Just Peachy

Hardy and seedy bread touched with olive oil and broiled on both sides until crunchy.

Peaches lightly sauteed and glazed with a teaspoon or so of good maple syrup for a bit of earthy flavor.

Topped with a generous dollop of plain Greek yogurt and layered with whatever goodies I had on hand at the time - sweet dried cranberries and crunchy slivered almonds.

I was tempted to run over to Bed 32 and pluck some mint, basil, or lemon verbena to mince and scatter on top, but didn't have the time. Oh, that would have been yummy.

I just can't get enough of peaches right now. We bought a bunch a few days ago and they're ripe (but not too) sweet, fragrant, and juicy. We're eating them every day.

So good!

Avocado and Tomato Toast

I admit, I have a cookbook obsession. There's nothing more relaxing then spending time perusing my favorite cookbooks in an effort to prepare good, healthy meals.

Never mind the sad fact that I'm running out of bookcase space. I've always got a pile of cookbooks strewn about the office "in rotation" waiting for valuable real estate on the shelf. It makes no difference that I've also got a spectacular resource of hundreds of virtual recipes at my fingertips and therefore don't need to buy another cookbook as long as I live. Regardless, my cookbook (and recipe) obsession will go on to some degree.

I love my latest acquisition "Giada's Feel Good Food".  Lots of super healthy meals. The recipe I made last night, "Grilled Salmon and Pineapple with Avocado Dressing", was outrageously delicious.

I doubled the avocado dressing recipe because, just from looking at the ingredients, I knew I wanted to use the leftovers today. No one has ever accused me of not thinking ahead when it comes to food.

Super simple. Another one of my "toast" breakfasts. French baguettes sliced, brushed liberally with olive oil, and broiler toasted. Straight out of the broiler they were topped with dollops of the avocado dressing and sliced grape tomatoes and eaten warm. So good.

If you like avocados, you'll love this. The dressing is pretty thick, so I wouldn't say it could be used as a traditional salad dressing. Here's the recipe straight from the cookbook.

Avocado Dressing

1/2 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 small clove garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon anchovy paste
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Add 2 tablespoons water and process until smooth. Put in bowl and cover for 15 minutes to 1 hour so the flavors blend.

Enjoy!

Breakfast

We bought a freshly baked crusty loaf of seeded bread from Whole Foods yesterday. I stood in front of the open fridge and perused shelves and veggie drawers for the freshest ingredients I could find….and there they were...several different herbs and some ricotta left over from making lasagna a few nights ago.

A crostini for breakfast…always good! I did something similar on this post here (umm, guess I could expand on my repertoire of crostini ingredients like this or this).

Delicious!!

Ricotta and Herb Crostini

1 slice of rustic bread

1 cup ricotta (I had whole on hand, but would be just as good with part skim)

1 packed and heaping TBL (or to taste) chopped fresh thyme

1 packed and heaping TBL (or to taste) chopped fresh parsley

1 packed and heaping TBL (or to taste) chopped fresh basil

A decent squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Mix ricotta, herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper by hand until well combined.  Set aside.

Brush both sides of bread with a little olive oil.

Broil in oven on both sides until toasted.

Remove toast from broiler and let rest for a minute.

Pile ricotta mix on top of toast.

Drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle on a little more salt and pepper (if desired).

Eat it all up. 

In the summer this goes great with fresh fruit and works well for an easy brunch.