Simple and Fresh, As Summer Ought to Be

This is the second pasta dish of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.  It is easy and light, encouraging us to pluck the cherry tomatoes off the bush in the backyard, and use up some of the basil growing wantonly next to it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, L'Estate:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
5 ounces Parmesan cheese (I used Parmigiano-Reggiano)
¾ cup pine nuts (pignoli), lightly toasted
6 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2½ cups extra virgin olive oil (I only used ½ cup)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound linguine (I used spaghetti)
Cherry tomato halves, or tomato wedges

1. Combine the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts and garlic in a medium-size bowl. Pour the olive oil over it all. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for three hours.
2. Cook the linguine (or spaghetti) in boiling salted water until tender but still firm. Drain and toss immediately with the sauce. Place in a large serving platter and arrange the tomatoes around the edge.
4 portions

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

 A refreshing summer salad and main course, all in a single glass.

Happy Sunday!

Shrimp Cobb Salad

I love salads, and, in the summer, I really indulge!

 No recipe needed.

Rehearsal for Memorial Day

Barbecue Pulled Pork, Black Bean and Corn Salad, Cole Slaw, Potato Chips and Butter Pickle Chips.

The recipe for the Black Bean and Corn Salad comes from my friend, cookbook author, food educator and critic, Sonia R. Martinez.

Raspberry Fool

Summer is truly the best time to enjoy this dessert, when raspberries are in season, and we want to avoid turning on the stove at all costs.

I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe, which is so easy!  I've written it down below for fast reference, but I still recommend going to her site to view the process:

Ingredients

3 cups raspberries, plus a few more for serving

¼ cup sugar

3 tablespoons raspberry liqueur, or you may use water - I use Chambord

2 cups cold heavy cream

½ cup powdered sugar

8 whole vanilla wafers (or other cookie)

Fresh mint sprigs for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. In a bowl stir together the raspberries, sugar and liqueur (or water) and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
2. Whip the cream with the powder sugar until soft peaks form.
3. Mash the raspberries with a fork until all the liquid and fruit are mashed together.
4. Spoon half of the fruit into the cream and fold once or twice with a spatula, do not overmix!
5. Add half of the remaining fruit and fold once or twice.  If you want more fruit, add the rest; if not, use remaining fruit pureé as a garnish on top.
6. Serve in pretty glasses with crumbed cookies on top.

*** Best if made just before serving.

Some versions of this recipe call for straining the fruit mixture to get rid of the raspberry seeds and make a true fruit purée, but I think the seeds add a charming character to the look, and you can't really taste them anyway.  Enjoy!

Concert at Cantigny Park

We visited Cantigny Park on their French Connection weekend, and were treated to a lovely concert of music with a French flair, including greats like Edith Piaf "La vie en rose" and "Non, je ne regrette rien."  There was some Charles Aznavour songs, too, another favorite of mine.  Perfect music to enjoy with friends on a pique-nique under the stars.

And here we are.  We, too, non regrettons rien.

A Picnic at Ravinia

Highland Park, a northeast suburb of Chicago, hosts the Ravinia Music Festival every summer. The program has something for everyone, including Jazz, Blues, Classical, Bluegrass, Latin . . . You name it, and there will be at least one outdoor performance every summer. They have a pavilion where you can get close to the performance, but most people opt to picnic on its vast lawns and enjoy the music being broadcast over strategically placed speakers. We usually enjoy two or three performances every summer.

We have been picnicking for a while now, and have slowly acquired the equipment to make it fun and easy. Like this table, which can be collapsed and carried over the shoulder, or our super comfy, heavy-duty camping chairs. We minimize paper and plastic whenever possible, to reduce the burden to the park, by bringing real tableware. We always try to leave our area as clean as we found it, or even a little more so, in gratitude to all the park has given us.

We like laying a tarp under the tables and chairs to avoid wet grass, and the accompanying mosquitoes, and our handy Ravinia wagon helps us pull all our packages easily.

I’ve made this salad so many times (by popular demand), that we’ve officially named it Ravinia Salad. It consists of orzo pasta, with chicken, carrots, roasted red peppers and capers, tossed with a white balsamic vinaigrette. It’s so good!

Then, for dessert, Natilla — homemade Vanilla Pudding, packed in small canning jars, which transport very easily, with chocolate Pirouettes.

We usually go with one or two other couples, and try to get there early to stake out "our spot," not too far from the restrooms, the trash cans, the back entrance, and still within a close distance to the stage.  

Then we eat, and by the time the music starts, we are wrapping up dessert and savoring a cup of coffee, or lingering over a glass of wine.  

Then, the lights dim, the park gets quiet, and we can enjoy the glorious music.  This is indeed, one of the highlights of our summer.  

Lemon Tablescape

How many of you remember the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” story from your children's childhood?  My husband and I must have read this story - and its sequels (“If You Give a Moose a Muffin,” “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”) a hundred times!  And, ahem! we only did it for the kids, not because we enjoyed it in the least.  Oh, what fun times!

