This past weekend might have marked the unofficial end of summer, but Summer Fest is still in full swing over here.  This week we’re celebrating garlic and it’s perfect timing for me because my friend Ruby recently sent me home with a big bag of garlic from her mom’s garden.

I wasn’t sure what to do with all the garlic and I toyed with the idea of roasting a huge batch and perhaps freezing it in small portions to use throughout the fall and winter.  But then I remembered the pickled garlic that my grandmother used to buy and serve alongside other appetizers during the holidays.  It was really good and I wondered if I could make something similar myself.

I found a couple recipes for pickled garlic in my books about pickling and preserving, and it seemed simple enough.  The recipes called for either straight vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and wine.  I didn’t have any wine in the house, so I decided on a white wine vinegar to use as my liquid.  I didn’t use any pickling spices, opting instead for some dried red chiles – I wanted spicy pickled garlic!

While searching for information about preserving garlic, I found a link to a UC Davis food safety publication called Garlic: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy. It’s a great resource and it reassured me that I could safely store garlic cloves in wine or vinegar in the refrigerator for a few months.

I ended up peeling about five heads of garlic to fill my three half-pint jars with cloves.  It took a while!

My books said to blanch the cloves in boiling water for 30 seconds to help loosen the skins for peeling.  I did that, but I’m not sure that it was any faster than if I had just peeled them dry.

I sterilized the jars in the dishwasher then filled them with cloves and put one dried red chile in each jar.  I boiled the vinegar with salt and sugar then poured the hot liquid over the garlic and puts the lids on.

That was it!  I waited for them to cool and then put them in the refrigerator to hang out for the next month or so.  I’ll let you know in a month how they taste!  Here’s the recipe I used in case you want to give it a try yourself in the meantime.

Spicy Pickled Garlic

Approximately 1 1/2 cups peeled garlic cloves (4 – 5 heads of garlic)
3 dried chilies
2 cups white wine vinegar
2 scant teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

special equipment:  3 sterilized half-pint jars with lids

Fill jars with garlic cloves and add one dried chili to each jar.  In a small saucepan, combine vinegars, sugar, and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.  Fill jars with hot liquid and screw lids onto the jars.  Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate.  Garlic should be ready to eat in about 3-4 weeks and will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 months.

Other Summer Fest Attendees Celebrating Garlic:

• Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple: Garlic Knots
• Sara at Food2: Easiest Recipes Ever, Starring Garlic
• Michelle at Cooking Channel: Roasted Garlic
• Liz at Healthy Eats: 5 Reasons to Eat More Garlic
• Kirsten at FN Dish: Garlic Chicken Greats
• Margaret at A Way to Garden: Growing and Storing a Year of Garlic
• Caroline at the Wright Recipes: Ajo Blanco Soup, and Confit Garlic
• The Gilded Fork: Garlic Dossier and Recipes
• Food Network UK: Glorious Garlic
• Alana at Eating from the Group Up: Pickled Garlic
• Cate at Sweetnicks: Double Dose of Garlic—Cuban Black Beans and The Best Pork Ever
• Caron at San Diego Foodstuff: Italian Marinated Eggplant and Sorrel and Garlic Sauce
• Paige at The Sister Project: Spaghetti with Garlic and Zucchini

How You Can Join in Summer/Fall Fest 2010

Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? You can contribute to our online recipe swap in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer/Fall Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Matt Bites), or the new pumpkin version he just did if it’s for September 22 onward.

Summer/Fall Fest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit – I missed this one!
8/25: Tomatoes

9/1: Sweet and Spicy Peppers
9/8: Garlic
9/15: White (or colorful “white”…but not sweet) Potatoes
9/22: Spinach
9/29: Apples

10/6: Fall Salads
10/13: Pumpkin + Winter Squash
10/20: Pears
10/27: “Mad Stash” (as in what you’re shoving in freezer/jars/dehydrator, etc.)

11/3: Root veggies
11/10: Brassicas: incl. Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage or other
11/17: Sweet Potatoes
11/24: Bounty to Be Grateful For

Happy Food Blog Friday!  This is my absolute favorite zucchini bread recipe and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with you today.  Heidi from 101 Cookbooks calls this her Special Zucchini Bread and with extras like lemon zest and poppy seeds, it truly is special. 

101 Cookbooks is an amazing food blog that I’ve been reading for years and I’d bet that most of you have been doing the same.  If you’re at all interested in cooking with natural, whole ingredients and/or expanding your vegetarian cooking repertoire, 101 Cookbooks is a must-read.  The recipes are exciting and well-written and the photography is fantastic.  If you somehow haven’t yet visited, go there now. You won’t be sorry.  In addition to the blog, I’d also like to recommend Heidi’s wonderful cookbook Super Natural Cooking.  It’s a great book.

