Friday Thoughts: Midsummer Survival

Welcome to the middle of summer! HOW ARE WE DOING?

I feel like one either approaches summer like “fave season! no schedule! bring it on!” or “send prayers! still have to work! need structure!” Ok, perhaps I’m over simplifying it…but I would love to know where you fit on that spectrum.

I was debating whether or not to even do a Friday Thoughts post, but I recently ran into a few people I didn’t know (at a wedding!) who read my blog, and they both mentioned how much they enjoy reading these posts. Since I also like getting a real-life glimpse into other people’s lives, I decided to throw one together.

In this post, I’m pretty much just chatting about all.the.things and wishing, as always, we had a way to smoosh this corner of the internet into my kitchen so we could all be communing around my counter, eating cookies and solving all of life’s questions.

If you’re here just for the recipes, no worries! Monday I have a fabulous new light and delicious dinner recipe coming that I’ve been eating on repeat.

Homecoming + Cold Plunge

We welcomed my son, Walker, home from his 2-year church mission to the Philippines. I couldn’t stop exclaiming over him at the airport. I just couldn’t believe that after two years, he was right there! It was kind of surreal, and so, so fun. It was just our little family at the airport (totally his non-attention, lowkey style), but we did get to video in his older brother in Utah and his younger brother in New Zealand while waiting for his luggage.

We escaped for a few days up to the mountains right after he got home. Literally did nothing other than hang out, listen to my boys play lots of guitar around the fire, surf behind the boat (not me 😜), fish (again, not me), eat lots of good food, and paddleboard around the lake.

The airbnb we stayed at had a sauna, so I had this brilliant idea to do a sauna/cold plunge challenge one morning. My mom was there and caught it all on video (my 72-year old dad did it with me). I was so excited to watch the video because I couldn’t wait to see myself looking like an absolute formidable athlete running down the hill post-sauna to the freezing lake to dive in. Um, yeah, not so much. Instead I looked like a lumbering polar bear screeching it’s guts out and pinching it’s nose to ungracefully belly flop in the water. Ah, middle age humility. It’s my constant companion these days.

While my son loved the food in the Philippines, he can’t get enough of his favorite foods here since he’s been home. I’ve been eagerly asking him what he wants me to make, because a) food is my love language and b) he has announced he wants to bulk up. I have never taken a responsibility so seriously; I was born for this. 😜💪🏼

Here are a few of his favorite recipes I’ve made him so far:

• Cinnamon rolls
• Homemade pizza rolls
• Rollup pancakes
• Crispy baked shrimp tacos
• Bagel bread (this was top of his list!)
• Egg roll skillet meal
• Our go-to freezer bean burritos
• Breadsticks
• Homemade pizza
• Hawaiian haystacks

Games + Puzzles We Are Loving

We keep several games out at our kitchen table all summer long. They aren’t always the same – we rotate through them. But keeping them downstairs means we play them a lot more than if someone has to trek *all the way up* to the game closet.

• Brian and my daughter have been playing this one nonstop. She bought it for Brian for Father’s Day, and it has been a clever, fun 2-person game. They also love playing old school Mastermind together.
• This is another great 2-person (or more!) game that is out right now. We play it a lot because it is quick, easy-to-learn, and fun (also: frustrating!!).
• My parents have had one of these games sitting on their coffee table for decades. Someone is always tinkering with it when we’re sitting around chatting in their living room. I finally got our family one to keep around!
• I’ve bought this active game for two nephews’ birthdays the last month or so, and it has been an instant hit. My sister texted me the evening of my nephew’s birthday saying he had been outside playing with it for hours.
• I keep a puzzle up pretty much all summer. We’ve done several Spaghetti Tree puzzles and love them! This USA one was especially fun.

Any games you are loving to recommend? Comment below and let me know! I love getting new game recommendations.

AI and Blogging

Hmmm, this might be a longer discussion for a different time and audience (😅), but it’s worth bringing up simply because it effects my daily life as a food blogger…and will definitely impact for how long (and whether or not) I have a food blog in the future.

Basically, as we know, AI is everywhere. And it definitely isn’t all bad (I use it frequently in my own life!). But when it comes to a food blog, like mine, the impact has been profound.

