Taste of Summer

We certainly know what summer feels like, but how does it taste?  I believe it is safe to say that a majority of us would first recall summer tomatoes or summer stone fruit.  After having this meal, this is exactly how summer tastes to me!  Tomatoes (mind you, my heirloom tomatoes weren't completely in season so in the heart of July this will be an even better dish) and the season's first basil all in a perfectly simple balsalmic dressing.  Hard to beat. Light, fresh and tasty! 
This meal was shared with Meg and her family on our screened in porch - it was a perfect early summer evening - fresh food shared at a common table.

Angel Hair Pasta Alla Checca

3 c. chopped ripe tomatoes, summer heirlooms are best for taste and looks
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 c fresh basil, torn
1/2 c. or less if you prefer, good quality EV olive oil. 
(remember from my earlier post, good quality is important when the ingredient is a star player)
8 oz. bocconcini mozzarella balls.  I used 16 oz and had I used less, I would have been disappointed. 
2 Tbs balsalmic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb angel hair pasta

Combine all ingredients (except the pasta) in a bowl.  Cover and let stand at room temperature for half an hour.  This is your checca sauce.  Boil the pasta, in water that tastes like the sea. 
Toss Pasta with the checca sauce and garnish. 

I served the pasta and the sauce seperately - and will probably continue to do so.  Call me type A, but I do think ahead and b/c there is a chance of leftovers, as this serves 4-6 people, I always think about what the sauce will do to my noodles overnight and personally, I don't want my pasta sitting in balsalmic vinegar for any length of time.  So, I keep the two seperate at the dinner table as well as when I store the leftovers.  

Now, if only I had a picture of sweet Jude "cranking" his pasta in via his ears.  My little Lizzie still pops that trick out at the dinner table and its weeks later.  Just this morning, she "cranked" in her banana nut pancakes!  Pretty sure Jude made a lasting impression on her - what a lady killer!

Chicken and Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

 I love pasta dishes.  Something just hearty and soul warming about them and this week, I was feeling pasta-ish!  The cayenne pepper in this one puts a whole other meaning to soul-warming too!  Measure down if you aren't up for spicey.  Little one and I had Grandpa over for this family dinner meal and Grandpa's poor lips were on fire he said.  This coming from someone that doesn't touch mexican food and thinks Big Red gum is "too spicey to enjoy".  Not too credible if you ask me.  We love him, but he's a little tender in the taste buds.

The Official Spring/Summer 2011 Drink of Choice and Pea Nutty Noddles

Growing up, there were two drinks I loved and begged my mom to give me...a Shirley Temple and a half lemonade/half iced tea.  Shirley Temples, with 5 maraschino cherries please, are versatile and can easily be consumed during the winter holidays.  Little ol' Shirl can make any occasion feel fancy.  I only really remember consuming the half and half (now known as an Arnold Palmer) during the summer.  They were the pool-side/court-side/porch-side drink of choice for me. Beyond the half and half, summers also meant long days at the pool, honeysuckle, lightening bugs, later bedtimes, avocados, shrimp cocktails, bike rides, hammock time and night drives in my parents old convertible fiat. Summers were fun and free.

We are in the middle of spring here.  Days are getting longer.  There is a 10 inch thick blanket of pollen on just about every exposed surface.  I even saw my first mosquito yesterday. Everything is in full bloom.   

Summer is right around the corner.  I can feel it.  I don't want to rush anything and I definitely am not ready to let go of 50 degree nights, but this grown up version of the half and half might just push me there.  I am officially announcing it as the 2011 Summer Drink of Choice for this household.  It is really freaking incredible.  I made it for the first time the other weekend when we had some friends for brunch and have made it three times since. Introducing ginger-tea lemonade with basil and a sneak peak at the dinner for this Tuesday Night Swap.

I realize this picture doesn't quite display the iced tea in all of her deliciousness.  Please note adorable boy in background playing with trucks and Easter eggs.

Swiss Chard and Sweet Pea Manicotti

I have had this recipe for over 9 months now and just haven't felt quite inspired enough to make it.  However, after a few relaxing days in warm sunny Puerto Rico last week followed by a blustery cold snap back to reality, this manicotti dish felt oh so appropriate!  Not to mention, I am ready to jump back in the kitchen after having a full week off from cooking!  Sure was a pleasure/vacation in and of itself, not having to cook!  Don't get me wrong, I do love to cook, but anyone who does it for a family, knows that its not just a matter of throwing something edible into the microwave 15 minutes before the hungry mouths start crying!  "Cooking" actually is the final product of a sequence of many small events.   First comes the menu planning, then the grocery list, then the actual grocery shopping, followed by unloading the groceries and organizing the refrigerator (yes - this is an important step - you gotta see whatcha' got - and throw away what is sprouting legs and eyes and is about to talk back to you!)  Then as the week progresses, you are thawing, prepping, washing, chopping, marinating, and then of course, the actual cooking.  This is an art form I'll have you know!  One I love, but one I always will  welcome a small vacation from.  We never eat out and I mean NEVER, so this Puerto Rican vacation was all kinds of a vacation for me!

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

Moving a bit slowly over here. We awoke Monday of last week to a blanket of snow.  It was gorgeous.  A tree-branch-bending-with-the-weight-of-the-snow, hushed stillness kind of gorgeous.  We sat watching from the front window.  We gobbled up blueberry pancakes.  We eyed the snow some more.  We put on long johns and sweaters and snow pants and boots and jackets and mittens and hats and more socks and headed outside.  We threw snowballs and went for a walk and took a few trips down our neighbor's front lawn on a cardboard box.  It was a great snow day.

