Heirloom Cherry Tomato Pie

Heirloom tomatoes have been bred naturally for generations to taste amazing. Each one has a specific origin and (usually) a cute name. I used a mixture of black cherry and sungold tomatoes as well as a few grape tomatoes that I acquired at the farmer's market (the ones we're growing aren't quite ripe yet). I found this recipe in the most recent issue of Better Homes and Gardens (so domestic, I know). The double crust recipe is from the Encyclopedia of Baking. I barely got a picture before the pie was demolished!

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp ice water

Filling:
4 cups cherry tomatoes
1 bunch fresh basil
1 bunch green onions
2 tbsp olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 heaping tbsp dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup mozzarella cheese

For the crust: Mix the flour and the salt together. Cube the cold butter. Then in a food processor, process until the mixture resembles large, coarse crumbs. Then use a fork to stir in one tablespoon of water at a time until the dough just barely comes together. The less water you use, the better your crust will be. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make assemble the pie filling. Roughly chop the basil. Saute the green onions until slightly brown. Slice half of the tomatoes in half and mix the the whole cherry tomatoes. Mix in the green onions in and then toss with olive oil, half of the basil, salt, and pepper. Set aside. In another bowl, mix the goat cheese, mozzarella, mayonaise, mustard, and egg yolk together.
Roll out the dough (it will be thick since it is a double crust recipe) and place into pie pan. Prick with a fork all over the crust, cover loosely with foil, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Then remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes more. Take the pie out of the oven and turn down the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the creamy filling over the bottom of the crust and then top with the tomato mixture, pressing the tomatoes into the cheese. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the tomatoes are slightly browned and the crust is a nice golden brown. Check on the pie about halfway and if the crust is getting too dark, cover with aluminum foil. Let the pie rest for about 15 minutes to half an hour depending on how much patience you have! Garnish with the rest of the fresh basil.

Vegan Funfetti Cake

I made this cake for my friend Vanly's bachlorette party weekend. It was in Ocean City Maryland. We spent all day at the beach and then went out later that night. It was a perfect balance of relaxing and debauchery. This recipe is originally from the cookbook, vegan cupcakes take over the world. I found it via the blog girl who bakes. I have to say this recipe is so much better than boxed funfetti cake. It has a lot more flavor and depth from the vanilla and almond extracts. Plus you can make the cake as colorful as you want. I went overboard on the sprinkles which was awesome!

Ingredients:

2 cups vanilla almond milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sunflower seed oil
1 1/2 cups cane sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 small container large, rainbow sprinkles (about 4-5 tablespoons)

Stir the vinegar into the almond and let sit to curdle while getting the rest of the ingredients together. Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix the vegetable oil, sugar, and extracts together. Then stir in the curdled almond milk. Fold in the dry ingredients. Then fold in the sprinkles until evenly distributed.

Bake at 350 degrees for about half and hour in a bundt pan. The times will be less for cupcakes and more for a normal cake pan. Just bake until lightly golden brown and a toothpick can be removed cleanly from the center. Let cool and then frost. (I used my usual coconut vanilla frosting by blending coconut oil, vanilla paste, powdered sugar, and coconut milk together until I got a good consistency.

Honey & Spice Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots

We had our grandparents over for dinner for the first time at the new place, and I made this pork tenderloin dish with apricots. I was very satisfied with this dinner! It looked impressive but was really easy and quick to make. I'm already excited to make it again, changing the fruit out with whatever's seasonal.

I had never cooked pork before, but Julia talks about all of her pork dishes all the time. (So she should post some recipes...) This dish has officially converted me to pork cooking because it was so delicious for such a simple and cheap meal. I got the pork tenderloins at Aldi for a good price, so the total cost was really low for feeding a group of people. I got home from work at 5:30 and dinner was on the table and looking good on one of Michelle's wedding present serving dishes by about 6:15!

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• ***Photos courtesy of Linda and her iPhone!!

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HONEY & SPICE GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH APRICOTS

Adapted from Wholeliving.com, where it's a grilled dish (Martha Stewart)

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, plus freshly ground pepper for pork

3/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for pork

1 organic pork tenderloin (1 1/4 pounds)

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for scallions and apricots

8 scallions

6 medium-ripe apricots (about 1 pound), halved and pitted 

Chocolate Coconut No-Bakes

No-bake cookies are so simple and delicious, but I always forget that they exist and haven't made them in years. I finally remembered how amazing they are, so I'm posting the recipe to remind everybody else! Today's actually not particularly hot, but no-bakes are, of course, especially good on summery days when you don't want to use the oven (so your house isn't too hot to stay inside and watch New Girl, read A Game of Thrones and hang with the dog).

