Summer

It’s just that time of summer when I feel I haven’t had enough BBQ.

Ribs to be specific. Pork Ribs. For some reason and I’m not sure what it is. Either we’ve been eating lighter or the bbq-er in my house has been opting for fancier fare (like boneless chicken breasts wrapped in prosciutto – I’ll let you know how it turns out). And due to the Highway Jobs Incentive (or whatever you call that thing that’s tearing up our streets and making automobile travel next to impossible at night) as one of the many “405 challenged”, the trip over the hill to Boneyard Bistro seems daunting, forget Hoggly Woggly’s, and Baby Blues has become so popular that unless it’s dinner for ten and we can get them to deliver, take-out’s more trouble than it’s worth.

So, I’m declaring Sunday August 7th National BBQ Ribs Day! I don’t know who decides these things anyway. So, if it’s someone else’s National Day, like National Heirloom Tomato Day, I apologize, you’re just going to have to share.

The best ribs I’ve had this summer were Alan Ett’s (but I haven’t quite convinced him to give me the recipe). That’s not true, he told me the recipe, but I didn’t write it down. And I’m hoping this will inspire him to write it down for me and send it in, because they were divine.

BBQ Sauce | Lyndon Johnson's BBQ Sauce

Barbecue Beer Ribs | Brown Sugar Pork Ribs
POM Pomegranate Barbecue Ribs | Quincy Jones' Thriller Ribs

You never know where you are going to find inspiration when it comes to cooking. However, these past few warm summer days, my muse has been a likely source…my herb garden. I have found myself outside, in the heat of the afternoon, just to smell the herbs made fragrant by the sunshine. The pineapple sage, the peppermint, the lemon thyme and oregano…all smell wonderful in the summer sunlight. And then there was the basil, it was just begging to be harvested and made into something…anything really.

I had a loaf of rosemary-olive oil bread, fresh mozzarella in the fridge and vine-ripened tomatoes on my counter. If you are lucky enough to have a warm, summer tomato picked right off your own vine, lucky you. Your sandwich will taste even better.

The rosemary-olive oil bread really gave a nice, complex flavor to the sandwich. However, you can use any crusty bread you choose. Just make sure it is sturdy. I also sprinkled a touch of Fleur de sel on my tomatoes, just to perk them up. I brushed the bread with olive oil before grilling and rubbed it with a garlic clove when it was warm….so delicious. Pulling out a tray of these at any gathering will cause a great commotion, you have been warned.

I always think of avocado as one of my top summer foods. On wheat bread with goat cheese and tomato, alongside a quesadilla, on toast, or smashed with a fork into guacamole, avocados at their prime are just the best!

I have been obsessed with the combination of avocado, orange, and raw fish (this recipe may have started it). Usually, we keep the fish plain, with microgreens, avocado, maybe citrus, and a simple dressing, but I decided to take a stab at a tartare with this recipe.

Now I’m not 100% sure if this technically counts as a tartare – it might have poke leanings (feel free to enlighten me!), but whatever it is, this Asian-inspired dish is the perfect appetizer for a warm summer evening!

I woke up the other morning craving roasted red pepper soup. Not for breakfast -- that would be weird – but for dinner.

Since I had recently purchased a dozen bright and shiny red bell peppers, I thought it would be a good idea to roast them first thing in the morning. So by 6:15 am, the peppers were sliced, drizzled with oil, and placed under the broiler.

Like wood-fired pizzas or chargrilled burgers, the smell of roasting peppers is utterly enticing. Except when it's not.

You see, that utterly enticing aroma becomes not-so-enticing by three o'clock in the afternoon. You can light vanilla scented candles (which I did) and spray air freshener (which I did). It won't matter. The smell will linger like an unwanted house guest.

So here's my advice: Make roasted peppers only after 12 noon. And then make this soup because it's too delicious to pass up.