Food just tastes better outside, doesn't it? The first hint of warmer weather and you'll find us outside come mealtimes: on a porch, on a front stoop, on a park bench, wherever we can find a sunny spot to sit back and enjoy a meal al fresco. With Memorial Day next week, we feel the outdoor eating season is officially open. Here are ten of our favorite seasonal salads to pack up and take on a picnic.

As much as I love eating out at fancy restaurants and watching TV shows like Top Chef, the cooking that is closest to my heart is home cooking — dishes that are humble and maybe a little homely, but feel like the food equivalent of a warm hug. This gingery chicken stir-fry is home cooking at its best: quick and simple to prepare, with a punch of flavor that manages to be both exciting and deeply comforting. Make it once and you may never call for Thai take-out again.

When Kyle remodeled her San Francisco kitchen, she knew she wanted a wide open floor plan for entertaining. The result is her chic cottage kitchen, all white and gleaming, with calacatta marble countertops (a total splurge), a Viking range, and a large pantry expertly hidden behind a sliding door wall. See more photos below:

It's a good thing I'm a renter because if I wasn't, I'd have to decide on a kitchen design. And with all of the options out there, how would I ever choose? Here are a few I find inspiring - find your favorites and pin away!

• 20 Inspiring Kitchens
  Apartment Therapy

Q: I'm getting married to my partner of 5 years in about 1 month! We are having the wedding in her parents' backyard and will be serving beer, wine, iced tea, and water, but we'd also like a cocktail. I'd like something that requires minimal effort and can be made with and without alcohol. Ideas?

Sent by Lisa

Ever since cooking through Indian Vegetarian Feast, we've been inspired to add a tablespoon of panch phoron to everything from sautéed broccoli to a pot of beans or a jar of refrigerator pickles. This five spice mix is so easy to make yet adds tremendous flavor and aroma to Bengali dishes and anything else you can think of. 

Cru Bourgeois is a wine term that you see on the label of some wines from Bordeaux. Do you know what the term actually means? 

Perhaps it's my many years as a vegetarian or my general aversion to the way fried food makes the house smell that have kept me from making fried chicken at home. But really, if I'm honest with myself, the truth of the matter is: I have no clue what I'm doing. 

If you've grown tired of run-of-the mill cookie cutter shapes — the star, the heart, the Christmas tree — then you're going to love Printmeneer. This small Dutch company makes the coolest cookie cutter shapes: diamonds, clouds, mountain range profiles, pig cuts, penguins, even a Herschel graph! And they're all made using a 3D printer.