Summertime And the "Living" Is Easy

I've been enjoying the July/August issue of Martha Stewart Living, which has been on newsstands for a couple weeks now. My preference is always for the fall/winter issues of the magazine but I've been gently training myself to linger a little longer on the pages of the summer issues. I've already decided to make the pasta salad recipe featured in the Everyday Food section of the magazine for a big family BBQ in August (I will likely double the recipe) and those gorgeous looking brownies on page 60 of the magazine (Fudgy Turtle Brownies - hello!) will be made for a summer potluck later this month.

What I'm enjoying about the summer issues is the simplicity of the recipes; there is an ease to them that I find appealing and yet the editors are still aiming for complex and layered flavours. Like summer itself, the food presented in the issue is down-to-earth, lending itself to alfresco dining with just that little touch of elegance that keeps it from being paper-plate fare.

Speaking of paper plates, the lean towards a greener life in the magazine is something I've really taken to. I'm enjoying the overt and subtle ways the magazine is steering the content towards a more eco-conscious track: more making, a little less buying; raising awareness through the "Change-Maker" column and always including a garden feature to make the reader stop and think about the earth and its bounty. This magazine is still my favourite.

This will be my last post for awhile. I'll see you when the September issue hits the stands. Happy Summer!