apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Name: Paula
Location: Matteson, IL
Type of space: Outdoor patio
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: For Father's Day this year, my mother and I decided to go all out for my pizza-loving father. For many years we used our back patio as a dumping ground for our seasonal junk. This summer (actually only an astonishing 11 days) we turned it into a pizza coliseum. The structure consists of a pergola with monogrammed edging, a one of a kind countertop, and a wood-burning pizza oven. We also made detailed mosaic pizzas and a stone seating area to honor the chef.

We took a walk back through our archives of grilling goodness and came back with an armful of good ideas, helpful tips, and inspirational recipes. From cinnamon stick skewers to when (and why) to leave the lid on while grilling, here are 21 of the more intriguing posts to help you grill out on the 4th.

Name: Melissa
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Type of space: Balcony
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: I love to garden and produce my own food but I live in a condo. The space is small (11x6ft) and only receives direct sunlight until noon... I do love a challenge.

Name: Lauren
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Type of space: Backyard garden
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: My family hosted a backyard BBQ to celebrate my recent graduation. Since my Dad is Arabic, our menu was mostly Middle Eastern, including a huge batch of lemony homemade hummous, tabbouleh, lentil salad, olives, feta, falafel, kifta kabob (spiced meat), and turkey sausages. Our family is used to this kind of food but we knew it would be a treat for my friends.

Name: Amelia
Location: Washington, D.C.
Type of space: Community garden plot
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: I am a foodie and a longtime container gardener, so I was thrilled to be assigned a fourteen by fourteen foot plot at a community garden here in Washington, DC. Over the course of the last six months, I have filled the beds with many of my favorite vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, salad greens, onions, beets, chard, potatoes, peas, carrots, squash, eggplants, and lots of herbs. Having this space has also allowed me to try out some eclectic and alluring seed catalog items, like my Mexican Sour Gherkins and Chocolate Cherry tomatoes.

Name: Erin
Location: Ames, IA
Type of space: Balcony
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: I wish I could live out here constantly! Most of the balcony taken up by the plants, but we squeezed in a couple chairs and the grill, which gets fired up almost every night during the summer. The planters are overflowing with vegetables, edible flowers and herbs. I use something from out here with almost every meal I cook. I love tending the plants, trying new arrangements, and watching them grow. It takes a bit of time to keep it all maintained – on average, a couple hours per day – but it’s very meditative and therapeutic. Sometimes I just sit and stare; even from inside the apartment the view is stunning.

Name: Maria
Location: Edmonton, AB
Type of space: Garden
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: This is my second year trying out this thing called gardening. I have switched from having one huge bed to having 3 boxed beds and what I like to refer to as the Free Range potato patch. It is a strictly vegetable/edible garden that I have planted using Companion Planting strategies.

I love going out in the morning over the weekend and just picking weeds, smelling the tomato plants, and making sure my babies are healthy and strong. I can't wait for our first harvest! We have 46 potato plants growing so I see a lot of potato dishes in our future. Yum!

Happy 4th of July! Is the grill fired up yet? Well, we do realize that it's only July 3rd, but since the 4th falls on a Saturday, we're observing the holiday today here on the blog. But we're not leaving you with just yesterday's posts! We're running a final marathon of entries in our My Great Outdoors event, which is just wrapping up. Look for rich inspiration on balcony and container gardening for food, plus lots of outdoor eating. We'll also offer up a few good ideas from the archives on grilling, outdoor eating, and great eats for the 4th of July.

So whether you're working or already kicking back at home, come get ready for the 4th of July with us here at The Kitchn.

We'll show you a few more good ideas for tasteful red, white, and blue food later today, but here's a first look: a patriotically-arranged fruit platter.

How to cook a marsupial, plus some fun and tasty links for a yummy 4th of July.

Name: Anna
Location: Cambridge, MA
Type of space: Barn
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: A few years ago our parents bought a falling-down barn in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard. We spent the next few years fixing it up, scrubbing, painting, gardening... and finally relaxing! Everyone's favorite place to be is outside on the wrap-around porch. Our two long, red picnic tables have hosted countless summer meals. Our favorite food is fresh, simple, health, and delicious!

Here's a question from reader Haivan, who asks:

I've been picking a lot of strawberries fresh from the local farms. Now I've got many, many jars of jam made...but how about some galette? Does anyone have a delicious galette recipe that beckons to be shared?

Every week we bring you our favorite good home cooking and eating from our friends at Serious Eats. This week, Caroline Russock argues that French fries are perhaps underappreciated, and she makes a Bobby Flay recipe to prove it. Plus there are breakfasts from Sicily and Greece, along with the "most revolting dish ever devised," and a recipe for easy, delicious soy-poached chicken.

We just received two very good question about one of our favorite ingredients: lemon zest. So we thought we'd do a lemon zest extravaganza and solicit reader advice on these questions, plus anything else you want to share on this essential ingredient. Here are the two questions, one about measurement, and one about storage.