Panzanella with Heirloom Tomatoes

If I had to eat only one thing during the summer it would be garden tomatoes. Panzanella is an Italian bread and tomato salad and can contain almost anything from one's garden.

4 heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small red onion, roughly chopped

1 small cucumber, sliced

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 baguette, sliced and toasted

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Place sliced baguette on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, turning once.

Whisk together vinegar, oil, and garlic. Add tomatoes, onion, cucumber and basil to vinegar mixture and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Right before serving mix bread with tomatoes and enjoy!

Cold Sesame Noodles for a Hot Summer Day

With the dog days of summer upon us, I have struggled many nights to get myself in the kitchen. This noodle dish is quick, easy and requires no cooking, just boil water!

Cold Sesame Noodles

1 package Thai rice noodles

1/2 cup sesame oil

1/2 sup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup honey

1-2 tbsp samba olek

1/2 cucumber sliced and quartered

1 cup fresh sugar snap peas, cut in half

2 green onions, thinly sliced.

2 tbsp sesame seeds plus more for garnish

Bring a water up to a boil and add to rice noodles in a heat proof bowl. Let noodles cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain noodles and rinse with cool water.

Mix oil, soy sauce, honey, samba olek and green onions. Add to rice noodles along with cucumber, sugar snap peas and sesame seeds. Noodles can be served immediately or can be chilled for 1 hr and then served. Garnish with sesame seeds and extra green onions.

Stay cool!

Happy Bastille Day! Le quatorze juillet!

When The Weather Channel posts the headline "More Midwest Misery", it can mean only one thing..... temperatures hotter than the sun!

When it is too hot to cook, do what a certain Food Network Chef does....... COCKTAIL TIME! LOL

This cocktail is refreshing and slightly sweet, and in honor of Bastille Day AND the hottest day of the year...... the French Daiquiri!

French Daiquiri

1 Shot Bacardi Rum

1 Shot Cassis

Splash of Soda Water

Juice of one small lime

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Add all ingredients to shaker along with ice and mix until blended and cold. Serve in a martini glass. Makes 1 cocktail.

Enjoy!

Kansas City Farmers Market @ City Market

This post is long overdue!

My friends think I'm crazy but I love my early Saturday mornings, especially between the months of April and November. Most Saturdays I head downtown to the Lawrence Farmers Market, but once a month I wake up extra early to hit up the LFM and the Kansas City Farmers Market at City Market!

On my last visit (May 8th I think), a handful of farmers brought morels!

This was the first time I had ever seen fresh morels! Morels are only in season 2-4 weeks a year, thus making them extremely expensive. These morels were $15/pint, $25 for small plastic bag and $50 for a freezer bag. I have been told that there is a public park in Lawrence where morels grow, so I will be on the hunt next season!

I wish I had more patio space for plants!

The Spice Man is one of the main reasons why I make the trek to City Market. He has the largest selection of spices and he only charges $1 per (heaping) scoop!

Beautiful view of downtown KC!

The Jerusalem Cafe is right behind the Spice Man! Huge selection of nuts, dried fruits, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern specialties.

Artichoke & Blue Cheese Bisque

I have been a very bad blogger! Even though I have not posted for awhile, I have not stopped cooking!

Rachel K. brought back this apron for me from Paris! Thanks Rach! Isn't it adorable?!

I got the idea of making an artichoke bisque after having lunch at Ingredient recently. Their artichoke bisque was creamy and had a little kick to it and I was hooked. While I did not have the recipe I thought that it would be easy to whip one up. I decided to add blue cheese to give it an extra depth of flavor.

Artichoke & Blue Cheese Bisque

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 8-oz packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese

1 small tomato, diced

homemade croutons, (recipe follows)

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer until all liquid is evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add artichokes, broth and thyme. Simmer until artichokes are tender and begin to fall apart, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Using an immersion blinder, blend soup until smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, blend soup in batches in a blender. Once smooth, stir in blue cheese and cream and whisk constantly, bringing to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add diced tomatoes. Ladle into bowls and server with croutons.

Croutons

1 whole wheat baguette

3 tbsp olive oil

Kosher Salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cube baguette and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over bread and toss to coat. Bake until croutons are golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Cool and keep in freezer bag up to a week. Great for salads and soups.

I purchased this apron when I was in Philly, thank you for modeling Spencer! He was my fabulous sous chef that day!