The perfect summer read, and meal, and hair product
Friends, do I have some excellent summertime recommendations for you! Let's get to it:
First: A few weeks ago I was in New Orleans, and it was far more hot and humid than this Bay Area resident is used to, but miraculously, my hair looked good the entire time, and for that I credit this amazing product: Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5 in 1 Hair Styling Treatment. I used it when I blew my hair dry the night before I left for New Orleans, and it kept my blowout in great shape for five straight days, and I don't think there's a higher compliment for a hair product than that. ALSO, this is a good time to note that you can wander into any Sephora and ask for samples of stuff you want to try; I got a sample of this product before I used it, and almost never buy hair or skincare products without sampling them first!
Second: Guys, The Way You Make Me Feel is the perfect book for reading in a hammock or on a beach towel with a delicious beverage near you and some good snacks nearby. I read it mostly on airplanes, and it kept me absorbed for a whole cross country flight, but I might have to reread it at the beach just to read it in its best possible place. It's about a Korean teenage girl who lives in LA with her dad, and how after yet another prank gone wrong, he makes her and her worst enemy work together with him on his food truck all summer. There's romance and friendship and family struggles and lots of descriptions of amazing food, and this book is so fun and has so much heart that it made me smile for days.
Third: Here is my nomination for at least one of the top five hot weather meals: ceviche. You don't have to use heat at ALL, it doesn't take that long to put together, and is cool and delicious and has infinite variety. Here's what I threw together last week, but feel free to tinker with this; you can use a different kind of seafood (shrimp or any white fish work great, just do a little google for recipes with them so you know generally how long it needs to be in the acid, if you're worried about that), you can add all sorts of fruit or vegetables, etc.).
Scallop, Mango, and Avocado ceviche
1/2 lb bay scallops
1/2 cup citrus juice (I used mostly grapefruit with a little lime juice, but you can use whatever you like the best or have on hand)
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half or quarters (depending on how big the tomatoes are)
1 red or yellow or orange bell pepper, minced
1 jalapeno, finely minced (use more or less, depending on your spice tolerance)
1/2 a mango, cut into cubes
1 avocado, cut into cubes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
kosher salt
Toss everything but the avocado and cilantro together in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, cover the bowl, and put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (make sure all of the scallops are covered by the juice). When you're ready to eat, take the bowl out of the fridge, toss the avocado and cilantro with everything else, and sprinkle with salt again. Eat with tortilla chips or on top of lettuce or just with a fork.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Jasmine
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