I’ve made this zucchini bread a couple of times now, once with whole wheat flour and once with all-purpose flour.  Both versions were fantastic.  I leave out the optional crystallized ginger and curry powder, not because I don’t think it sounds good, but because I was out of both ingredients the first time I gave this a try.  I fell so madly in love with the first loaf, I didn’t want to change the flavors the second time around.

Give this lemon poppy seed version a try and you’ll never bake plain zucchini bread again!

Heidi’s Special Zucchini Bread at 101 Cookbooks
Become a fan of 101 Cookbooks on Facebook
Follow 101 Cookbooks on Twitter
Buy Super Natural Cooking

Previous Food Blog Fridays:

• Fattoush from Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak from Blue Kitchen
• Lemon Buttermilk Popsicles from Whipped
• Apricot Almond Tart from Tartelette
• Blueberry Orange Cornmeal Pancakes from Satisfied
• Luscious Lemon Bars from Alpineberry

Don’t forget the deviled eggs this weekend!  Friends and family love these Deviled Eggs so much that the whole plate disappears quickly no matter how many I make.  I’ve learned that I need to hide a couple in the refrigerator if I want to eat any myself.  For an added kick, try sprinkling smoked paprika on top.

Best Basic Deviled Eggs Recipe

This was a simple but lovely treat on an extremely hot summer afternoon.  I had been snacking away on my first figs of the season when I remembered the bag of frozen bananas in the freezer.  Combined with whole milk, fresh figs, and a touch of local honey, I had a feeling that one of those bananas would turn into a unique and delicious shake.  I was right.

Fresh Fig and Banana Milkshake

6 ounces whole milk
1 frozen banana, cut into chunks
4 fresh mission figs, quartered (remove stem first)
1-2 teaspoons honey (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.  Serves two.

Related Recipes:

• Fresh Strawberry Milk
• Healthy Banana Milkshake

Around the Web:

• Fresh Fig and Rose Smoothie from Chocolate and Zucchini
• Fresh Fig Sorbet from Ms. Adventures in Italy
• Fresh Fig Cake from Food Blogga
• Fresh Fig Tart from Macheesmo

A couple of my peaches ripened overnight and I decided to try making some peach salsa to go with my lunch.  As I dug through my fridge for salsa ingredients, I realized that I was out of both jalapeño and serrano chiles, one of which I had been hoping to use in the salsa.  Since I didn’t feel like running to the store before lunch, I dug a little further in the fridge and found a container of Peppadews I had purchased last week.

Peppadews are small, round, sweet, and tangy pickled peppers from South Africa.  Locally, I’ve seen them at Whole Foods and Fresh & Easy, but they seem to be popping up at other mainstream grocery stores, as well.  Although they can be a bit pricey, they are definitely worth seeking out as the flavor is fantastic.  My favorite way to eat them is stuffed with goat cheese.  If you need a quick and easy appetizer that will really wow your guests, goat cheese-stuffed Peppadews are definitely the way to go.

I decided the Peppadews might work in the peach salsa, so I chopped up a handful of them and tossed them in a bowl with the peaches.  Some red onion, cilantro, and lime juice rounded out the mixture, but the salsa was definitely lacking heat.  A generous pinch of crushed red pepper did the trick.  The salsa is fantastic!  This is the type of recipe that really should be tinkered with until it becomes your own.  The ingredient amounts listed are what I used today, but please just think of it as a guideline.

If you’re interested in learning more about Peppadews, head over to Phoo-D and read more.

Peach and Peppadew Salsa

2 large Peaches, peeled and chopped
6 peppadews, diced
1/4 Red Onion, diced
juice of one lime (start with 1/2 then add more if desired)
pinch of crushed red pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves, or to taste
salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Taste, and adjust ingredients as desired.

Related Recipes:

• Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
• Peach Cobbler
• Grilled Peaches with Blue Cheese and Honey
• Nectarine Muffins

Around the Web:

• Grilled Peach Salsa from Guilty Kitchen
• Habanero Peach Salsa from Homesick Texan
• Sour Cherry and Peach Salsa from Eat Make Read
• Smoky Peach Salsa from Phoo-D

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending The Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee, a great event celebrating 60 varieties of peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, and pluots from about a dozen local certified organic farms.