And now, I've created my own version.  It goes like this:  If you give Maria a Lemon Thyme herb plant,

the variegated Lemon Thyme that she can find locally only at Trader Joe's every other year . . .

chances are she's going to want to bake something special . . .

like the Citrus Loaf Cake from Rattlebridge Farm . . . 

When she makes the cake, she'll realize she needs to put together a table to go with it.  

She'll want to use her Botanical Citrus Salad plates from Williams-Sonoma, featuring limes . . .

blood oranges . . . 

grapefruits . . .

and, of course, lemons!

To complete the table, she'll realize she needs a nice centerpiece . . .

Some lemony yellow roses interspersed with creamy whites . . .

Set on a vase surrounded by lemon slices . . .

Once the table is set, she'll want to invite some friends for lunch . . .

  

If she invites some friends, it'll dawn on her that she's now going to have to prepare some food, because, unfortunately, it won't magically appear on the plates.  She makes a nice arugula salad with shaved Parmesan cheese and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette . . .

using her precious olive oil, bought in Italy last year while she was traveling in Tuscany.

Then, she'll prepare one of her favorite dishes:  Chicken Marbella, from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

The chicken is prepared with yummy treats like olives, capers, prunes, garlic, oregano, and, of course, more precious olive oil . . . All those good things that remind her of the Mediterranean . . .

Then it's sprinkled with brown sugar, which will caramelize during baking and flavor the chicken beautifully . . .

Once the chicken is done, she'll need to turn her attention to the beverages, and, since her mind is still taking a short trip back to Italy, Pallini Palmers seem perfect for the occasion!

Made with her favorite Arnold Palmer recipe, and adding a generous portion of Pallini Limoncello.

It's a perfect summer drink!

There are a lot of lemons in this post, but as Mae West once famously said:  “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”

She and her guests can glance at her flowering clematis in the backyard, just to cleanse their visual palate . . .

Her friends will come and share the food, the drinks, and some lovely conversation on a beautiful summer afternoon . . .

And chances are . . . she'll have so much fun, she'll want to do it again and again!

Watermelon Tablescape II

Watermelon:  Sweet . . . juicy . . . yummy. . . what's not to love about this quintessential summer fruit?

And, not only is the fruit delicious, but the color palette that it evokes is so, so summery!  This is my second watermelon tablescape.  I cannot get enough of this fruit, and I love these colors! Click here to take a peek at my earlier post.

I was inspired to try making this centerpiece by some fabulous bloggers:  Michael Lee of Rattlebridge Farms, and Mary of Home is Where the Boat Is.  Please stop by to see their wonderful creations!  You'll know in an instant why I was so enthralled.

Most of the flowers came from Costco, but the hydrangea came from my very own garden!  We just planted them last year, and these came from our very first crop!  Aren't they beautiful?

I added some Queen Anne's Lace, picked up from an empty, undeveloped lot not far from our house.  I always look forward to the appearance of this wild flower.  It's so delicate looking, and makes a great filler for arrangements.  It also helps mark the passing of time.  I know when I begin to spot them that we are in full summer!

All that fruit MUST be put to use.  It would be awful to discard so much deliciousness!  So, one thing that immediately came to mind was . . . MOJITOS!  And I have just the recipe, thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch!

A salad was also an easy (as all summer cooking ought to be) addition to the menu.  This one was composed of field greens, watermelon, Feta cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette.  The salty Feta cheese was perfect on this salad, especially for those, like my huband, who always salt their watermelon.

I should have stayed away from Tenley's everything-must-go-before-I-move-to-Florida-sale.  The cute watermelon salad bowls just begged to come home with me.  What could I do?

We had some unexpected guests show up at the luncheon, but they were so cute and friendly we allowed them to make themselves right at home . . .  What's summer anyway, without a few fluttery friends?

Pink ruled the day, from the petunias growing next to the deck . . .

To the lovely gerbera daisies in the centerpiece . . .

To the pillows that I borrowed from the Living Room sofa . . .

It's not too late to enjoy more watermelon this summer.  Enjoy it while it lasts!  I'm going back for a little more . . .

Summer's Glory

Start with a glorious sunflower for inspiration . . .
 

 

Gather a bunch for unapologetic delight . . .

Add a rich, blue plate for contrast . . .

Make it a calico plate, smothered with wild flowers . . .

 

Simple burlap bows to tie the napkins . . .  

And the napkins must be yellow, the color of ripe corn . . .

Flatware that evokes unfurling flowers . . .

 

A pretty glass, as blue as the summer sky . . .

 

A wheelbarrow to hold the salt . . . 

The days may be getting shorter . . .

 

But summer is still alive with possibilities . . .
 

 

We may as well enjoy it . . .

Featuring:

Dinner plates - Blue Calico by Burleigh
Water goblet - The Dollar Tree
Flatware - Treble Clef by Gourmet Settings
Napkins - Sferra, Mustard color
Placemats - Pottery Barn
White pitcher - Pottery Barn
Wheelbarrow Salt Cellars - Pottery Barn, from several years ago
Burlap ribbon - Joann's

Joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.  Stop by for some delightful inspiration.