Over the years, I have greatly benefitted from search traffic. My blog and recipes have ranked really well in Google and other search engines, which has been awesome and so beneficial to me and my business!

However, AI search mode/results, along with ChatGPT (and other chatbots), have had a significant and serious impact on search traffic for websites like mine, because they give answers and recipes (untested recipes, usually) in nanoseconds to people without sending them to actual websites.

When search traffic and clicks go down, so does revenue. And while I certainly don’t blog just for the money, this is a full-time business, and I have a lot of operating costs to maintain (as well as the fact that my business financially supports my family while my husband is growing his own business).

I’ve had endless discussions with fellow food blogging friends and my husband about what the future holds. The truth is: none of us really know.

While the pendulum feels like it is swinging far, far over the side of relying on AI completely, my hopes is that with time, people will come to realize they actually do value a real human voice and trusted, tested recipes and the pendulum will swing back toward the center a little bit.

But it may not. And if it takes too long, I sometimes wonder if I’ll have “aged out” of blogging completely?

Anyway, you don’t need a sob story (despite the fact that thinking of NOT connecting with you in this space actually does make me want to cry), but the impact of AI on food bloggers is real and very uncertain. If you’ve been on Pinterest lately and seen the AI slop that has taken over that platform, that will give you an indication of what AI is doing to the industry as a whole. It kind of makes me sick (especially when I realize people aren’t able to discern what is AI and what is real).

On the positive side, I am so appreciative of all of you who comment here. Who click on actual links and rely on the trusted recipes that I test over and over. Who take the time to leave reviews on recipes (doing so gives a decidedly *human* aspect to my website!). Who subscribe to my email list. And who reach out to let me know that you appreciate the recipes and content. I know life is busy, so thank you.

I’ve been food blogging for nearly 20 years. A lot has changed. And while I certainly haven’t seen anything quite like what AI is doing to the internet right now, I have weathered other internet/technical storms in the past as things have evolved and changed. Hopefully there is a way forward so I can continue to share my favorite recipes with all of you.

It means so, so much to me that you are here. I can’t say that enough. 💗

A Few Extra Things

And now, let’s end things on a better, more lighthearted note!

• I mentioned this on Instagram, but recently Jennifer Garner was on a podcast and when asked who her favorite food blogger is, she mentioned my name. Yes, I about fell over. Yes, I was super flattered. Yes, I thought she must surely be talking about another “Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.” And then Elin Hilderbrand (author and host of the podcast) sent me a DM saying she started following my blog. Of course, I used both as a flex to my family that night at dinner…except it turns out that none of them were really all that impressed (made clear when they asked, “who are those people?”) 😜 #keepingmehumble
• On a completely unrelated note, I used these best-ever ice cream scoops to help scoop hundreds of ice cream sundaes for a wedding reception this weekend. They’re inexpensive and really great (plus, hello, so many cute colors).
• This is the cutest shirt. I sized up because the underarm area is a little snug, but it’s super lightweight and adorable.
• I’m all about homemade granola when it works out, but this dark chocolate coconut LoveCrunch granola might need to be a forever-staple in my pantry (also loving their Dubai-flavored granola that I found at Ross of all places!).
• I’m slowly gathering items to send with my son when he heads off to college (for the first time) this fall. I’ll try to keep track of a list of what we get him and what ends up working well (and what doesn’t!). I’m printing off this packet to send with him (and hoping he’ll want to do a little cooking before he goes since he wasn’t super interested when he was in high school, but if you’ve parented young adult kids, you understand how well some of those suggestions go over 👀).
• I am still eating these overnight oats on repeat. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve had them every morning without fail for over four months. I’ve started making them in individual-size containers for days when I’ll be out and about and also because a few in my family have started eating them, too, and it makes it easier for them to grab in the early morning before work. I use these containers which are perfect for the oats + toppings. Here are the measurements I use for each individual portion: 45 grams rolled oats, 22 grams chia seeds/basil seeds/or a combo, one scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder, pinch of salt, a scant 1 cup almond milk.

I’ve been cooking and recipe testing up a storm on some free days this summer, and I am so very excited about the recipes that will be hitting the blog over the next few months!

I love this picture above ⬆️ My oldest son with his two grandmothers. I’m blessed to have those three in my life!