I made the go-to, standard recipe, but there are a lot of options out there. Here are a few I was looking at: Healthy No-Bake Cookies from Two Peas & Their Pod, Coconut-Chocolate Patties from Martha, and No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Walnut Cookies from My San Franciscan Kitchen.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT NO-BAKES
From Food.com
2 cups sugar 
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 dash salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats*
1 cup coconut flakes

Optional add-ins: peanut butter, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, more chocolate, mini-marshmallows, dried fruit...

Za'tar Spiced Beet Dip

When Janice and I were in San Francisco, we ate at this little Greek restaurant after yoga one day. We ordered a creamy, lemony beet dip that I took a picture of so I could remember to re-create it. I picked up some heirloom beets at the East Liberty farmer's market in the pouring rain and made 2 versions of this recipe. The raw version (made with 5 raw beets and regular plain yogurt) is more liquidy and not as sweet as the roasted beet one but still wonderful. The recipe is from Food and Wine.

For the dip:

6 medium beets

3-4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small jalapeno, seeded

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp za'tar

Trim the greens off the beets. Since I got fresh beets, the skins were thin so I left them on. Roast the beets in a shallow pan filled with 1/2 inch water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes until a fork can easily pierce the center of the beet. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, roughly chop them and place in a blender. Puree the beets until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients except for the yogurt and blend. Add the yogurt and blend until incorporated.

Za'tar:

2 tsp sumac (found at Whole Foods)

3 tbsp fresh thyme

2 tbsp fresh oregano

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

Grind the sumac and sesame seeds together in a mortar and pestle. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Store in an airtight container. Sprinkle over everything! I just put it on my eggs this morning with some pesto.

Toppings:

1/4 cup roated hazelnuts, chopped

2 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled

2 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced

fresh mint

Sprinkle over the dip. I served this next to hummus with a loaf of fresh multigrain bread. It doesn't get any better than that!

Raw Ice Cream Sandwiches

This recipe is from Raw Food Recipes. I had some hemp seeds that need to be used and this recipe was the perfect opportunity. The cookies are chewy and filled with lots of healthy goodness (omega 3's, yes!). I just used plain vanilla ice cream in this recipe, but next time I'll definitely try mint chocolate chip as the recipe calls for. The picture I took isn't so great, as I just had only a moment before work to get a snapshot.

For the cookies:
1 cup hulled hemp seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup cashews
1 pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons maca powder
2 tbsp almond milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup

Pour the hemp seeds, coconut, and cashews in a food processor and blend until mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. Line a baking pan with wax paper and form the cookies from a rounded teaspoonful of dough. It helps to work with wet fingers to press the cookies into a flat disc. Place the cookies into the freezer until firm.

For the ice cream:
1 can coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup raw cane sugar

Mix the ingredients together. Cool in the refrigerator for several hours. Then process in an ice cream maker. Let the ice cream solidify in the freezer overnight. Then to make the sandwiches, peel the cookies off the wax paper, place a scoop of ice cream on it and place another cookie on top. Enjoy!

Apricot Cake

In Bon Appetit these are little apricot cakes, but I made a big apricot cake. Apricots were on sale at Giant Eagle!

BIG OR LITTLE APRICOT CAKE

From Bon Appetit 

Nonstick vegetable oil spray or butter 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup whole milk

2 apricots, halved, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch wedges

2 tablespoons raw sugar

Rosemary "Punishments" (Butter Cookies)

There's butter and rosemary in these cookies!

Punitions 

Adapted from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 stick butter (5 oz)

heaping 1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, room temp

2 cups flour

1/3 cup rosemary, chopped

Strawberry Ice cream

Back in the Spring , I made some strawberry jam from the freshest strawberries I could buy at the Bloomfield farmer's market. The recipe from Bust magazine which added thyme and balsamic vinegar to spice up the jam. I ended up with more of a syrup and decided to use it to make some delicious strawberry ice cream. I served it over some blueberry lavender pie.

Jam:
5 cups strawberries
2 1/2 cups raw cane sugar
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Smush the strawberries as much as you want using a potato masher in a ceramic pot. I really like having chunks of strawberries in my jam. For a smoother consistency, blend the strawberries. Bring the strawberries and sugar up to a rolling boil on medium heat and then turn the heat down. Simmer for about 5 minutes. (If you cook it longer, it would probably set but I like my jam as fresh as possible.) Then add the thyme leaves and balsamic vinegar and cook for 1 minute longer. The taste that they lend the jam is really subtle but it adds more depth. Pour into clean mason jars and keep in the refrigerator for about 1 week or in the freezer for 1 year.

