Posts from — June 2014

I’ve seen this cool tip for cutting a bunch of cherry tomatoes at one time all over the internet and on Pinterest. I’ve used it for some time now, but keep forgetting to share it with you. It not only comes in handy for this salad but is especially fabulous for THIS RECIPE and any other recipes calling for roasted cherry tomatoes.

Summer Squash and Salmon Salad

1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds zucchini, ends trimmed and then thinly sliced
2 tablespoons pepper jelly
3-pound salmon fillet, skin on
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
6 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 avocados, diced
1 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Add the zucchini, toss to coat and let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

Spread the pepper jelly on the flesh side of the salmon. Heat a grill or broiler to high.

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I don’t recall if I’ve ever shared this before but I will now confess…

… I don’t drink coffee. I’ve never liked it. I love the smell, and I adore coffee ice cream, but I knew that if I was to become a coffee drinker, I’d need to load that bitter liquid up with sugar and cream and I don’t see the point of starting each day off with that!

Most mornings I start my day with water, now and then with juice and if someone offers, I’ll have hot tea. Not in the summer, but at other times of the year. That’s the other thing I don’t get, how can people drink steaming hot coffee when it’s 100 degrees out? It is often 100 degrees out by 9 AM here in AZ!

Iced Coffee – that has sounded like something I might enjoy, once in a while, when I need a kick-start. Not too often, since it too, is loaded with cream and sugar.

Today is that day, I’ve been up since 4:15 and I am already dragging. I can’t be dragging today, I have too much to do. Iced Coffee! I’m gonna give it a try.

I’m going with the simplest recipe possible for this first try. One thing I do know is that it is best to start with cold-brewed coffee. Since I don’t drink coffee, I don’t make the best-tasting coffee, so I bought a bottle of cold-brewed coffee at Trader Joe’s.

My verdict?  It was OK, maybe a person who likes coffee would like it more. I’m going back to the drawing board and I’m going to make something more exciting. I’ll keep you posted. Until then, here is my simple iced coffee “recipe.”

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Last night’s beautiful Arizona sunset. No filters, no Photoshop, just pure natural beauty!

This quick and easy pizza has some of my favorite Italian ingredients and they can all be found, along with the pizza dough, at Trader Joe’s.

Burrata, a luscious cream-filled fresh mozzarella cheese.

Pancetta, Italian-style bacon, already diced into “cubetti” pieces. Actually, I don’t know if the word “cubetti” has anything to do with the diced pieces, but it is convenient!

Prosciutto, this package is actually from Costco and was in my freezer, so don’t be alarmed with the “use by” date. Prosciutto can always be found at TJ’s too.

I prefer Trader Joe’s whole-wheat dough, but while pulling a package from the back of the case (looking for the freshest bag – a selfish little thing I always do with freshly packaged food) I accidentally grabbed the plain dough. The reasons I like the whole-wheat better are two-fold, it is easier to work with due to the texture and I think the taste is superior.

The only other ingredients you need are a little olive oil, a medium ripe tomato, and a smidgen of freshly ground black pepper and red pepper flakes.

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There is one thing I look forward to each summer more than anything else.

Rainier Cherries!!

“The Rainier cherry was developed in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle, and named after Mount Rainier.

Rainiers are sweet cherries with a thin skin and thick creamy-yellow flesh. The cherries are very sensitive to temperature, wind, and rain. About 1/3 of a Rainier cherry orchard’s crop is eaten by birds.”

Lucky devils!

“Rainiers are considered a premium type of cherry, and sell for $5 per pound or more in the States and as much as a dollar each in Japan!

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I have a new favorite variety of pasta.

Have you ever had or heard of perciatelli pasta? I hadn’t until I enjoyed it in a wonderful cold pasta salad that my cousin, Michelle, made for a family gathering. The only place I’ve been able to find it is at Fry’s, but it’s possible I haven’t looked hard enough.

Perciatelli, also known as bucatini, are hollow pasta strands that are thicker than spaghetti. Spaghetti, fettucini, or linguini may be substituted in the recipe.

The lump crabmeat I prefer to use is the Phillips brand, which can be found at Costco.

Perciatelli Pasta with Crabmeat and Peas

1 pound perciatelli pasta
Salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and light green parts, reserve green tops for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen peas
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided

Cook the perciatelli in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente, according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water, then drain the pasta.

