More for me...

When it comes to eating things I put on the table, my family is usually quite amenable. Not so with zucchini and squash. Try as I might I cannot get these people to eat squash, or zucchini unless it's hidden away in a yummy, fan-carbo-tastic, bread. Wait a minute - my lovely girl just pointed out that she eats zucchini in a soup. Also, once I tricked them and put thinly sliced, raw baby squash and zucchini in a green salad.

In any event, I got some lovely young zucchini and summer squash from my farmer friends at the Monroe Farm Market. I grilled them and put them into a salad, which in my humble, and apparently uninfluential, opinion was fantastic. I hope you'll try it.

Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash Salad with Basil-Parmesan Dressing
4 medium-large zucchini, trimmed and halved lengthwise
4 medium-large summer squash, trimmed and halved lengthwise
extra virgin olive
kosher or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 C chiffonade of basil leaves
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
2T good quality balsamic vinegar

Preheat your grill to medium heat. Placed the zucchini and squash on a baking sheet, cut side up, and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill vegetables until tender and brown, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove vegetables to plate to cool to room temperature.


Cut vegetables diagonally into one-inch pieces. Place pieces into a large bowl. Add basil, Parmesan cheese, vinegar and about 2T olive oil. Toss to blend. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.


Serves up to 6 people who like squash. Will serve one person for sevvvvveral days.

Recipe from epicurious.com

I used a bunch of little zucchinis and bunch of little yellow summer squash(es?). It was perfect.

Future Top Chef

Last week my girl was very bored so she decided to invent a soup. Her brother deemed it, "Some of the best soup I've ever eaten." I helped her a wee little bit, but this is her soup, for sure!

Clara's Jalapeno and Chorizo Soup

3 links chorizo, removed from casing and cooked

1T olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 jalapeno, with seeds and membranes removed, diced

1.5C diced zucchini

1, 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

4 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 8 cups water

2t cumin

2t oregano

1t chile powder

1/2t ground coriander

1t kosher salt

1/2 freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1T olive oil in a dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent, about 10 min. Add carrots, celery, and jalapeno. Saute another 5 minutes. Add zucchini and saute another 5 minutes.

Next add cumin, oregano, chile powder, coriander, salt and pepper and stir for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and bouillon/water. Bring up to a simmer and add chorizo. Simmer for about one hour.

Easy + Elegant + Enticing

Ina this, Ina that, Ina, Ina, Ina! I do love me some Ina Garten recipes, and this one from my old standby, my rock, my fave o'faves, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, is no exception. It's super easy to put together and really perfect for entertaining friends on a hot, summer night. You can make it ahead of time, and serve it whenever you're ready. Your friends will think you're so organized and fabulous as you casually (yet gracefully) pull a beautiful bowl of goodness from the fridge while sipping your adult legal beverage of choice. Plus, my fish-eating kids like this so I really can't lose when I put this on the table.


Grilled Salmon Salad
2lbs fresh salmon fillets, skin on
olive oil for grilling
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1C, small-diced celery (about 3 stalks)
1/2C small-diced red onion
2T minced fresh dill (or 1T dried)
2T capers, drained
2T raspberry vinegar (substitute white wine vinegar)
2T olive oil
1/2t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the grill.

Cut salmon fillets crosswise into 4 inch wide slices. Rub salmon pieces with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush cooking surface with oil to prevent fish from sticking. Cook fish on grill for 5-7 min on each side, until they are rare. Remove to a plate; wrap with plastic; and chill in fridge until cold and very firm.

When the fillets are cold, remove any skin that hasn't come off during grilling. Break fish into very large flakes and place in a bowl. Add any juice that has collected on bottom of plate.

Add celery, red onions, dill, capers, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Serves 4.

Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

Summertime and the fish are jumping...

In our little family, fish and summertime go together. When we go to the beach, Cliff reads "Fish" by Mark Bittman like it's a trashy novel. Almost every day, he goes to the market and buys the freshest fish. He cooks like crazy, and I get a week off. It's heaven, I tell you.

It's 95 degrees outside, and I'm thinking about fish. Here in Charleston, we like to make this recipe because we can always get salmon.