After enjoying some music and eating delicious pulled-pork sandwiches topped with grilled peaches, we wandered from table to table chatting with farmers and sampling more varieties of stone fruits than I ever knew existed!

Needless to say, I walked away from the jubilee with bulging bags of peaches, nectarines, and apricots.  The peaches won’t be fully ripened for another day or two, but the nectarines were perfect Sunday morning.  I couldn’t resist eating slice after slice of the delicious fruit while cutting it up for the muffins.

I had never made nectarine muffins before, but I knew I wanted a recipe that included buttermilk.  I turned to my favorite buttermilk muffin recipe in the book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone as a starting point and was happy to see instructions for adapting the basic recipe to make fresh fruit muffins.  Although nectarines weren’t on the list of recommended fruits, I knew they would work well here.  I also decided to add a bit of ground cinnamon and ginger as I really enjoy those flavors with peaches and nectarines.

The muffins were amazing – sweet, tart, and tender.  They reminded me of a nectarine cobbler, which says a lot since cobbler is one of my favorite desserts.  I was really happy to be able to share them with both my dad and my grandpa on Father’s Day.  It’s nice to be home.

Nectarine Muffins
Adapted from Basic Buttermilk Muffin recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup diced fresh nectarine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until well combined.  In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a large spoon until just combined (make sure to scrape all the flour up off the bottom of the bowl).  Gently fold in the diced apricots.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups (a mechanical ice cream scoop works great for this) – they will be almost completely full.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Related Recipes:

• Peach Cobbler
• Peach and Banana Bran Muffins
• Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins
• Cherry Banana Muffins with White Chocolate Chips
• Whole Grain Sour Cream Apple Muffins

Around the Web:

• Stir-Fried Beef and Nectarines from Steamy Kitchen
• Nectarine Turnovers from Baking Bites
• Nectarine Golden Cake from Sassy Radish
• Rustic Peach and Nectarine Crostata from Herbivoracious
• Tomato-Nectarine Chutney from The Perfect Pantry

I love buttermilk.  I love lemons.  I love really tart, creamy, sweet things.  I also recently received this popsicle maker in the mail and had been trying to decide what to freeze first.  So when I ran across a recipe for these Easy, Creamy, Lemon Dream Popsicles at Whipped, I knew they would be the first ice pops to come out of my freezer.

Whipped is a food blog written by Caroline in Chicago and I’ve been a fan for a few years now.  She has lots of great recipes featuring buttermilk and even created a page listing them all. That’s my kind of food blog.  You might also want to check out her Greek Favorites page – lots of temptation there!

But let me tell you more about these popsicles.  They are a cinch to make and super delicious!  You should probably be a fan of lemon if you are going to make these because they pack some serious lemon punch.  The recipe includes lemon juice and lots of lemon zest so a microplane grater will come in handy.

If you think you aren’t a fan of buttermilk, please don’t run from this recipe.  The buttermilk adds a creaminess and tang that complements the lemon perfectly!  Trust me.

If lemon just isn’t your thing or I haven’t convinced you that buttermilk popsicles are the greatest thing ever, you should still go check out Whipped.  Perhaps some classic White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies or a Rhubarb Maple Crisp will tempt you.  I know I’ll be trying the cool, crisp Napa Cabbage Slaw soon – it will be perfect on a hot summer evening.

Easy, Creamy, Lemon Dream Popsicles from Whipped

Previous Food Blog Friday Posts:

• Apricot Almond Tart from Tartelette
• Blueberry Orange Cornmeal Pancakes from Satisfied
• Luscious Lemon Bars from Alpineberry

I am a big fan of green salads topped with fruit and nuts, especially when the nuts are glazed or spiced!  I also love snacking on nuts – salted, spiced, glazed, smoke-flavored – I love them all.  I’m not sure why I’ve never tried making something like this before, but these glazed walnuts were so simple I’m kicking myself for not trying it sooner.

When I first saw Ellie Krieger’s recipe for Maple Glazed Walnuts, I was a little skeptical that they would turn out right.  It just seemed too easy.  If the recipe had been attributed to any other Food Network celebrity I’m not sure I even would have tried it, but I trust Ellie more than some of the others.

I was lucky enough to meet Ms. Krieger last year during my cherry trip to Michigan.  She did a quick cooking demonstration using tart cherries for a handful of bloggers, myself included.  I’m not sure why I haven’t gushed about this before, but Ellie Krieger was super-friendly, absolutely beautiful, and a really great cook.  Although I hadn’t really watched her show before, I became a big fan after meeting her in person and hearing her talk about food and cooking.  I don’t have any of her cookbooks yet, but I’ve heard really good things about The Food You Crave and So Easy, and they’re both on my wish list!

