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.

Summer Sandwich

Fresh tomatoes.
Fresh green beans lightly sauteed in olive oil.
Scrambled eggs.
Crusty toast.
A taste of cured orange fennel salami.

Equals open-faced summer sandwiches.

Summertime is when you can look around your kitchen and make something simple in a few minutes out of what you have foraged from the grocery store or farm stands.  The salami is amazing and came from our foraging expedition to San Francisco.  you can order online from Boccalone's online store.  We tried this one and the Nduja, which are both incredible.  If you sample any others, let me know.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

By now you are on the verge of missing strawberry season!  Don't let such a thing happen - go pick some really ripe local ones from a farm near you.  You can make the most classic (and arguably the best) of all smoothies every morning for breakfast and still have plenty left over for noshing and pie.  My recipe is simple.  Cut up one or two bananas and all the strawberries that will fit in our blender.   Freeze it for about 15 minutes, then fill up the blender.  Pour a cup of plain yogurt in, and pour in enough milk to get the blender to do it's work, maybe half to a full cup.   If the strawberries are tart, add a pinch of sugar.  Add a dash of salt.  Blend.  

Roasted Red Peppers

Red peppers are great, we don't buy them every day because they are a bit on the expensive side. Roasting your own is actually pretty easy, but unless you get the peppers on super-special it doesn't save you much money. I just put them on a tray under the broiler until they get black, then turn them on each of four sides. It takes a few minutes a side. Take them out and the skin comes right off very easily. Cut out the stem and seeds and put them in a jar and cover with olive oil. Add garlic if you like.

Peach Puzzler

This is the must-make of every peach season. It's a cool recipe from NPR. In fact, you can find it here. The puzzle is how all the sauce gets into the ramekin in the center. You assemble it upside down, and pour the sauce all over the peaches. The whole peaches cook just enough while bathing in the sauce. Then, while the dish cools, the air trapped in the ramekin contracts and sucks the juice into the cup. With a deft flip and a spoon for the sauce it is ready for the table.

Sour Cherry Tart

This picture is not actually from this weekend, but is from this year's sour cherry season. There's usually one, maybe two weekends at Butler's Orchard when blueberry picking and sour cherry picking overlap. This pie is the result. Sour cherries are my absolute favorite pie.

Okra Pickles

Refrigerator pickles are great and simple. Okra is under appreciated in this country. I actually saw these in the store once and immediately bought them to try. The home version is just as good. It takes fresh okra, white vinegar, a chile pepper to our taste, and some salt. A week later (or less) they are ready to eat. They're soft but with a clean bite - on the verge of crisp.

Peach-Beet-Tomato Summer Salad

This juicy fruit salad is slurpy and delicious. It's only for the best tomatoes and peaches, but it is great and quenching. The recipe is from Tasty by Roy Finamore. Slice up peaches, tomatoes, roasted beets, and mix with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. It's best if you let it sit at room temp for a couple hours for the flavors to mix.

Peach French Toast

Emily the baker whipped up a quick batch of brioche the night before for breakfast the next morning. I don't know if you've ever had a brioche french toast but it was amazing. You'll have to ask her for the brioche recipe, the french toast batter was a recipe from Cook's Illustrated May/June 1997. The peaches were quickly cooked in a touch of butter and brown sugar. Blackberries take it over the top. Be sure to pile the fruit high over one or two small slices of toast. No syrup needed.

Summer's Bounty for $60

This was our haul last week from Homestead Farm in Poolesville, MD. The best of summer is available there (read peaches, blackberries, tomatoes...) The blackberries are ridiculous. Huge, sweet, and cheap! This was practically all the food we needed for the week.

Ratatouille with Poached Eggs

This August 2009 Martha Stewart Living was quite good with lots of recipes for summer. This ratatouille is perfect for the peak of tomato season because the tomatoes are not cooked, but fresh. The runny poached egg is a great idea. Our little twist was to put this on a thick slice of Panera Tomato Basil bread (otherwise known as Crack).