Lazy Days of Summer

Finally and thankfully summer is drawing to a close. I can feel fall right around the corner each morning with that slight chill blowing through my open back door. Honestly I can hardly wait to hear that first goose fly over head, smell my neighbors start up their fireplace, make my first pot of stew and have dinner guests over where the menu won't involve ketchup, mustard and potato salad...I tell you it's the little things. I don't cook much in the heat 1. because I am not hungry and 2. because I can't deal with my brain cooking inside my skull, but I did manage to come up with a couple of super easy summer meals that aren't reeallllllly cooking.

Guacamole on toast This is super easy, tasty and requires little brain work. I take some avocados do a rustic mash (depends on what texture you want) add a little lemon or lime juice (I had lemons laying around)some salt, pepper and whatever other seasoning you prefer (I used some fresh mint from my garden). Then to the mash I added some chunks of feta cheese mixed it in, covered it, and placed it in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours. When I served it I put the Guacamole on sourdough toast and cut up some fresh tomatoes for the top. This is a perfect meatless Monday option. The avocado is versatile so you can use whatever you want flavorwise (should be a word) I went in a Greek direction.

Caprese Salad Sometimes a salad is all you need. Simple, satisfying and delicious. You simply slice up a juicy tomato some fresh mozzarella cheese,chiffonade some fresh basil and dress with some balsamic and olive oil. Dash of black pepper and a sprinkle of salt and TaDa! salad.

Asian Salmon Bowl This awesome recipe comes to me from Epicurious and is absolutely perfect in every way shape and form. Just to let you know, no you can't use regular soy sauce it HAS to be light, so go out and buy some. We have had this dish a couple of times since I first made it, and it is going back on the menu for next week.

Eggs in Purgatory So the next dish all you really need is an onion, 3 lbs of fresh tomatoes, 4 eggs and 1/2 a jalapeno seeded and diced...Oh and some garlic. Basically what you do is saute in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil half a onion (diced) along with some minced garlic (I used 3 cloves) until they start to brown. Add in 3 lbs of chopped fresh tomatoes and the 1/2 jalapeno (seeded and diced). Add some cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and cook it down until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes start to break down. Make four wells in the sauce and carefully break an egg into each one, put a lid on the pan and cook until the whites are done and the yolks are soft. Sprinkle some fresh cilantro on top and serve a side of fresh bread. This is another great meatless Monday option. Fast and fantastic.

Happy Hump Day Everyone! have a fast rest of the week.

Little Green Tomatoes

Gardening for me is hit or miss and usually it is a miss. I just don't have time or energy to plow under the remaining bit of my backyard and turn it into my own vegetable patch. What I did manage was to grow a couple of tomato plants and some fresh herbs, thanks to the bf who put in some really great planter boxes just for that purpose. He built me a super sized one in the back yard just for tomatoes. We filled it with fresh dirt and some mushroom compost (I love that stuff)and stuck in a couple of new varieties of tomato plants and BAM! these things are insane. I at first thought maybe these plants were going to prove to be a waste of my time...I couldn't have been further from the truth. Once they took off they really took off. We have placed stakes outside the box to hold up the stalks, branches and tomatoes as they get bigger every single day; and so many tomatoes. I think I must have close to 20 lbs of green tomatoes. The scary thing...I have not used one speck of fertilizer this year. Like I said gardening with me is hit or miss, and I usually miss by a mile. I don't know what I did right this year, but I did it well.

I am also growing some herbs this year in a ground level planter box that the bf put together for me in the front yard. I managed to start basil from seed this year and it took off. Both Thai basil and regular basil. So I go out every couple of days and snip some off and what I don't use in a meal I dry and jar for the winter months ahead. Scary to think that they are closer than we would like.

Just in this past week I have had to rearrange the stakes holding the tomato plants to catch up the branches that are heading toward the ground. I am getting desperate, and the tomatoes just keep coming.

