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.

Clams with New Potatoes and Spring Onions.

We had another spectacular weather day here in my hometown so I decided to keep it simple once again with some steamed clams in a rich white wine broth perfect for dipping some of my homemade bread in to.

I wanted to try this delicious recipe from Epicurious so I went out to our less than local seafood market (where the prices are great and the people are lively) and purchased 3 lbs. of Manila clams. I followed the recipe to the letter and while the bf and I sat around shelling clams like sea otters we had discussion about what I would do differently next time around.

The ingredients. Potatoes, green onions, garlic and smoked chorizo (tough to find).

3 lbs. of Manila clams.

You render the chorizo in 4 Tlb. of olive oil until it starts to get crispy. This is something I would change the chorizo to possibly a nice smoked pancetta, or even a nice smoked bacon. The recipe calls for you leaving the chorizo in the pan while you cook the potatoes I think I would remove it and set it to the side and add back in later in the cooking.

Addition of the potatoes, white part of the green onions and garlic. I would watch your cooking time and adjust accordingly. You don't want mushy potatoes in the pot. Here is where I would add some seasoning if you want it spicy or smokey (cayenne and or some smoked paprika would be nice). The suggested cooking time was 10-12 minutes I reduced that to 8-10 minutes. Stir often so your potatoes don't stick. Add some salt and pepper.

Deglaze with white wine. Cook the wine til reduced by half then add water and cook until the potatoes are a little cooked but not done by any means. Remember they still have to cook another 8-10 min when you add the clams and lid it to steam. This is where I would add the chorizo back into the pot along with the rest of the green onions.

The finished product.

It was really good, but I did think the chorizo was overcooked and if I hadn't reduced cooking time the potatoes would have been mush in the bottom of the pot.

In the end there were no leftovers. All in all another great dinner. I did include the link to the full Epicurious recipe.