While pasta water comes to a boil, cook spring onions in 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes.

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My dad loves pot roast. Winter, spring, summer and fall – no matter the temperature, he wants me to make pot roast.

The 1971 invention of the slow cooker (also known by its brand name Crock-Pot) made it an even easier meal to make. No heating up the entire kitchen when you use a slow cooker. Still, eating a heavy pot roast when it’s 106 degrees outside doesn’t appeal to most. Not an issue for Dad!

Dave was out-of-town this past weekend, so I indulged my dad by making his precious pot roast for our Sunday supper.  I do my best to change it up each time to try to keep it exciting since I make it so often throughout the year.

This time I reverted to a very classic pot roast recipe … well not so much the recipe … more the technique. Allow me to explain.

In 1963 House & Garden Magazine published a recipe by Elizabeth (Betty) Wason, an American author and broadcast journalist. The classic technique I took from her recipe was the way she floured the meat.

Instead of dredging the beef in seasoned flour, Betty beats the flour into the meat with the side of a plate, which creates a thicker crust and a smoother gravy in the end. It’s rather cathartic, beating in the flour with a dish, similar to that satisfying feeling one gets when kneading bread dough.

If you’re not up to pot roast in June, bookmark this recipe and remember to make it this fall or winter. I am hopeful that the fall or winter is the next time I’ll be called to make it … but it’ll probably be much sooner. Oh well, gotta give the people what they want.

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After not posting a new recipe for over a week – I think the best way to get back into the swing of it – is with a cocktail!

Yes, and not just any cocktail, but a bright refreshing summer-time cocktail. Something you can envision yourself enjoying poolside or with your toes buried on a sandy beach.

Now that’s the way to start a new week. Happy Monday!

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Some of my favorite people in the world came by for a visit today!

I love this Father’s Day photo of Stephen, Tram, Zak, and Zoey!

Tram and her parents, Papa and Mama Mai, were out running errands and stopped by with the adorable Zoey…

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I shall share with you my June Sweet Salvage finds, from what I think is the most charming all the way to my favorite!

A 1953 high school dance card. Look at the adorable little pencil that is still attached!

It reads, “North Phoenix High School, Girls’ League Blue, And Silver Ball, Saturday, November 14, 1953”

There is no indication of the name of the young lady who was holding this card, but it is obvious that Ronnie Spaulding was her beau. They danced together 8 of the 11 dances she danced. She was “too tired” to dance the sixth dance, titled the “Prize Waltz” so she sat that one out. And it looks as though she and Ronnie may have ducked out before the “extra” dances at the bottom of the card. Poor Jack Brown, Bill Carroll, and Barry Baker never had a chance!

A nifty faux bois (from the French for false wood) souvenir mug from Yellowstone Park.

Sweet embroidered tea towels.

I absolutely adore the applique “French maid cookbook” towel too!

Unique dinner and salad plates.  And now for my favorite and most unusual find…

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I found a recipe on the internet that I’m going to recommend you do not make.

On Sunday, Father’s Day, I arrived home from the airport at about 3:45 and immediately began to make dinner for my dad, husband, and son.  Since I’d already been awake for 12 hours, I didn’t want to have to think too hard about what to make.

Since I have a peach tree that was full of ripe peaches, I decided to whip up a peach cobbler for dessert.

I wanted to be able to post the recipe so it needed to be somewhat different from the three peach cobbler/crumble recipes I already have posted here. For that reason, I turned to the web to find one that I could “make my own” and get done easily and quickly.

The recipe I stumbled upon first was the Pioneer Woman’s Peach Cobbler. Her version used frozen peaches and since I was using fresh, I figured that would be a perfect recipe to switch up. I made a few other minor changes, with the addition of spices and such, and popped it into the oven while I made the rest of the meal.

I’ve tried many of the Pioneer Woman’s recipes before and they’ve always been wonderful. I thought that this too would be a “sure thing.”

In fact, I’ve loved a couple of them so much that I reposted them, almost exactly as originally written. This Dip recipe and this Poppers recipe are two of my all-time favorites. So please do not take this as a bashing of the Pioneer Woman and her recipes – but this peach cobbler recipe is one that I can not endorse. No way, no how.

Instead, you should make one of the three peach cobbler/crisp recipes I’ve previously posted – one of the ones I should have made for Father’s Day.

Mason Jar Peach and Berry Cobbler

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberry-Nectarine Crumble

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