Ben & Jerry's banana Greek yogurt and plop myself in front of the Discovery channel. G'night!