June 2011

Salad Caprese -The Essence of Summer

June 27, 2011

It was lunchtime in Florence, Italy. Touring the huge central market, the Mercato Centrale, left us hungry and ready for lunch. The market was filled with colorful produce stands and wine shops, butcher counters and fishmongers, heavenly cheese shops and bakeries. The prosciutto counter alone left us tourists standing in awe.  We tucked into a local ristorante. We watched with curiosity as the waiter delivered a big platter of freshly sliced tomatoes and mozzarella to the Italian family sitting next to us. Along with some [...]

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Green Bean Salad with Sweet Tomatoes and Grilled Corn

June 20, 2011

I had a friend whose idea of green bean salad meant draining canned green beans and dousing them in bottled salad dressing. Yuck. The memory of her serving drab, soggy beans as green bean salad still makes me grimace. No need do that when a fresh, vibrant colored green bean salad is so easy to make. Serve it chilled and breathe a sigh of relief on hot summer days.

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Berry Cobbler with Boysenberries

June 13, 2011

Although a berry cobbler can be made with many kinds of berries, my all-time favorite is with boysenberries.  I am absolutely wild about boysenberries. A California treasure almost lost, boysenberries are a cross between a blackberry, raspberry and loganberry. This is the beautiful berry that made Knott’s Berry Farm famous. Deep red-purple in color, these juicy gems are rarely found beyond a farmers market and their season is just a few weeks long.

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Summer White Bean Salad

June 6, 2011

Whether canned or dried, beans are the backbone of any strong pantry. Strong, like silent soldiers, waiting to leap into action to help you create a meal. With a strong pantry you will never go hungry, even when you are too tired to go to the grocery store. While canned beans are good for certain recipes or when you are short on time, nothing can beat a dish started with dried beans. Soaked overnight and cooked slowly the next day, great are the rewards in [...]

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