Let’s get back to the walnuts.  I decided to go ahead and give the glazed walnuts a try, but thought the addition of some fresh chopped rosemary might be interesting.  Well, I knew it would be interesting, but I was hoping it would also be good.  It was.  The recipe worked perfectly.  I ended up with delicious glazed walnuts in less than five minutes!

The first thing I did – other than nonstop snacking on glazed walnuts – was make this delicious green salad with strawberries, blue cheese, and strawberry-balsamic vinaigrette.  The walnuts were a perfect addition.  Enjoy!

Maple-Rosemary Glazed Walnuts
adapted from this recipe by Ellie Krieger

2 cups walnut halves
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
pinch of kosher salt

In a small bowl, stir together maple syrup, rosemary, and a pinch of salt.  Heat a dry skillet (I used nonstick) over medium-high heat.  Add walnuts to the hot skillet and pour in maple syrup mixture.  Cook, stirring frequently, until maple syrup has caramelized, about 3 minutes.  Spread walnuts out on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a bit more salt if desired.  Let cool.

Green Salad with Strawberries, Blue Cheese, Glazed Walnuts and Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

mixed greens of your choice
sliced strawberries
maple-rosemary glazed walnuts
crumbled blue cheese
salt
freshly ground black pepper
strawberry-balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)

Combine first four ingredients in a salad bowl, drizzle with vinaigrette, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a couple grinds of black pepper.  Toss well to combine.  Serve immediately

Strawberry-Balsamic Vinaigrette

4 medium strawberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup canola oil (or any other neutral-flavored oil), plus more to taste
salt and pepper to taste

In a blender, puree strawberries, vinegar and mustard. With blender running on low speed, slowly pour in the oil in a very thin stream until it has all been incorporated. Taste and add a bit more oil if the dressing is too strong (I like my dressings a bit on the vinegary side, so I don’t add more oil).  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Store in fridge, use within a few days.

Around the Web:

• Sugar-and-Spice Candied Nuts from Smitten Kitchen
• Spicy Glazed Nut Mix from David Lebovitz
• Endive Salad with Blue Cheese and Walnuts from Blue Kitchen
• Strawberry and Caramelized Walnut Salad from Eggs on Sunday

I grew up in central California where I certainly ate my fair share of artichokes over the years.  And during those four years I spent in Sicily, I probably ate way more than my fair share.  Sorry, it couldn’t be helped.

My standard way of cooking/eating artichokes is to steam them whole then peel off the leaves one by one, dipping each into mayo before scraping off the tiny bits of artichoke “meat” with my teeth.  I continue to do this until I have ingested way more mayonnaise than any person needs to consume in one sitting (as evidenced by the huge pile of artichoke leaves towering in front of me by the time I’m done) and I have made my way to the heart, which I carefully trim and clean before eating it with even more mayo.  Don’t judge.

In Sicily it was different.  There, I mostly ate smaller artichokes that were drizzled with fruity olive oil and grilled over an open flame.  Delicious.

Of course I eat artichokes in lots of other ways, too.  I love stuffing them with a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic, Pecorino, and fresh herbs.  I love artichoke hearts prepared just about any way you can imagine (especially breaded, fried, and drizzled with tart lemon-butter).  I love cheesy, bubbling artichoke dips.  I love artichoke soups.

While I do enjoy eating artichokes in a variety of ways, I haven’t branched out much when cooking whole artichokes.  I’ve steamed them and boiled them and occasionally finish partially steamed or boiled artichokes on the grill – but that’s about it.  So when I ran across this method for Simple Roasted Artichokes yesterday, I knew I had to give it a try.

I started with these gorgeous artichokes that I picked up at a fruit stand in Gilroy the other day.  I love living in California.

First, I sliced off the top third of the artichoke with a sharp knife.  All of that is inedible, so you aren’t wasting anything by doing this.  Plus, it looks so pretty!

Next, I cut off the stem right at the base of the artichoke.  The stem is edible if peeled, so you can save it if you want.  Mine didn’t come with much of a stem anyway, so I didn’t bother saving it.

With the stems cut this way the artichokes will sit up nicely on their own.  Aren’t they cute?

Now tear off a large square of heavy duty aluminum foil, drizzle it with a few drops of olive oil, and smear it around a bit.  Place one artichoke in the middle of the foil and open up the leaves a bit with your fingers.  Tuck a few peeled garlic cloves into the artichoke.  Sprinkle kosher salt all over it then squeeze lemon juice and drizzle olive oil over the top.  I used half a lemon per artichoke and probably drizzled a tablespoon or so of oil (maybe more).

