Summer

Last week I hosted a cooking class with my friend, “J”.  Each year we donate a cooking class to our school’s auction and this years theme was “Little Bites”.  I wanted to not only come up with recipes that one could eat at a small cocktail party, but also, give ideas that could made in a few minutes, using pantry staples.

 It took me a while to motivate, but once I did, it all came together.  ”J” was in charge of cocktails, cheese + nuts, and setting the perfect environment.  We collaborated on the menu and I typed up the market list. 

Our little bites theme carried through to dessert.  I made a double batch of dough so I would have room to play with it.  I made a batch of these little cups.  But they failed. I started to get a little nervous because I kind of procrastinated and waited until a few hours before the dinner to bake these off.  

I baked off a batch of traditional style shortcakes which came out perfect.  Eli tested and gave the thumbs up. I went back to the drawing board. 

We wait and we wait and we wait and we wait for the tomatoes to ripen. Not just because, like everyone else, we want to eat them. But because we run a farm stand and every visitor to Martha’s Vineyard in August wants tomatoes, right off the vine (and right now!). Finally our Sungolds and Sweet 100s and Black Cherries are ripening by the hundreds so we can sell some and eat some too. (Of course I am eating a lot of droppers and splitters in the morning when we’re harvesting. Soon we’ll have to start feeding the splitters to the “baby” chickens who actually are now almost four months old and just started laying eggs!)

The farm stand customers are even more eager to get a hold of bigger tomatoes. Fortunately, we have lots of Early Girls ripening now, too, but alas they are not nearly as tasty as the beefsteaks and heirlooms that are still green. (The first Cherokee Purples are coloring up.) Still, I’m harvesting as many Early Girls as I can, often two or three times a day since the late morning and early afternoon sun does wonders. But when we run out, there are some disappointed looks on customers’ faces.

In the meantime, since I will roast anything I can get my hands on, I am already making this delicious and easy recipe from The Fresh and Green Table that features roasted cherry tomatoes. Thought I’d pass it on to you in case you are similarly obsessed.

It is only right that during International Pickle Week we should all eat at least one pickle. You're probably thinking, "National Pickle Week?" Yep. It's true. International Pickle Week was founded more than 60 years ago by the Pickle Packers International, a trade association serving the pickling industry.

I've already started celebrating with one of my favorite pickles -- Black Pepper & Garlic Babies sold with both Del Monte and Gedney labels. I love them. But, then, I'm a pickle person. I think my dad had me eating pickles and olives as soon as I had teeth to chew them.

With Memorial Day weekend just ahead, the grills will be heating up. And many of them be cooking burgers.

Years ago, my friend, Micky, gave me a recipe for ground beef burgers that had horseradish mixed into them. I'm not sure where she got the recipe. She is a cookbook collector and I know she especially likes Junior League cookbooks. Maybe the recipe came from one of them.

I think couscous is one of my favorite side dishes. I love all of it's possibilities, especially the flavors it can take on when mixed with the right ingredients.

This truly is a "golden" couscous, not just because golden raisins are part of its ingredients list, but turmeric is used to give this dish its golden color. If you are not familiar with turmeric, it is a powder used extensively in South Asian cuisine.

Grilling the green onions in this recipe also imparts a smoky flavor. This dish went nicely with our grilled chicken and salad for dinner. I think you will enjoy it!