Oh yum...cheesy bites that are REAL cheese.

I am dieting. *sigh* I said it and just as I said it - I found these. I may have to take a day off.

Shy Brothers Farm - Hannahbells

Evil evil people.

Here is the NYTimes article written by Satan to tempt me.

It worked.

A Plethora of Tomatoes

The CSA is burying us in tomatoes. I have never been a big fan of tomatoes or should I say raw tomatoes. Something about the squishy seedy texture. I avoided them for a long time. To be fair to myself, the typical tomato is a sad tasteless thing.

America has killed the tomato. *bows head*

Or so I thought....then the Heirloom varieties raised their ugly, deformed little heads. Purple...green...blood red...maroon...shaped like brains or tumors and oh so delicious.

One of my favorites salads is the Italian Insalata Panzanella. But in the past I would pick around the tomatoes and feast on the dressing coated bread. But Heirlooms have made that behavior a thing of the past.

*angels sing* Here is the recipe and this....is what I will eat ALL WEEK. Amen.

Insalata Panzanella

Salad for 2

1 Ciabatta or any dense peasant bread (probably not best with a seeded bread)
8 oz. fresh heirloom tomatoes (get a really ugly one!), chopped in chunks - not too small now
1T. red wine vinegar
fresh lemon juice
small bell pepper, sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/3 red onion, sliced
Fresh basil
1/2 avocado
2T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Rub your salad bowl with the raw garlic clove. Toss the bell pepper, the tomatoes and the red onion in the bowl. Sprinkle salt/pepper over tomatoes. Slice the avocado on top and add the basil.

Dressing - mix the vinegar, lemon juice and oil together. Add chunked bread to bowl. Pour dressing over salad. Toss and eat.

And IT'S ON!!!!!!!!

My submission for the Newman's Own summer recipe contest.

Newman’s Own Lighten Up! Italian Grilled Vegetable Salad

Serves/Makes: 6 Prep: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
8 ounces boxed couscous
2 red peppers – sliced into 1inch chunks
1 green pepper – sliced into 1 inch chunks
1 red onion - sliced into 1 inch chunks
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
2 teaspoons roasted minced garlic (available in your produce section by the jarred garlic) - optional
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup Newman’s Own Lighten Up! Salad Dressing
4 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Wooden skewers

Directions:
Prep and heat grill for vegetables.

Cook couscous according to package directions. Set aside and cool.

Toss the red and green peppers and the red onion in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and salt and pepper. Slide the vegetable chunks (kabob style) onto wood skewers. Place the skewers on a hot grill until vegetables have grill marks and are softened. Approx. 10 minutes.

Add grilled vegetables, fresh spinach, oregano, parsley, lemon juice, and the Newman’s dressing to the couscous and toss mixture. Chill salad for 1 hour.

Toss with Feta cheese before serving.

Stress.

Sometimes only a cheese pizza and cold Pepsi will do.

Gluten-Free Girl and her Blueberry Polenta Pancakes

Gluten free cooking is a bit out of the norm for me. I am all carbs all the time and going without wheat just seems - well whats the point? But I do understand that some people avoid it from an intolerance standpoint.

My friend B is not friend of gluten and came to stay for the weekend. I wanted to do my famous Sunday breakfast for her but alas my pancakes were on the NO list. So I went looking for some GF alternatives.

Gluten Free Girl is good at what she does and she does a lot of GF cooking. Here is a link to her recipe for Blueberry Polenta pancakes. A few notes:

• Very tasty - rave reviews
• Being gluten free - the cakes do not rise well. So expect a flat pancake not fluffy
• I would make a blueberry compote (recipe below) for topping instead of putting the blueberries in the batter. They tend to just be bulky and not evenly distributed due to the flatness of the pancake
• Butter is key - don't leave it out!

Alise's Blueberry Maple Compote

2 cups of fresh or frozen blue berries
1 cup Vermont maple syrup
1 TB of corn starch or King Arthur's Signature Secrets Culinary Thickener
squeeze of fresh lemon for brightness or 1tsp. almond extract

In a saucepan, heat blueberries and syrup until the berries burst. Add the thickening agent - if you are using the King Arthur product just add directly to the blueberry mixture. If you are using corn starch, dissolve in 2 tablespoons of water before adding.

Remove the pan from heat and add the lemon or the extract. Serve warm.

LUNCH!!!!

• Homemade chili with leftovers mixed in - grilled zucchini, red beans and rice and leftover steak
• Adam's Village Seed Bread with Doe's Leap goat cheese spread with garlic chives
• Watermelon chunks
• Ice tea

Last night, we picked purple beans from the CSA. Made a fresh bean salad on the fly.

Cold Lemon Purple Bean Salad

3 cups purple beans, trimmed
12 half medium red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup feta, crumbled

Blanch the beans for 30 seconds in boiling water. You want them to stay crisp! Add the other ingredients and toss.

Lemon Vinaigrette

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in jar with lid and shake vigorously. Add to vegetable mixture and toss.