I am looking forward to being able to gather up a bunch of juicy tomatoes and turn them into a lovely homemade base tomato sauce...a big pot of it, so I can put it all in quart bags and freeze it flat. My recipe is really simple. Saute up some diced onions and minced garlic (and diced carrot if that is your thing) in a heavy pan (big pan) until soft add all your chopped up tomato, fresh basil, rosemary, salt, sugar (trust me on this) and oregano. and simmer add a little chicken stock, red wine or both and simmer some more. Let it cool and measure it out into quart freezer bags and zip em shut! Lay the bags flat onto a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze solid. Later remove from cookie sheet and stack someplace in your freezer and TaDaaa (should be a word) you have the base of some delicious sauce in your freezer...perfect for those nights when you don't feel like cooking after dealing with impossible people in the mid west all week long at work...Oh wait that might just be me. Trust me this is just the ticked for great sauce for pasta or added oomph to your chili.

Now if they would just ripen.

Puppy Update Katsu is growing at a crazy rate, and is twice the size of two of his siblings from the same litter. This I am told can be explained by the size of the litter (there were 8) and his placement in the birthing order (which is unknown). Katsu is currently loosing baby teeth everywhere...the other night during puppy obedience class for example...blood everywhere, dog owners checking to see if my puppy had maimed their puppy during free play, the trainer, the bf and of course Katsu had blood all over his mouth. Ahhh my little Chupacabra strikes again. It is funny Katsu's brother is in the class with him and they don't get along well (work in progress), but the minute one thinks the other might need help they have each others back...Pack mentality at its finest. Because Katsu has been growing visibly daily he seems to always be hungry, but it is too hot to eat, so he won't, which gives him a sour stomach and for a while he was barfing up stomach acid in the middle of the night onto my bed...not pretty. With help from the vet we figured out a program of feedings that include a small amount of wet food before bed with a pepcid crushed and mixed in...worked like a charm.

Well I need to get myself organized to start my day (code for I need more coffee). I have salmon to turn into lovely smoked salmon tomorrow, so look for a blog on that. Have a great weekend everyone!

Pizza

It should come as no great surprise, to anyone, that I love pizza. To me pizza is the perfect food. Pizza crust is just a platform to transport all manner of delicious foods to your mouth (literally). Last nights pizza was no exception. A pizza is only as good as its crust, and that is something (until last night) I had problems with. I could never get my crust crispy enough or thin enough for my liking. Well I discovered a new recipe for a cracker crust pizza dough that I think for me ticks all the boxes.

Cracker Crust Pizza Dough 3/4 cup cool water 1/4 cup canola oil 1-1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more as needed Directions For the pizza dough, pour the water, oil, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Add 1 cup of the flour and whisk until smooth. Switching to a wooden spoon, gradually add the remaining flour, stirring until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead until it is smooth and supple (like a baby's tushie), about 5 minutes. Divide the dough into two or three equal pieces, shape each one into a rough disk, cover with a cloth, and let rest on a board between 30 minutes and 3 hours. I let mine rest for as long as it took me to clean house.Roll out each piece of dough between two sheets of parchment paper (this makes it easier to transfer to your preheated pizza stone in the oven. Brush a little olive oil on the surface of the crust and spread on a little sauce cheese and whatever else you have planned.

For our pizzas last night I used a really light tomato basil sauce and roasted garlic.

Then I added on some grated mozzarella and the last little bit of fresh mozzarella I had taking up space in my fridge.

Then I slid the pizza parchment paper and all onto my preheated (500 degrees)pizza stone and cooked it between 15 and 18 min.

The last couple of minutes of cooking I tossed a handful of chopped fresh spinach onto the top of the pizza.

The pizza was amazing, the crust was crisp, the cheese melty (should be a word), and the sauce was not to heavy. To say the least we cleaned our plates.

The sauce was super easy to make and can also be made ahead. I took a can of diced tomatoes with the juice and poured into a small sauce pan. I added 1 whole sprig of basil, a pinch of fresh rosemary, pinch of sugar, oregano and chili flakes. I also added a clove of that roasted garlic a couple of tablespoons of water (you could use red wine)and brought it to a boil turned it down to a simmer and let it bubble away for about 20 min. You may have to add a little more liquid during the cooking. Let the sauce cool some and put it into your food processor and give it a couple of good turns. When you have the consistency you want your done.

Pizza the perfect food!