I love fall, but I’ve been a little bummed that summer seemed to come and go so quickly this year — it rained almost every day in July and we really only had about two weeks of really nice weather before it started to get cold outside. I decided that even though they aren’t exactly season-appropriate, I would bake some lemon and blackberry cupcakes to remind myself of the warmer days. I may have spent the past few weeks bundled up in a winter coat and eating apples and squash, but one bite of these cupcakes will transported me right back to summer. [....]
When life gives you eggplants, make baba ganoush!
Even after making massive amounts of Ratatouille, I still had a few eggplants left so I decided to try something different and make baba ganoush. Shawn loves hummus, but I never really think to make baba ganoush, which is basically hummus made with roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. It was really easy to make though, and tasted way better than anything that you can buy prepared at the grocery store. I can’t wait to make it again! [....]
Like the tuna tartare that I posted the other day, this is a recipe that is very simple to make and requires little more than chopping the ingredients. I really like the unexpected use of kiwi in the salsa – it lends a nice but unexpected citrus flavor to the dish. It also pairs with the jalapeno surprisingly well.[....]
Chop and Serve.
I always say that I love to cook, but sometimes I wonder how true that is I might just like to eat good food that I know I won’t get on a regular basis unless I cook it myself. Especially lately, I just haven’t been in the mood to spend any amount of time in the kitchen. It might be because of the heat, or because I’ve been sick, or because the new dog refuses to let me sleep in the morning so I’ve been tired… but I’ve had no interest in spending any amount of time in the kitchen. Since this meal required very little of me other than chopping some ingredients, it was perfect. And it tasted great. [....]
Last weekend, was Shawn’s 10 year high school reunion. We went out to a restaurant/bar where they were playing the movie ratatouille on a big screen on one wall. I had forgotten what a great movie that is! We saw it when it first came out, but then I had kind of forgotten about it and I never saw it a second time. It definitely kept me entertained while he caught up with everyone from school. Anyway, when Shawn came home from work with a big bag full of tomatoes and basil that he had gotten from work, I knew immediately what I wanted to make. I had a leftover zucchini that I never used last week, and a boatload of plum tomatoes from my garden, so ratatouille was perfect. [....]
