Two Summer Tomato Recipes

The Ripe Time
Thanks to the recent hot weather, last night we ate the first garden fresh tomatoes of the season. There really is nothing like home grown tomatoes. Of course by the end of the summer I’ll be giving them to anyone and everyone who happens by—but at this point I am savoring the sweetness.

When our tomatoes start to ripen to the tune of one or two a day, I look for recipes that use them fresh, without much alteration. I want to taste the tomatoes, not hide their flavor under a heavy sauce or dressing.

More often than not, I will make some kind of bruschetta or open faced tomato sandwich. They are easy, and perfect for lunch or a light dinner. Add a little sliced fresh mozzarella and/or Prosciutto and you’re good to go. You could even add some good quality tuna in olive oil and some sliced hard boiled egg…whatever suits your fancy.

I found these two recipes on my new favorite blog, Love And Lemons. The first is a Tomato, Peach, and Avocado Bruschetta — tomatoes are at their best right now. The combined flavors are amazing.

The Eggplant and Squash Tian caught my eye because as the tomatoes are ripening, so are the summer squashes and zucchini. This is a great way to use both. I’m on the fence about the eggplant. Not one of my favorites but feel free to take the risk! Read more…

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

A Trifle Sweet…

Over the weekend we had our latest Cookbook Club dinner, and it was tasty as usual. The chef of note was Tyler Florence, and while we found a number of good recipes, the consensus was that Tyler needs a better cookbook editor. Nearly all of our recipes left a lot of room for interpretation—a novice cook might have trouble following his instructions to get the desired result.

That said, we made some really great tasting dishes. I made one of the favorites, Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries. It is not only a great hot weather dessert, it looks beautiful in the glass bowl with it’s red, white and blue colors. This trifle screams to be a contribution to a 4th of July Potluck.

This recipe for Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries feeds a crowd, and utilizes the sweet and juicy summer berries that are at their peak right now. I opted for plain pound cake instead of lemon at the request of my daughter who likes lemon but not that much lemon.

One option is to do individual shortcakes if you don’t want to make a big dish. I think I will try that next time.

We had A lot left over…but breakfast the next morning was pretty good 🙂 Read more…

Santa Maria Style Tri Tip Marinade

Enough Already…

Summer insanity has invaded my world. There are still three weeks left of school, but I get a distinct impression that the only people who really care are the teachers…and even that might be a stretch. I have end-of-school-year burn out.

I no longer care if the kids are turning in their reading logs on Friday. I have given up on looking over their homework. And I consider it a major accomplishment if I can get a reasonably nutritious lunch into their backpacks in the morning. I am so over this school year, and my kids are ready for a break too.

The fact that we are in the middle of an amazing end to the little league baseball season is not helping our cause. We are crossing our fingers that we can celebrate a double Championship baseball season this week. My daughter’s team went undefeated in the regular season and swept their playoff games to win the Girls Pioneer (7-8) Softball Championship. This week, my boys are playing in their Boys American (9-10) Baseball Championship game against the Yankees. (Why does it always have to be the Yankees?) It is thrilling and so much fun, but I feel like I should have my mail forwarded to the baseball field. We aren’t home much, and I think it goes without saying that dinner around the kitchen table hasn’t been happening too often.

But, thank goodness it’s always easy to throw something on the grill. And we have been doing that a lot if only to have actual food for a change instead of the hot dog from the snack shack, or the pizza we picked up on the way home.

Last weekend, I marinated some tri-tips for after the game, and they turned out great. I used a recipe for Santa Maria Style Tri Tip Marinade that I adapted from The Food Network. It was a tasty, and an easy make ahead (kinda) dinner for busy summer evenings. Read more…

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Peaches, Mint, and Almonds

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
Six years ago, when we moved into our current house, one of the first things we did (even before fixing the doors) was plant a fruit orchard on the Front 40 of our lot.

We originally planted 12 trees: 2 Peach, 2 Nectarine, 1 French Prune, 1 Sekel Pear, 2 Cherry, and 4 Apple. It’s been a painful process, often because we think we kinda know what we are doing—but we really don’t. Most of the time we just get lucky.

We lost one of the Peach trees to gophers, and have gone through multiple rounds of peach leaf curl. Last year we had quite a few prunes and apparently they were quite tasty. At least the squirrels thought so—since they ate them all.

This year things are looking up. The trees are bigger, and loaded with early signs of a decent crop: especially the Nectarine. It looks like we might actually get to harvest some of it. (Quick, somebody knock on wood!)

We usually head out to Brentwood to do our peach and nectarine picking this time of year, but I am hoping we can just eat our own crop. I have a feeling we will still end up in Brentwood. Peaches and nectarines do not last long in our house.

In the mean time I am keeping watch on the trees, and anticipating that first juicy, sweet bite. I am looking forward to a summer of recipes like this Grilled Chicken Thighs with Peaches, Mint, and Almonds adapted from Michael Symon’s cookbook Carnivore. The chicken is good, but the real reason I make this is for the peach salad. It’s such a great match for anything grilled. Read more…