Cold Brunch

The menu for this brunch was a response to a particular challenge.  One guest had a a doctor's warning against eating hot foods.  So instead of postponing brunch, we set out to make an equally scrumptious brunch with only cold components.  For the salad, the blackberry-walnut salad was a reprise.  We had two soups, a gazpacho and a cantaloupe chilled fruit soup for the fruit component.  Deviled eggs, homemade wheat bread, and a selection of cold cuts (smoked turkey, prosciutto, a taste of the boccalone orange fennel sausage, and smoked gouda).  The blueberry muffins did not even make the picture.  Needless to say, we were stuffed.

Blackberry Walnut Feta Salad

I love that blackberries are wild and pop up around the DC area.  There are a few bushes not far from our apartment... though there are usually only enough for a passing snack and not to pick and take home.  These are big ones from a pick your own farm and they are delicious.  Candied walnuts are great - I remember the smell of them in Downtown Crossing in the freezing Boston winter, but they do almost as well in a summer setting and give a satisfying sweet crunch.  The recipe is a strange one, but good for light summer dinners and eating up your delicious blackberries in a way that is not pie.  That is not to say I could ever have enough blackberry pie, but one must have consideration for others who must dine in the same household.

Tapioca Pudding

Look no further than the back of the box for this recipe, and if you have the time do the one that uses the beaten egg whites. The strawberries and Trader Joe's waffle cookies are good complements to the vanilla-y awesomeness that this king of puddings manifests.