Watermelon and Peach is Actually a Good Salad Combo
With the Summer fruit and vegetable supply in full swing and abundance, Mark Bittman’s 101 Simple Salads for the Season is perfect timing. After getting a good haul of tomatoes, watermelon and peaches from the farmers’ market, we decided to start at the top of the list with two salad recipes that combine all of these.
The first salad called for cubed watermelon and tomato chunks, but we substituted peach for the tomato. Add basil and dress with a basic vinaigrette of olive oil, vinegar (we used apple cider vinegar), salt and pepper. We added a little bit of feta, as well.
The second salad called for tomato wedges and peaches, slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dressing is olive oil and lemon or lime juice.
Delicious and refreshing!! Yay Summer!!
Weekend Eggs
Carolyn and I have a weekend tradition of making open face, fried egg “sandwiches.” They are more of fork-and-knife deal rather than dainty little affairs. They are a lot easier (and tastier) to make with fresh farm eggs. I like getting eggs from the farmers’ market on Saturday; their freshness is noticeable. The yolk of a fresh egg is tougher to break when you flip the egg and the egg white is a lot less runny. Notice the deep yellow color of the yoke…you don’t get that from the store! Once you’ve had fresh farm eggs, you will not go back to store-bought eggs!
This is pretty simple to make…something I require for a weekend breakfast.
Weekend Eggs
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs, cracked and divide into two bowls
- Salsa
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 English muffins, or other hearty bread
- Cheese
- Salt
Directions:
- Take two hearty english muffins and split them. Place a couple of slices of a hearty cheese, like cheddar, on each half and toast until the cheese is melty.
- Meanwhile heat a heavy cast iron skillet over a pretty high heat until it is nice and warm. Melt the butter until the foaming has slowed, you want the butter to brown a little. Reduce the heat under the pan to medium.
- Add the eggs. If the whites are pretty runny, try pushing the whites back towards the yolks to create a more compact, uniform shape. Give each egg a good sprinkle of salt.
- After the whites start to set up and turn opaque (2-3 minutes), give the pan a couple of shakes to loosen the eggs from the pan and redistribute the butter.
- Carefully flip the eggs, trying not to break the yolk. Just be confident and flip it with one quick motion. Cook for another minute or two, so the yolk is still runny.
- As the eggs finish, plate the english muffins and add a scoop of salsa on each half.
Jamaica Iced Tea
Jamaica iced tea is a tart, refreshing tea, perfect for a sweltering August afternoon in DC. The tea is made from the blossoms of a Jamaica plant, also known as hibiscus. I stumbled upon this tea after a local tea company gave out samples at our farmers’ market. I had no trouble finding a recipe, but it was a little trickier finding dried Jamaica blossoms. After checking the usual haunts, Whole Foods & Safeway, I found a big bag for sale at the Mexican grocery store down the street.
The tea can be adjusted to your liking. Add more water, or sugar to adjust the tartness and strength. You want it to be a little tart, since you serve it with ice which will water it down. While the tea has a brilliant scarlet color, it can stain just about anything it touches, including wooden spoons, plastic containers…and you! Don’t say you were not warned. I used a stainless steel pot, silicon stirrer and a glass container to store it.
Jamaica Iced Tea
From: 101 Cookbooks.com
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup dried Jamaica flowers
- 1/2 cup sugar
- At least 3 cups of cold water
- More sugar to taste
- 1 lime, thinly sliced
Directions:
- Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil.
- Remove water from heat and add the dried flowers and sugar. Place a lid over the pot and steep for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice along the way to break down the sugar granules.
- Add the 3 cups of cold water. Pour the infusion through a strainer into a pitcher or jug. Taste and add more sugar or water if you think it is too strong or tart.
- Cool completely and serve with plenty of ice in a glass garnished with a slice of lime.
Spinach Artichoke Pasta
While pasta with basil pesto sauce is pretty much heaven on Earth, pasta with a spinach pesto sauce is a good alternative. Sure, it’s summer, and your basil is growing like a weed, but spinach is available year round so you can make this dish any time. We didn’t have mint, so we substituted it for some cilantro.
With the spinach, artichokes and whole wheat pasta, this is a pretty healthy dinner. I almost think there were not enough artichokes in the dish for one pound of pasta – next time I might try two cans. Leftovers reheated the next day were just as tasty, if not more!
Spinach Artichoke Pasta
From Rachael Ray, Food Network
Ingredients:
- 1 pound whole-wheat penne pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 (15-ounce) can or 1 (10-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted, drained and quartered
- 1 shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 small bundle farm fresh spinach, stems trimmed
- Handful fresh mint leaves
- Handful lightly toasted slivered almonds
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Handful grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a medium, nonstick skillet. Add artichokes and saute until lightly brown around the edges.
- In the bowl of a food processor add the shallot, chicken stock, spinach, mint, almonds, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste. Turn processor on and add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.
- Scrape the spinach pesto into the artichoke pan. Bring mixture to a simmer over low to medium-low heat and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the reserved pasta cooking water, the pasta and the cheese. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce and heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.
Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
It seems like in August all food bloggers and “foodies” do the same thing – they make zucchini bread. After discovering four zucchinis in our refridgerator (I guess we bought more from the farmers’ market than we remembered), we decided to give zucchini bread a try. One of our favorite ways to use summer squash and zucchini is making Summer Minestrone soup, which we did. But that only took care of half of our zucchini “problem.”
I’ve certainly eaten zucchini bread before, but I don’t think I’ve ever personally grated a zucchini. I was a little surprised by how moist it is. As I can smell the aromas coming from the oven, I’m guessing the moistness will carry over to the loaf itself. Also, the orange zest adds a great smell and taste. Admittedly, I licked the bowl…I just know this bread is going to be amazing!
There are many recipes for zucchini bread or muffins out there. I liked this one; it seemed straight forward and it included chocolate chips, which make everything better.
Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Ingredients:
- 2 cups grated zucchini (1-2 medium zucchinis)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk in 1 1/4 cups sugar and chocolate chips until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs until combined; add yogurt, oil, vanilla, orange zest and zucchini until well combined. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Stir together additional 3 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon until combined. Sprinkle half over the top of the surface; using a knife, gently swirl cinnamon-sugar into bread. Sprinkle the additional cinnamon-sugar over the top.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cover bread with foil if it gets too brown. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove loaf from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