By the time Tuesday rolled around, the snow had turned to ice and cabin fever set in. Instead of dropping off dinner, we invited Jenny and her crew to join us.  Lizzie and Jude got to grab toys from each other play and the adults got some much needed human interaction.  In between cries of, "no, mine", we did manage to catch a shot of the little sous chefs amicably and enthusiastically supporting our mealtime efforts.

Appetizer for the night was the crowd pleasing clementine. 

Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Cannelini Beans

So, truth be told, I'm still not feeling up to snuff these days and once 4 pm rolls around, firing up the stove and cooking dinner seems to turn my stomach just a bit.  But, this recipe is one of our old stanbys.  One of Brad's and my mom's too.  It is oh so easy and healthy!  You can add whatever you like to it, we just always have beans, tomatos and spinach on hand.  Actually, we have a healthy bounty of spinach in our garden this fall/winter - so spinach is always plentiful.  That is, if lizzie hasn't picked all the leaves and eaten them straight from the garden!  

Big Blue Pot ~ Feeling Lazy

Ahhhh, we made it through the Christmas celebrations and my husband's birthday (which he notes is the reason for the season) unscathed.  After polishing off Patrick's birthday cake (Barefoot Contessa's Mocha Icebox cake)  on Sunday night, I felt the warm and heavy weight of fatigue start to settle in.  I didn't think I would ever want to cook again or eat for that matter...let it be noted that I would make an exception for the cake as it was damn good...but I digress.

Thinking ahead to my work week and meal making for my family left me a bit uninspired.  I decided to go with my lazy outlook and plan some meals that were easy.  Let me introduce to you Baked Vegetable Rice.  Wait, wait, before I introduce you to the main dish, let me first pay homage to the Big Blue Pot.  Doesn't she look lovely out there in the snow on our back deck?  I placed her so because I have discovered that I really have a crappy camera when it comes to indoor picture taking.  Anyway, here she sits all big and blue.  I used to dread the sight of the Big Blue Pot growing up.  Whenever my mom would pull it out from the cabinets, I would respond by rolling my eyes and quickly trying to steal a snack so I wouldn't be hungry come dinner time.  My mom would use the offending pot for coq au vin and beef bourguignon and other such dishes repugnant to a teenager.   I think my sister also shared my dread of the Big Blue Pot which makes the fact that she gave me one for Christmas a few years ago all the more curious.  Did she do this because she loves me and knew I would appreciate it with my more adult palette or was it some sort of evil joke akin to her "fun" games of holding me down and spitting on my face and other various forms of torture from growing up?  Oh, but I am getting off track again.  Let me get back to the Big Blue Pot.  I now love her and use her great ceramic cooking talents quite often.   I knew she would be just perfect for the veggie rice.

Moosewood Restaurant's Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

The final product.

I have been struggling with Jude's recent food habits.  He has always been a super eater as is evidenced by his perfectly round cheeks (both high and low).  He would gobble down most anything put in front of him.  Scrambled eggs with tomatoes and shallots - mmmmmmmm.  Spinach, apple, lemon and ginger juice - gulp.  Chicken stuffed with garlic goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes - no problem.  Pureed kale and yogurt - more please!  Lately, my man has become more picky.  I have found myself being really invested in whether or not he cleans his plate (or even tries one bite).  I am sure that the build up I have created for myself, and for him, is quite palpable at the table.  I don't blame him for pushing his plate away under my watchful stare.  I guess I have been a little intense.  Ok, maybe more than a little.  I really take pride in feeding my family.  I love being in the kitchen chopping and stirring and creating something for us all to enjoy together.  As much as I try not to take it personally, when Jude refuses to eat I feel like a bad mom/provider.  I also worry...will he wake up starving in the middle of the night?  Will he ever eat anything ever again?  Will his growth be stunted?  Is he going to report me to DSS for underfeeding him?  Will this impact his college options? Then I snap back to reality and realize that a dinner of a roll or apple sauce once in a while (or for 2 straight weeks) is ok. It has to be ok.
When I was planning out this Tuesday's meal, I did have Jude in mind.  The boy loves burritos.  I was hoping he would eat dinner with us, but promised myself I wouldn't be too tied to the outcome. 

Vedure al Forno with Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

So, the temps have changed by about 15 degrees and Meghan and I have decided to bring in the new autumn season with one pot dishes.  Move over Sandwichs and bring in the hearty, earthy, feel good dishes of Autumn!  Although, this week, I cheated a little.  I was anxious to try the Vegetable al Forno recipe I found, using the last of the summer season's Farmer's Market zuchinni, but added the delicious Buttermilk Grilled Chicken to round out the meal and make it more hearty and filling.  ( the only adaptaptation I made to the chicken recipe was that I used only thigh/leg quarters) Brad and I had sampled the chicken recipe before and it has officially made it into the Old Standby's of my recipe box.  That is the most moist grilled chicken we have ever had - guess that is due to the sublime powers of a buttermilk bath!  The Vegetable al Forno was no disappointment either, but I'm not sure you can ever go wrong with that much cheese?  Fontina, Mozarella, Peccorino Romano, ooey cheesy goodness!  I will admit however, that the breadcrumbs are on top of each layer of this three layer dish which seemed a little strange.  I assume they were there to add a thickness to the sauce although they didn't quite cook up like I would have wanted.  (still seemed a little raw)  It is important to mention though that the second day around, after reheating in the toaster oven on 350 for about 20 minutes, this dish was even better, including those lower breadcrumb layers.