Marinated Grilled Salmon
1/3C soy sauce
1t grated lemon rind
1/4C fresh lemon juice
2T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2t Dijon mustard
2t sesame oil
1T minced fresh herbs (parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme - whatever you have)
2# salmon fillets, skin on
Assorted veggies for grilling, such as bell peppers, red onion, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms

Whisk together first 7 ingredients.

Cut salmon into 1.5 to 2 inch cubes. Marinate for about 1 hour in fridge. Cut up the vegetables, marinate with the fish for as long as possible.

You can skewer the fish and veggies or use a grill basket. It's easier to use a grill basket. Grill the veggies first and set aside. Then grill the salmon for about 10 minutes for salmon that is rare inside. Grill longer if you like your fish well done.

Serves 4-6.

Alternative Fish: mako shark, monkfish, swordfish or tuna.

Recipe from "Fish" by Mark Bittman.

Better Living Through Bacon

Last week, my kids were at camp. I just didn't feel much like cooking without them around. I got them back yesterday, and so last night, I actually made dinner again. We tried this recipe from the Primal Blueprint Cookbook. The old adage is true: Everything really IS better with bacon!

Bacon ... and Broccoli Salad

1C mayonnaise (homemade or otherwise)
2-3 T honey, Grade B maple syrup or coconut/palm sugar
1-3 T apple cider vinegar
10 slices cooked bacon
2 lbs fresh broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized pieces
1C nuts, chopped coarsely
1/2C dried or fresh fruit, e.g., raisins, grapes, cherries, diced apples, blueberries

Combine mayo and sweetener of choice in a bowl and mix well. Use cider vinegar to cut sweetness as desired.

Add bacon, broccoli, nuts and fruit and mix until everything is evenly distributed and coated with dressing. If you have time, let it marinate in fridge for while to marry flavors.

We used honey for our dressing and added walnuts, golden raisins and apples. I made 1/2 batch. I didn't make my own mayo, but I can if I want to because that's the kind of girl I am.

Serves 4-6

bright lights, not-so-big city

My friends at that Monroe Farm Market have a beautiful thing right now - bright lights chard. The leaves are a rich, deep green with yellow or fuchsia stems running through them. It's so pretty and oh yeah, full of nutrients and such. I've now made the Swiss Chard Frittata from the Primal Blueprint Cookbook two times. It's delish. The kids gobbled it up one night at dinner after swim practice.

swiss chard frittata

1T olive oil
2T finely chopped onion
1 bunch chard finely chopped
6 beaten eggs
1-2T fresh or dried herbs
optional additions: grated cheese, diced peppers, cooked sausage

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Warm oil in an oven proof saute pan and saute onions. Add chard and cook until it wilts. Add herbs and optional ingredients. Pour in beaten eggs and stir quickly. Let cook just until they barely begin to set. Finish by putting pan in oven for about 5 minutes, depending on the size of our pan.

We used bell peppers and chorizo as our optional additions as well as some fresh herbs from our garden.

serves 4

Tahini in the Cupboard

Hello there. It is I, the chick who makes her own mayonnaise. Today, we discuss hummus. I do not like store bought hummus. I will not eat it in a house. I will not eat it with a mouse. I will not eat it in the rain. I will not eat on a plane … you get the picture. In contrast, I do like/love Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa fame, and she has THE BEST HUMMUS RECIPE EVER!

Hummus ingredients are pantry staples, no? Recently, I made my fave hummus with frozen shelled edamame. It was fab. Translation: the boy and the girl liked it as well as 5 dinner guests and my beloved.

Edamame Hummus

4 cloves garlic, minced

1, 12oz. package frozen shelled edamame

2T water

6T fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1.5 to 2 lemons)

1/3C tahini paste

8 dashes Tabasco

1t kosher salt

Lazy girls like me put their garlic cloves in the food processor first and mince them with a few pulses. (Try it. You’ll like it.) Next add all remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Transfer your hummus to a serving bowl and serve with assorted raw veggies. I like to drizzle the hummus with a little olive oil and sprinkle it with some paprika to make it look pretty. This hummus will be greenish so a sprinkle of dried oregano might work better than the paprika.

Makes 2 cups