Strawberry Ice cream

2 cans full fat coconut milk
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup strawberry jam (depending on how strong you want the strawberry flavor)

Mix the coconut milk, jam, and salt together. Chill for 4 hours in the refrigerator. Then process in an ice cream maker!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

I have somehow lost my go-to vegan zucchini bread recipe. Instead I used Alton Brown's pumpkin bread recipe and adjusted it to my liking. I topped it with some sweetened marscapone cheese and added some chocolate chips.

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup sorghum flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1 pinch ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup raw cane sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar 

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups shredded fresh zucchini (packed) 

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a bundt or loaf pan.
Whisk the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips just until incorporated. 

Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted cleanly into the middle of the loaf. Cool before serving.
If there are leftovers, I like to put the zucchini bread in the freezer and eat some slices while frozen. It melts in your mouth!

Vegetarian Pho

We served this at our rehearsal dinner, and this was my first attempt to make it on my own.  The recipe is based off of several recipes, including my mom's but the basis is from the New York Times. This is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. My aunts are so good at making it since they have had years of perfecting their recipes! The important thing for this recipe is to have the highest quality ingredients from the freshest vegetables and herbs (from the garden or the farmer's market) you can find to the most fragrant spices (we hit up Penzy's in the strip).

For the broth:

1 large white onion, unpeeled and quartered

1 5-inch piece of fresh ginger, unpeeled

3 quarts water

1 large leek, cleaned and cut in thick slices

5 small turnips, cut in half

3 large carrots

8 shiitake mushroom stems

1 head of garlic, cut in half

2 stalks lemon grass, trimmed, smashed with the side of a knife, and sliced

Salt to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons raw brown sugar (rock sugar is ideal) 

7 star anise pods

6 whole cloves

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 cinnamon stick

3 tablespoons fish sauce

Scorch the onion and ginger on all sides by holding the pieces above a flame with tongs. This is the fun part! There will be noticeable black spots.

Slice the ginger into coin slices once cool enough to handle.

Cook the spices in the empty soup pot until fragrant, just a couple minutes. Tie the spices in a cheesecloth bag. Combine the scorched onion and ginger with the water, leeks, turnips, carrots, mushroom stems, garlic, lemon grass, salt to taste and sugar in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Add the spice bag. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add the fish sauce if using, and simmer for another hour. Pull out the spice bag if the spices are strong enough. I like to keep the vegetables in the pot and just ladle out the broth to serve. Taste and adjust salt and sugar.

Pho toppings and add-ins:

pho rice noodles (you can get fresh noodles in the strip- so good) 

1 small onion, sliced paper thin

thai basil 

chopped cilantro

fresh mint

mung bean sprouts

thai chilies, finely chopped 

3 to 4 limes, cut in wedges

plenty of fresh ground pepper

sriracha sauce

hoisin sauce

To make individual bowls, just cook the rice noodles until al dente. Then place the noodles into each bowl. Ladle hot broth over the noodles. Add in sriracha, hoisin sauce, and lime to taste. Then add in the onion and fresh herbs to taste. I like plenty of onions, thai basil, and mung beans.

Buckwheat Crepes

I believe the original recipe is from Alton Brown, using just all purpose flour. I've been making these crepes for years, ever since I got back from studying abroad in France. Once, I even made crepes for an entire group of students on a mission trip when we were stumped about what to eat for dinner. Feel free to double or triple the recipe. If you want to make sweet crepes, just use normal flour and add 3 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to the batter.

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt

Savory Topping ideas:
ratatouille
cooked mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, spinach, onions
herbes de provence
fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary
swiss, mozzerella, or gruyere cheese

Sweet Topping ideas:
Nutella and banana
sugar and lemon juice
caramel and chocolate
fruit compote and chocolate
caramelized apples and cream

Mix the milk, eggs, and water together. Mix some of this batter into the melted butter. Then pour the butter mixture back into the batter. Then sift the flours into the batter, while stirring. There will be a few lumps left, but that's fine. Cover the mixing bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
To make: Grease a caste iron pan with plenty of butter. Heat the pan over medium heat for several minutes. Pour a little less than 1/3 cup batter onto the pan and immediately spread the batter by swirling the pan. Cook just until the edges are dry and the crepe is golden brown. Use a spatula to flip the crepe. Use this time to place toppings in layers on one side of the crepe. I like to put veggies first and then sprinkle the cheese over the veggies. Then fold the crepe in half and serve.

Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake

This cake is called Banh Bo Nuong in Vietnamese. It is definitely tricky to make, so I would follow the directions carefully. I used a combination from 2 different recipes. It's gluten free and dairy free. The taste is subtle and it has a unique texture- kind of gelatinous. It personally reminds me of home and my mother's cooking. The original recipe calls for pandan leaves which I didn't have on hand so I used vanilla instead.

200 ml coconut cream (1/2 can)
150 g sugar (1 cup)
6 eggs, at room temperature
200 grams tapioca starch/flour (2 cups)
2 1/2 tsp SINGLE ACTING baking powder (see below)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make single acting baking powder:
2 tbsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp baking soda
Mix and put in a sealed container.

For the cake:
Weigh out the tapioca flour and baking powder and mix together.
Mix the coconut cream with the sugar until the sugar is dissolved. You may have to heat up the coconut cream a bit to accomplish this. Let cool if it needs to be heated and then add the vanilla extract into the mixture.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt pan generously and place in the oven to heat.
Stir the eggs in a separate bowl gently to mix them together. Make sure the whisk is always touching the bottom of the bowl to minimize air bubbles.
Gently stir the cooled coconut mixture into the eggs. Then working in parts, sift the flour into the wet ingredients a little bit at a time while stirring. Stir gently until there are just a few lumps left. The key is not to over mix the ingredients.
Pull the hot bundt pan out of the oven and pour the batter in quickly. Then bake for 35-40 minutes until nicely golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes and then unmold.

Ideally you want the cake to rise with all the striations from the air bubbles! This is the correct texture to aim for.

Raw Beet and Summer Squash Salad

In our community house, we sometimes all cook at the same time. This results in glorious impromptu dinner parties and the occasional epic brunch. While biking back from work, I stopped at the East Liberty farmer's market (one of the best in the city, I think!). I picked up some heirloom beets and yellow squash from One Woman Farm. Nick chopped vegetables while I made dressing. Laura and Brittany were cooking over the stove. Linda contributed some delicous wine and Twilly did Twilly-like things. Laura's friend joined us and made some delicious fruit compote to go over vanilla ice cream. Overall, it was a successful night!

1 bunch beets with greens

1 medium yellow squash
2 cloves garlics, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Wash the beets well. Don't worry about peeling them if they are fresh. The skins are thin if the beets are younger. Chop the beet root into small cubes. You can eat the stems but I left them out here. Chop the beet greens thinly. Cut the zucchini, skin and all, into small cubes. Sprinkle the vegetables with some salt in a large bowl. Set aside while making dressing.
For the dressing:
In a mason jar, add the thyme and oregano leaves. Add the garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, and dijon mustard. Add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Shake well. Then add the olive oil and shake even more! Add more of each seasoning as desired. Pour over the salad and let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with extra thyme and plenty of black pepper.

Chocolate Stout Cake

I made this cake for a 4th of July cookout using a beer that an awesome friend brewed for my wedding! You can't really taste the beer but it adds more depth to the cake. This would also be great with a chocolate stout. The recipe is from 101 Cookbooks. I skipped the frosting and instead topped the cake with some blueberry lavender jam. I'll be posting that recipe soon!

2 cups black IPA (1 glass bottle)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 plain whole yogurt (or sour cream)
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp dried lavender flowers (if desired)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and flour a bundt pan.
In a saucepan simmer the beer down to 1 cup. Watch closely. Remove from heat, add the butter and whisk until melted. Stir in the cocoa powder, mixing until smooth, then set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. 
In a separate, large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, and maple syrup. Whisk well, until nicely blended and uniform in appearance. Slowly add the cooled stout mixture, stirring. Stir until well blended. Add the flour mixture, folding until just blended. The batter will be liquidy.
Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan and bake for 35 - 45 minutes. Let cool before frosting and serving.

Matar Paneer

I made this for our picnic after picking blueberries on the fourth of July. We got to pet farm animals and we got porch furniture. Best day ever! The recipe is from the blog Show me the Curry. The paneer was homemade. Check out the post on homemade cheese to make it yourselves.

Ingredients:

plenty of oil
1 whole bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 tsp dried cardamom
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 knob ginger
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
1 handful mint, chopped
Paneer, cubed (I used 1/2 of what I made)
Salt – to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 package Frozen Green Peas (16 oz)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Whey, vegetable broth, or water as needed

Method:

1. Heat a medium size pan on medium heat.
2. Add in some oil and allow it to heat up.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves, and cardamom powder.
4. Add in the chopped onions and stir for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add in the ginger, garlic and jalapeno.
6. Cook until the onions are golden brown in color. Then use an immersion blender to roughly blend the majority of the onion in the pan.
7. Add the cumin and turmeric and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add in the frozen green peas. Add enough whey to just barely cover the peas.
9. Add in the cayenne powder and salt. Mix well.
10. Cover and cook until the Peas are tender for about 7 minutes.
11. Add the cubed paneer to the peas and mix in.
12. Lower heat and add in the yogurt and the chopped mint. Mix well.
13. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.

