celebrating summer

I am so thankful it's summer time.   Even though I haven't yet fulfilled my dreams of spending Saturday mornings at the Farmers Market or taking walks to the library to grab a book appropriate for uninterrupted summer reading, I am so thankful that those things might still become a summer reality.  As the days get warmer, I am refreshed every time I walk out of my apartment without being swaddled in my winter wear. And, even though it's been a rainy summer thus far, I am relieved to be off of work so that I can work full time on all of my other life responsibilities.  My schedule is stretched to the max, but throughout it all, scattered sunshine and kitchen time have been two of my favorite parts summer thus far. 

The rain has given me the justification I have needed to turn my oven on and cook at my leisure.  I have only had a couple of moments throughout this break that allowed me to pause long enough to create something worth eating, but somewhere along the way,  the sound of the rain and the smell of fresh ingredients has been great for my heart. 

My most special day of cooking was the Monday of my mom's birthday week.  Being able to celebrate my moms birthday would have been special enough, but having the time to go home and cook for her was a huge blessing for me.  You see, my mom is amazing at serving us as her family and loving us really well, so it's deeply important to me to create opportunities to serve her and love her well in return.   Birthday dinner is such a small thing in the spectrum of what it means to care for someone, but I think the small steps we take towards others communicate big things about how much we care for them.  Dinner was a success and because my mom is gracious enough to celebrate with my experimental cooking, I even have a new salad to share with you.  My dad told me it was one of the best salads he's ever eaten, so you can guarantee that this celebratory meal will be back on the table at another family gathering sometime soon.       

Spinach, Strawberry and Grapefruit Toss

2 Tablespoons canola oil 

1/3 cup slices almonds 

3 Tablespoons honey  

Dash ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel 

3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice 

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 bag (10oz) washed fresh spinach leaves, torn (10 cups) 

1 pint (2 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced 

1 grapefruit, peeled, sectioned 

1. In a skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium heat until hot.  Add almonds; cook and stir until lightly browned.  Add 1 tablespoon of honey and the cinnamon; cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes longer or until almonds are glazed and golden brown.  

2. Whisk remaining oil and honey, the lime peel, lime juice, mustard and salt until well blended.  

3. In large serving bowl, mix spinach, strawberries and grapefruit. 

4. Just before serving, toss dressing into the salad.  Sprinkle with toasted almonds. 

I love my job.

start to finish

Day one with the kiddos!  I had no idea what was in store for me when I woke up that day!

Day 171 with the kiddos (aka the last day of the school year!) Praise God for prospering this year beyond my wildest imagination! 

I've said goodbye to all of my little friends.  Now I am off to pack up my classroom and start dreaming about what next year will look like.   I am so grateful for how tangibly and faithfully God walked with me through this first year.  He is so good! 

Chick Food

Recently I have come to the realization that most of the things prepared in my kitchen are considered appetizing  to girls (aka me and the majority of my friends), but would most likely be passed up or picked over by the men in my life.  This is not necessarily universally true, but after talking food with some of my guy friends, I couldn't help but notice that we do not gravitate towards the same types of sustenance. 

This new realization turned into a concrete reality when I was planning a pre-movie dinner menu for some of my friends.  Because all of us were girls, the Rustic Vegetable Baguette with Smashed Avocado I made was eaten with much enthusiasm, but we all concurred that we would have had a difficult time convincing our guy friends to dive into such a vegetable-themed delicacy. So, if you're in the mood for some chick food, I highly recommend grabbing some fresh sourdough bread, tomatoes and a couple avocados, you won't be disappointed!

Rustic Vegetable Baguette with Smashed Avacado

1 loaf (1 pound) rustic sourdough baguette bread

1/3 cup Italian dressing 

6oz sliced cheddar cheese 

2 small ripe avocados, pitted and peeled     

4 small tomatoes, sliced 

1. Set over control to broil.  Cut bread horizontally in half.  Drizzle dressing on cut side of top half of bread.  Arrange cheese on bottom half.  Place both halves on large cookie sheet.  Broil with tops 4 to 6 inches from heat 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly golden brown.  

2. In small bowl, mash avocados with fork until slightly smooth.  Spread avocado over cheese; top with tomato slices and top half of bread.  Cut loaf into 4 pieces.   

books and Betty

I don't know about you, but I really love the idea of reading.  Wouldn't you agree that there is something  comfortable about grabbing a book, a blanket and a tall glass of ice water and settling into your favorite chair to explore the unturned pages at hand?  On nights like tonight, when I really don't have a lot going on, it should be  easy to peruse my bookshelf of unread novels and cozy up on my porch with uninterrupted time to let the story take hold.  However, my brain is a little too full these days to take comfort in the simplicity and adventure the act of reading a novel has to offer me, so instead I find myself paging through my cookbooks over a cup of Italian ice.   Out of all of the many recipe-rich cookbooks sitting proudly on the top shelf of my pantry, the one that gets the most attention and use, is a cookbook I bought myself kind of on a fluke last year.

 

I am obviously not a bride yet, but this cookbook has brought a lot of joy and domestic adventure to my life.  While revisiting some of my favorite recipes this evening I realized that I never blogged about one of my all-time-Betty-favorites: Sesame noodle salad.  This salad is so good that I actually called a couple of my friends to come over and eat it with me immediately after making it so that I could marvel in its deliciousness with good company.  I mean, it's no secret that I love the salty tang of Asian food, so I guess it's not surprising that these noodles have become a permanent fixture in my recipe rotation.    Plus, Betty labeled this one 'low fat' which means that it's totally worth making again, right?! 

Sesame Noodle Salad 

Sesame Dressing

3 tablespoons vegetable oil 

3  tablespoons soy sauce 

1 tablespoon balsamic or rice vinegar 

1 tablespoon sesame oil 

4 1/2 teaspoons sugar 

1 1/2 teaspoons grated gingerroot

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) 

Salad

8 to 9 oz angel hair pasta 

2 medium carrots, shredded (1 cup) 

1 small cucumber, cut into thin slices 

2 medium green onions, thinly slices (2 tablespoons) 

1. In a small bowl, stir all dressing ingredients until well mixed; set aside. 

2. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and rinse in cold water.  

3. In a large serving bowl, toss noodles, dressing and remaining salad ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.