Peach, Pistachio & Sweet Corn Salad

Summertime and the living is easy!  So lunch should be as well.  Helloooooo simple salad!

Corned Beef, Havarti & Sauerkraut Panini

Another St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, leaving our refrigerator filled with odd ends of corned beef, boiled potatoes, sauerkraut and roasted cabbage.  Yessssss.  The timing is perfect for fantastic leftover creations with all the bold flavors of your traditional corned beef dinner.  Time for pot pie, Irish-inspired omelets and my take on the classic reuben.

Caesar Asparagus Toast with Poached Egg

There are three things I will never turn down:  artisan bread, high quality dark chocolate and a farm fresh egg.  Regardless of time, place or hunger level, I am powerless to turn away from their temptation.  Recently I've sworn off mass manufactured bread, opting to make my own whole wheat loaves at home (which I will share once the recipe is perfected) so artisan bread is currently in ample supply.  And as chance would have it, the hubs and I happened to get our hands on some hours old eggs last week.  Needless to say, I've been eating eggs and toast like it's going out of style.  And with all the gorgeous asparagus at the market, this Caesar Asparagus Toast has been replayed throughout the week like the theme song from Titanic at a 1997 prom.

Roasted Beet, Kale & Quinoa Salad w/ Goat Cheese & Almonds

I have an affinity for neglected vegetables.  Celery root, jicama, dragon tongue beans...whatever it may be, please pass them my way and I'll see to it that they are eaten.  My newest favorite: beets.  Pickled or roasted, greens or bulbs, I cannot get enough of this fantastic little root.  And once I accidentally discovered they keep for practically ever in the refrigerator, we've been having bi-weekly roastings to tide us over on the weekdays.  And this salad is my current go-to dish for these delicious red beauties.

Watermelon Habanero Gazpacho

For some unbeknownst reason, I've been churning out an inordinate amount of soup lately.  Not one, not two but three within the past week.  That's a new June record for this foodie.  All three are delicious recipes that I've been meaning to post for some time.  The two previous posts have been hot soups, but this dish is a nice cold summer soup.  I've been waiting for this year's watermelon crop to hit the markets to share this refreshing Watermelon Habanero Gazpacho.  Perfect for an outdoor picnic or served poolside on a hot day, this spicy and refreshing recipe is fabulous for summer weather.

Roasted Mexican Soup

It seems that every year, some crop is absolutely gorgeous.  Right now, I'm totally stuck on the glorious ears of  corn that are cropping up left and right (pun intended!).  These gorgeous ears can't make it to my mouth fast enough.  We've been grilling them up left and right, using our special family recipe and other fabulous creations.  But what I've been making more than anything is Roasted Mexican Soup.  I absolutely love this stuff in the summer.

Eggy in a Pesto Hole

Eggy in the Basket.  Toad in the Hole.  Egg Toast.  Call it what you will, this little egg and bread combo is a breakfast classic.  It instantly whisks me back to childhood memories of sitting on on my knees at a tall kitchen stool, peeping over the kitchen counter and helping punch holes into slices of bread.  Care Bears pajamas included.  Well, here the kiddy classic grows up a little bit into a slightly more debonaire delight.

Ham & White Bean Soup with Pesto

June is without a doubt one of the best months of the year.  The weather warms up, the barbecues come out, the days are longer and you can sleep with the windows open.  Fresh produce predominates the market and silly things like frozen foods are nearly forgotten.  That is, until I get a whim to clean out my freezer one weekend and stumble across a bag of leftover ham from Easter.  "Good grief," thought I, looking at this forgotten little package of protein, "weren't you suppose to be soup?"  And not just any soup, but my all time favorite ham soup.  So yes, it's June and yes, I'm posting a soup recipe.  But it's still cold in Alaska, right?

Spring Vegetable Spring Rolls

I have been going ga-ga over all the delicious spring vegetable dishes cropping up on my favorite food blogs.  I mean, who doesn't love fresh asparagus and peas in an easy skillet lasagna or hiding within a tender dumpling?  I love trying these sweet spring greens in every sort of recipe I can find.  All of these delicious dishes inspired me to create these Spring Vegetable Spring Rolls.  Double the spring, double the yum.

Grilled Zucchini Pesto Roll-Ups

I spend a lot of time thinking about food.  In fact, most people I live with (a-hem) would call it an unhealthy obsession.  Along with my obsession, I also have a compulsion....to think up new flavor combos, try unique spins on the classics or just make something flipping delicious.  This recipe falls into the third category.  In fact, it wasn't something I had ever planned on blogging.  Rather, it was just a throw-together-from-random-refrigerator-ingredients well-planned appetizer that I made for a get-together with some friends one evening.  Before I could set down my toothpick, the hostess made me swear to post this on my blog.  So this one goes out to the lovely hostess...salut!

Grilled Ricotta Cakes

I have a new favorite patty.  Ms. Mayonnaise from Doug was a long time favorite of my younger years, while adulthood has been mostly dedicated to quinoa and black bean.  But now there's a new little patty in town...my yummy little ricotta patty.  You know that delicious, creamy ricotta that typically fills lasagna?  Well that's exactly what these taste like.  All the delicious tenderness of lasagna filling, but with a crispy exterior....yum.  Plus you don't have to make an entire casserole.  Super versatile, these little patties are my new favorite side.