Serve over rice with fresh mint!

Thai Curry with Rice

This dish was made for my lovely sisters, as they spent a week with me in Pittsburgh. This meant I had to be continuously feeding them since they are always hungry. We had lots of fun blueberry picking and touring Duquesne and Pitt. We also dyed the monkey's hair purple! Also this is from online somewhere...

Ingredients:

•2 shallots, thinly sliced
•1 thumb-size piece galangal, minced
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•2 chilies, minced (I used jalapenos!)
•1 Tbsp ground coriander
•1 tsp ground cumin
•2 tsp ground turmeric
•1/3 tsp ground black pepper
•2 bay leaves
•1 cup vegetable stock
•1 can chickpeas (drained)
•2 carrots, sliced
•2-3 cups broccoli and cauliflower, chopped
•1 large potato, cubed
•1 can coconut milk (full fat)
•3 Tbsp soy sauce
•3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (about 2 small limes)
•2 Tbsp brown sugar
•2 Tbsp ketchup
•1/2 tsp. whole cumin seed
•1/4 cup fresh Thai basil 

To make:

Stir fry shallots, ginger, garlic, and chili for 2 minutes. Add the dry spices: coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, black pepper, and bay leaves.

Add the chickpeas, carrot,  potato, and broccoli/cauliflower, stirring well. Add enough stock to cover the vegetables.

Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Then add the coconut milk and bring back to a simmer. While simmering, add the soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and ketchup. Finally, add the whole cumin seed. Continue simmering until vegetables are cooked to your liking.

Serve over rice and top with plenty of fresh thai basil.

Fresh Corn Soup

I made this soup for the first time last year, and I was excited to make it again this year. When I can get corn at Schramm's, we can have corn on the cob but until then I'm making corn soup. I got the corn for this soup on sale at Whole Foods.

FRESH CORN SOUP
From Better Homes and Gardens

4 tbsp butter

1/2 cup onion, chopped

4 cups fresh corn, cut off about 10 cobs

1-2 tbsp sugar

2-3 cups milk

1 cup half and half

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Blueberry Muffins

We went blueberry picking at Reilly's Summer Seat Farm on July 4th and now we have a lot of blueberries!

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup veg oil (or coconut canola oil if you live with Michelle... and if you're reading this, you probably do live with Michelle)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white or brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup oatmeal (optional)

Couscous Summer Salad

This salad has got blueberries that we picked at a farm, kale and basil from the backyard and couscous, so it's perfect. It's also vaguely red, white and blue for Independence Day or Bastille Day.

COUSCOUS SUMMER SALAD
Adapted quite a bit from Two Peas & Their Pod

10 oz uncooked couscous 
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Cook the couscous! Bring the water, olive oil and salt to a boil. Take it off the heat and mix in the couscous. Cover and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork.

1-2 cups blueberries
1-2 cups fresh kale, cut up into little pieces
1 cup basil, cut up
1 cup kalamata olives, seeded and halved
1 cup feta, crumbled
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp olive oil

Mix it all up. Eat outside.

Garlic Scape Pesto

We're coming to the end of garlic scape season! This meal was made for our 1 month anniversary!!! It was a stormy day and the perfect day for some (super) garlicky pasta. Garlic scapes are garlic flowers. They are cut off at the beginning of the season in May so that the garlic bulb will continue to develop instead of the flower. The younger they are, the more tender they will be. If you wait too long to cut them off, they tend to be really woody. This recipe makes more than enough pesto for this dish. Use the extra for some delicious pizza toppings or to spice up any dish (we added it to quinoa).

1 pound dry pasta (I used orecchiette)
1 bunch fresh bok choy
1 medium onion
3 bunches garlic scapes
1/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Toppings: prosciutto, capers, fresh mozzerella

To make the pesto:

Chop the garlic scapes into 1-2 inch pieces so they fit easily into a food processor. Toast the walnuts until golden brown if desired. Blend the scapes until chopped thoroughly, then add the walnuts and parmesan cheese. Add the olive oil until the pesto is at the desired consistency. Feel free to adjust the amounts of each ingredient to your liking.

Pasta:
Cook the pasta al dente according to the package direction. Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water when straining the pasta. Mince the onion and cook until translucent in a frying pan. Then add a little bit of water and cook the bok choy briefly. Add into the pasta. Add enough pesto to coat the pasta, thinning with the pasta water as needed.
Top with various toppings and serve hot or cold.