Picnic Fare

We went to an outdoor garden concert this last weekend and invited our neighbors. I didn't plan too well in advance but did make one nice dish that turned out to be perfect for something like this and really a nice dish in general for the summer. I made a "normal" tomato, basil, mozzarella salad but augmented it some by using heirloom cherry tomatoes (I cut them in half), very fresh farmers market basil, and a chopped up fresh peach. Added some salt, fresh mozzarella, ground pepper, olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Turned our surprisingly tasty. So summery and fresh.

Fruit on the Bottom Baked Oatmeal

Great breakfast meal - can combine the dry ingredients, wet ingredients and put fruit in the bottom of the pan (all three separately) and then mix up in the AM quickly.

From Tasty Kitchen (http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/breakfastbrunch/fruit-on-the-bottom-baked-oatmeal/ )

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced fruit (I typically add a little extra fruit)

1/2 cups whole milk (I've used low fat milk which works out fine)

2/3 cup maple syrup

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup butter, divided

2 cup oatmeal

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 T demerara sugar or sucanat, divided

1/3 cup sliced almonds

Preheat over to 350. Melt butter, pour 1/4 cup into the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish. Arrange sliced fruit on top of the butter and sprinkle with 2 T demerara. Set aside. (I've skipped the butter)

In a medium bowl, mix together milk, maple syrup, eggs, remaining butter and vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour over the fruit and smooth the top. Sprinkle with almonds and remaining 2 T demerara.

Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes, or until browned on top and fruit is bubbly. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with milk, cream or vanilla sauce.

MMMMM.

Laura's Famous Strawberry Salad (my new favorite salad)

My friend Nameeta gave me this recipe. I now make the dressing and make a version of this all the time.

Ingredients

1/3 cup raspberry vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar (I try to cut this back some)

1 T poppy seeds (these aren't necessary)

1 cup canola oil

green onions (not yet put these in)

strawberries

pine nuts

spring mix

mix vinegar, salt, sugar, poppy seeds and canola oil together.

Wash and slice strawberries, wash and slice the green onions, wash and chop the lettuce, and toss all of the ingredients in a bowl. Add dressing to lettuce mix and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Sometimes, I add a little goat cheese which is a nice addition.

Any Cooking Going on Around Here?

So no new exciting dinners lately... sort of sticking with the old standbys (roasted chicken, chicken tenders, ribs, black beans, etc.) but we have tried out a couple new recipes that are worth mentioning:

Scintillating Sangria
From TheCitySisters.com (http://www.thecitysisters.com/entertaining/scintillating-sangria)
1 12-oz can frozen lime concentrate
1 12-oz can frozen orange concentrate
1 bottle Cabernet
2 liter bottle grapefruit soda

Mix the first 3 ingredients well and put in freezer. When ready to serve, pour in pitcher and add the grapefruit soda. Surprisingly tasty.


Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
This has been a staple in our house for a couple of years. It is such a great summer salad, great for pot-lucks, surprisingly fresh tasting (one of those dishes that the sum of the parts tastes better than you'd expect from the list of ingredients)
2 cups fresh grilled corn
1 diced avocado
1 pint halved cherry tomatoes (or a couple chopped up larger tomatoes works just fine)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 T olive oil
1 T lime juice
1/2 tsp lime zest (just grate the zest from one lime)
1/4 tsp salt

Combine corn through cilantro in a large bowl. Mix olive oil, lime juice, salt and zest in a small bowl. Add to corn, avocado, tomato mixture. Serve.


Fruit on the Bottom Baked Oatmeal
From Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen

1 1/2 cups fresh fruit (thinly sliced if something like apples, etc.) (I use 2 cups)
1/2 cups milk
2/3 cups maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup butter, divided
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 T raw sugar
1/3 cup sliced almonds (I've left these out many times and it works fine without them)

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter, pour 1/4 cup into the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish. Arrange sliced fruit on top of the butter and sprinkle with 2 T raw sugar. Set aside. (When I've made with berries of any sort, I've not put in the melted butter and I've added some cinnamon sugar)

In a medium bowl, mix together milk, maple syrup, eggs, remaining butter and vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour over the fruit and smooth the top. Sprinkle with almonds and remaining 2 T raw sugar.

Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes or until browned on top and fruit is bubbly. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with milk, cream or vanilla sauce.

July 4th

Okay, so not a lot of exciting cooking going on around here... the most exciting thing lately (if you want stretch things by calling it exciting!) was our block party for July 4th. Each family was supposed to bring something to grill and then a side dish to share. Our family and the family next door were hosting the event so I planned to bring a little extra.

We brought our favorite ribs:
They are Brown Sugar and Bourbon Ribs from Epicurious.com

Basting sauce
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons apple cider
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Ribs
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 2- to 2 1/4-pound racks baby back pork ribs
1 large onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
6 thin rounds peeled fresh ginger
1 1/4 cups apple cider

For basting sauce:Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

For ribs:Mix first 7 ingredients in small bowl. Using small sharp knife, loosen membrane from underside of each rib rack and pull off (or score membrane). Rub 1 tablespoon seasoning mix into each side of each rib rack. Place ribs in large roasting pan. Cover and chill at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lift ribs from pan. Scatter onion, cinnamon stick, and ginger in pan. Pour in cider. Return ribs, meat side down, to pan; cover pan with foil. Roast ribs until meat is tender and begins to pull away from bones, about 2 hours. Uncover; cool at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill ribs until heated through and slightly charred, about 5 minutes per side. Brush generously on all sides with basting sauce. Grill until sauce becomes sticky glaze, about 3 minutes longer per side. Transfer rib racks to cutting board. Cut racks between bones into individual ribs. Arrange on platter and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

We also brought one of my favorite summer side dishes:
Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad (I don't recall where I got this recipe but it is definitely a keeper and works best when you use fresh in-season ingredients)

Place 2 cups cooked corn in a large bowl. Add 1 diced avocado (1/2-inch pieces), 1 pint halved cherry tomatoes, and ½ cup finely diced red onion. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon lime zest, ¼ cup chopped cilantro, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir the vinaigrette into the salad and serve.

I also sliced up a watermelon and using a star cookie cutter, cut a bunch of star-shaped pieces and put them on a platter. Relatively easy but adds a really nice touch.

Lastly, we made red, white and blue striped Jello and using the small star cookie cutter, cut those into star shapes. Hardest part of that was the cutting into the shapes and getting them onto the platter cleanly. For the middle white layer, I found a recipe on line to take plain gelatin and mix it with water and a can of condensed milk.

Not Cooking Much?!

I realized by my lack of posts, I really haven't been cooking this month. I did make another batch of the black beans, the butternut squash gnocchi, and skirt steak. Otherwise, nothing new. How boring! I guess I need to get a little more motivated...

A couple simple dinners

Last night, I marinated a package of TJ's chicken tenders in a mixtures of fresh lemon, lime and orange juice, olive oil, salt, and fresh chopped rosemary, parsley and oregano. I let it marinate at room temp for about an hour and then had J BBQ it on the grill. Turned out great. Our side dishes were fresh steamed French green beans (so happy they are back in season!) and roasted BN squash.

Tonight, our neighbors emailed late in the afternoon and asked us over for dinner. I had already made the cuban black bean crock pot recipe and asked if they wanted to plan dinner around that and we'd just bring the beans. They made some Mexican rice, some fresh guac, shredded cheese, blue corn chips, and some fresh corn on the cobb. It all went really well together.