We opened our calendar this morning and realized something incredible: we have no plans this weekend. No weddings. No barbecues. No road trips. Just one entire free summer weekend!

We plan to take full advantage of this (and the cool weather predicted for Boston) to spend some quality time in our kitchen. What about you?!

Long weekends with no plans are great for trying something new and playing around without worrying about needing to be somewhere or have dinner on the table by a certain time.

Between the heat and our busy schedule, we haven't had a chance to make more recipes out of Daniel Leader's book, Local Breads. We're thinking a multi-day, slow-rising sourdough is just the ticket.

We also had such a great time with the paneer palak this week that we're thinking of having a go at a more complex, slow-simmering curry, like our recipe for Spicy Lamb Curry.

And we can't seem to get those caipirinhas off our mind, so we'll probably need to take a break and try those at some point!

Any fun weekend cooking projects in your future?

Related: Weekend Meditation: The Comfort Zone

(Image: Flickr member Sir Merv licensed under Creative Commons)