Grilled Brussels Sprouts & Strawberry Salad

I am a huge fan of a hearty, healthy lunch of fresh fruits and veggies.  On a lazy Saturday, it's the perfect recovery meal after a decadent breakfast of sugary carbs, evening out the playing field before dinner rolls around.  During the week, it receives envious stares from co-workers as they attempt to microwave life into their frozen entrees.  This is one of those dishes that fill you up (not out) and leave you feeling completely satisfied.  Easy to make for a quick bite or pack in a picnic basket, Grilled Bussels Sprouts and Strawberries is a winner of a combo.

Grilled Vegetable Tzatziki Salad

Nothing says SUMMER quite like dinner from the grill.  After all that cold weather, it's nice to give your burners, oven and broiler a little break and get back to those glorious grill lines.  In our home, the hubs is King of the grill, capital K intended.  I may assist in the protein preparation, but I depend on his magical internal BBQ-clock to cook it to perfection.   While he reigns as King of the meat, I rule as Queen of the veggies.  From artichoke to zucchini, I grill them all.  Who says that your barbecue side has to be a fresh salad or coleslaw?  Grill while the grilling is good.  This recipe is one that I make over and over again....(and again, and again.)  Incredibly easy and tasty, this one is sure to wow the flip flops off your friends at a cookout.  

Creamy Polenta with Turkey Meatballs & Basil

Polenta is the unsung hero of Italian cuisine.  So frequently overshadowed by a plethora of pastas, this delicious, gluten-free grain can be forgotten about.  Inconceivable!  But sadly true.  In fact, it had been several months since I've made a dish with polenta, and even longer since I've blogged about it.  To make up for this tragedy, I bring to you one of my favorite polenta dinners.  Ready in 20 minutes, this delicious, simple and hearty dish is one that you will look forward to making any night of the week.  

Brussels Sprout, Black Bean & Brie Quesadilla

I never thought for a moment that I would ever live to see the day that my husband would actually ask me to make brussels sprouts.  He had never even eaten one until I began my sprout-kick early last year.  Ladies and gents, it is with sheer delight that I inform you this day did indeed come.  It was last Thursday, March 14th, 2013.  He simply slipped into the conversation his desire for me to make brussels sprouts again.  Well, perhaps not exactly brussels sprouts...but he did request that I make this exact quesadilla again.  And any time that I get to eat black beans, sprouts and black truffle brie grilled to melty perfection, I am happy to oblige.  Score one for the vegetarians!

Corned Beef Pot Pie

St. Patrick's Day - the day we remember the beloved patron saint of Ireland by dyeing beer, watch for rainbows and wear green to avoid being pinched.  After chasing out the snakes, he must've had a ball.  We always celebrate with our most favorite of traditions, the much beloved corned beef and cabbage.  My mom made it every year growing up, and it has a huge spot in my heart.  Plus there's all that great leftover meat for Rueben's and corned beef hash.  But there's another dish that I would like to introduce to your leftover repertoire if you can stand to give your Thousand Island a little break.  The amazing flavor of the Irish dinner with all the warmth of a truly great comfort food...ladies and gents, I give you the Corned Beef Pot Pie. 

Spinach Dip & Roast Beef Panini

I love dip.  Dippady-dip-dip.  Down to my belly.  And on single-digit January days, I tend to gravitate toward the hot dips.  After all, something has to encourage your toes to thaw after a brief walk to the mailbox/car/doggie bag dispenser.  When it comes to hot dips, nothing gets me like Hot & Skinny Spinach Dip, made with greek yogurt instead of mayo.  But who says a dip is only for dunking?  Why can't a dip be on a sandwich?  Well, it can and it is if you try this delicious hot, hearty panini (highly recommended by frozen toes in Southeast Ohio).

Roasted Garlic Cumin Cauliflower

Cauliflower is one of those misunderstood vegetables.  It is sad how frequently a veggie tray is pitched with all empty bins, except for the one overflowing with white florets   And I'm sorry to say that I was guilty of this at one point.  Growing up, I thought a side of steamed cauliflower was a served as a punishment for particularly naughty behavior (what, I never found out).  This hatred extended into my post-college years and an Indian-spiced dish by the name of sookhi gobi.  One bite and I was changed forever, completely converted to the cauliflower-side.  I realized that it's not bland or boring, just a blank canvas.  All it needs is a little color!

Weeknight Slender Joes

I don't know about you, but I have a terrible habit of squandering my free time.  Take an evening such as this, for example.  After working all day, bathing the pups, cooking dinner and designing a belated 2013 photo calendar, I am blogging rather than watching Alias on Netlix (*sigh*....c'est de ma faute).  It seems I never have time for free time.  So in honor of this recipe, I am limiting my blogging time to 15 minutes....starting now.  Meaning that within the next 14 and a half minutes, I'm going to present to you a recipe that will take you 15 minutes to make.  With me still?  And as an added bonus, it's so healthy that you can help yourself to seconds.  Boo-yah.

Roast Tomato Mirepoix Soup

Ok, so seriously the name of this dish is not intended to make it sound pretentious, because this is in no way a fancy dish.  It's vegetable soup.  Hearty, delicious, perfect-for-cold-weather soup that is made from the staples of most people's vegetable drawer - carrots, celery and onion.  Also known as mirepoix.  Just call it that and sound fabulously French.