Tri-color Chips

This year I decided to try growing beets.  I hate beets (but the BF likes them)...so no biggie if they didn't grow.  Well, they did grow, and well!  So now I have lots of beets on my hands, and no idea of how to cook them.  I found this beet chips recipe, and thought it was worth a try.  Anything that is slathered in olive oil and salt and pepper should taste OK, right?

Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

 

This summer I have been biking to work a lot.  It is a relatively flat 5km ride, and for the most part, it is very relaxing.  However on my way back home there is a busy stretch near my house where I actually have to try and keep up with traffic.  By the time I get home, I am usually overheating.  The best solution I have found is a nice cold cranberry juice with soda water.  It is so refreshing and cools me right down.  

Today, it was 28 degrees, and I was HOT when I got home.  This time, I decided to try a new drink that also incorporates fruit and bubbles...sparkling strawberry lemonade!

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad, and Apple, Fennel and Celery Slaw

My last salad post seemed popular, so I thought I'd do another one!  This post involves two salads that are a little more unusual.  These two salads have a few things in common:  they both contain fruit, they both play on sweet and savory, and they are both fresh and perfect for summer.

"Homemade" tortilla chips with Green Tomato Salsa Verde and Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus

Today's inspiration came from a couple of garden ingredients: 1) tomatoes and 2) jalapenos.  I have been nurturing my tomatoes all summer and have been patient with them- until now!  It is almost the end of summer and all my Roma tomatoes are still green!  Enough is enough.  I decided to use some of the green tomatoes in a recipe.  We are big fans of Salsa Verde, usually made with tomatillos.  When I found out I could also make it with green tomatoes, I was sold!

Cocktail Week 12: Adult Root Beer Floats

I have been eying this cocktail recipe for an 'adult' root beer float for weeks!  Given that there isn't much time left in my weekly summer cocktail fun, it was now or never!  Root beer floats remind me of being a kid, and I can't say that I've had one in the last ten years.  This is not actually a traditional root beer float, in that there is no ice cream, however it tastes very similar to a real root beer float.  Rich, delicious, and pretty, as you can see above!

Tuna Burgers with Lemon Garlic Mayo and Oven Baked Potato Wedges

Today's inspiration comes from this ridiculous picture above...potatoes!  Unfortunately, our Yukon Gold potatoes were looking worse for the wear.  The leaves were covered in holes and the plants were yellow and drooping over.  Fortunately, the potatoes seem fine!  I was pretty surprised, as I've never grown potatoes before and didn't know what hot mess we might find under the soil.

Raspberry and Lemon Balm Iced Tea

I was so impressed with my lemon balm-infused lemonade that I thought I should try another lemon-balm infused beverage...iced tea! 

Zucchini Blossoms 3 ways

 

This summer I have learned that those flowers on your zucchini plants aren't just pretty, they are also delicious!  I have been experimenting with them for the past couple of weeks, and have been impressed by their delicate flavor.  I have learned a lesson or two about how to use them, and have three recipe ideas...after the jump!

Cocktail Week 11: Watermelon Gin Fizz

I just realized it is mid-August and we haven't had any watermelon yet this summer...time to rectify the situation!  This week-end we went for a long, hot bike ride, and when we got home, the BF and I were in the mood for an ice cold refreshing drink.  I have gin left-over from this drink, and found a recipe that would incorporate my left-over gin as well as watermelon.  Perfect!

Zucchini and Feta Patties

This year, my zucchini crop has been less than stellar.  Last year at this point in the summer, we were swimming in zucchinis and had so many we didn't know what to do with them.  So far, my best producing zucchini is definitely the upside-down one, but I still have probably only gotten 5-8 smallish zucchinis from him.

I have been saving up my zucchinis for about a week now, waiting until I had enough to make this recipe.  I have made these zucchini and feta patties several times, and they are great!  

Pistachio, lemon and cranberry cookies

Fact:  Pistachios make everything better.  Everything.  My all time favorite is pistachio gelato.  It doesn't sound like the flavors would work, but boy do they ever work!  I actually went back for two gelatos on my last day in Croatia when I was on holiday there last fall.  So good!

Chickpea and Green Bean Tagine

This week my beans started finally producing!  I have quite a few bushes this year, so I have had several large harvests already.  I was feeling inspired by my beans and wanted to find a recipe that did not just treat beans like a side dish.  I stumbled across this recipe for Chickpea and Green Bean Tagine, and was sold.

Have You Met Annie?

Have you met Annie?

Cocktail Week 10: Raspberry Mint Daiquiri

These days, it seems like everywhere you look says "back to school", or "fall" this or that.  It is making me depressed!  It is only August 12, and we have plenty of summer to go, people!  I decided to stage a protest this week, with a super summery cocktail...a daiquiri!  I absolutely love raspberries, and have only managed to incorporate them into one cocktail so far this summer.  It was time for another raspberry cocktail.

Parmesan and Sage Scones

This is the first year I've grown sage, and I am surprised at how well it is doing!  I have a lot of sage, and the few leaves I have managed to use have not put a dent in my crop.  It was a darker, cooler August day than those we've had for the past few weeks, meaning I didn't have to feel guilty about having the oven on.  I wanted to incorporate the sage into scones, and used a hybrid of two recipes (see below).

Three Summer Salads

We eat a lot of salads around here.  Usually, whatever we have on hand gets thrown into the bowl and my go-to Kraft salad dressing is poured over top.  The one rule we have in making salads is: NO LETTUCE!  I don't know when my rebellion against lettuce began, but I have a hard time enjoying a salad consisting mainly of lettuce.  Especially for a meal-sized salad, you need a little more substance!

Nasturtium Pesto

Today's inspiration: nasturtiums!  I didn't even know nasturtiums were edible when I planted them; I had read somewhere that they repel insects, and decided to plant them in my raised bed gardens to add a little color and hopefully to scare off the bugs.  Funny thing, they themselves have been victim to what I think is the cabbage worm.  So much for that theory!

Cocktail Week 9: Black Russian Pop-tales

This long week-end had the best weather forecast:  sun, sun, and more sun!  For this week's cocktail, I wanted something ice cold and refreshing...maybe something part popsicle, part cocktail?  A few weeks ago, I made strawberry prosecco popsicles, and this week, I wanted to be even more adventurous and try this recipe.  

When life gives you lemon balm...make lemonade!

Today's inspiration:  a mysterious herb growing in my garden.  I say 'mysterious' because the tag beside the plant said 'Sweet Marjoram', but clearly this plant is not sweet marjoram.  My major clue as to what this plant is came from its very distinct odor...lemon.  A few Google searches later and I was pretty confident I knew what I had:  lemon balm!