Once you’ve seasoned it, wrap the foil up around the artichoke, sealing it well.  If you don’t have heavy duty aluminum foil, wrap it with an extra sheet of the regular kind.  Repeat with as many artichokes as you want.  Place wrapped artichokes in a pan and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for one hour and 15 minutes.  If you are using small artichokes, one hour is good.  Jumbo artichokes might take an hour and a half.

After removing them from the oven, let artichokes sit until cool enough to handle, then unwrap.  The garlic will be soft and sweet and delicious – you’ll probably want to eat that first.

Next, start peeling off the leaves one by one, and enjoy the garlicky, lemony, salty olive oil as you scrape each one with your teeth.  I didn’t even need mayonnaise!

If you’ve never dealt with a whole artichoke before, you might be a little confused/intimidated when it comes to finding the heart.  I’m here to help.  Remove all the leaves until it looks something like this.

Grab the remaining leaves with your fingers, grasp the bottom of the artichoke with your other hand, and pull.

The whole thing should pop right off like a cap, leaving some furry-looking stuff behind.

Take a spoon and gently scrape out the fur (no, it’s not actually fur).

What you have left is what I call the heart, but might be more accurately described as the artichoke bottom.  Whatever you want to call it, it’s my favorite part!

The fork is only there for show – I always eat the entire artichoke with my hands (licking my fingers along the way).

While they did take a long time to roast, these artichokes were definitely worth the wait!  They were simple to prepare and simply delicious.  Next time I’ll probably add even more garlic cloves because the roasted garlic was one of the best parts.

In case my photos weren’t enough to illustrate the process, here’s a video that shows you the exact same method.  Give it a try!

Last summer I made my first batch of homemade jam – peach jam, to be exact.  While not difficult, the process was a bit labor-intensive:  I sterilized jars, peeled and chopped fruit, boiled down the fruit and sugar, and even processed the filled jars in a water bath.  It was well worth the effort and I was quite proud of myself for successfully preserving that small bit of the summer’s bounty.  And with that first batch of jam under my belt, I had been making plans to can all kinds of jam this summer.

But now I’ve discovered freezer jam.

Today I made fresh strawberry jam in less than 30 minutes and it might be the best strawberry jam I’ve ever tasted!  I didn’t have to deal with hot glass jars or bubbling hot fruit lava either.

I’ve heard people talk about freezer jam for years but I never really understood the difference between freezer jam and what I thought of as “real jam.”  All I knew was that freezer jam was supposed to be much easier to make than jam canned the old-fashioned way.  I figured that since it was so easy to prepare, freezer jam must somehow be inferior to the homemade jam that I grew up eating.

I was completely wrong.

Strawberry freezer jam is different than the strawberry jam I grew up eating, but it’s certainly not inferior.  Because the berries aren’t cooked, the jam has a much fresher flavor than canned strawberry jam.  Freezer jam isn’t as thick as the canned jam, but it has a nice spoonable consistency that works equally well as a spread or a topping.  I’m planning on stirring some into plain yogurt for breakfast.

The main difference between freezer jam and canned jam is how it’s stored.  Because it has not been cooked, freezer jam must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.  It will only last a few weeks in the refrigerator, so it’s best to store it in small containers that will be used up fast.  You can keep one container in the refrigerator and store the rest in the freezer for up to a year.

For today’s strawberry jam I used Ball No Cook Freezer Jam Pectin.  I followed the instructions on the package and even used the same brand of freezer jam jars, although any little plastic containers would work fine for storing the jam.

First I chopped a bunch of strawberries up in my food processor – enough to make four cups of strawberry purée.  This step can easily be done by hand if you don’t have a food processor – just hull and chop the berries and mash them with a potato masher.  You want to leave a bit of texture in the jam, so don’t mash them completely.

Next I stirred in one and half cups of sugar (MUCH less sugar than is required for canned jam), the package of freezer jam pectin, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  The lemon juice wasn’t included in the package instructions, but it sounded good to me.  I stirred everything together for a few minutes until the sugar and pectin were completely dissolved.

Once it was all stirred up, I poured the jam into clean plastic freezer jars.  That’s it!  It was really that simple.  I now have one jar in the fridge and four jars in the freezer to either give away or continue eating in the coming months.

If you’re intimidated by the process of canning jam but have always wanted to give it a try, I highly recommend you start with freezer jam.  Have fun!