Hi there. Please ignore this post. Yep, disregard it… It is my feeble attempt to keep the nablopomo streak going. Despite the aches of impending illness.
I was almost ready to admit defeat but don’t want to yet. What do you think, does this post count? Or is this a nablopomo fail?
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The garden tomatoes are finally ripe. Well, one of them anyway. I cannot begin to explain how excited I am. The tomato plants are full of green tomatoes and I am waiting patiently for the rest to ripen.
If this first tomato is any indication, we will be having our fill of delicious tomatoes this summer. It was the star of our caprese salad tonight. As much as I love mozzarella (and even made sure to add a little extra to the plate because… well, you can’t have too much cheese), the tomato was the freshest and most flavorful I’ve had in a long, long time. I’m eagerly awaiting the garden onslaught. I’m armed with dreams of salsa, caprese salads, grilled and roasted tomatoes, tomato sandwiches, etc etc. That’s right, Mother Nature, I am ready. So… Bring it.
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We’re having a heat wave. A tropical heat wave. It isn’t surprising, the temperature’s rising. She certainly can can-can. — as sung by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas
It was entirely too hot to cook today. What was the weather like in your neck of the woods? It was mid-nineties here. Whew. So hot I could barely move… it took all the energy I could muster just to lift that margarita to my lips but I persevered. Haha.
We have some tomatoes that are almost ripe. But they have been almost ripe for a few days and now I am getting impatient. I love tomatoes fresh from the vine and these nearly ripe ones will be our first. I think it will be a few here and there at first but then we are going to get overwhelmed… there are a ton of green tomatoes on the vines. Yay! I’m going to make biscuits so that I can have a warm biscuit with butter and a fresh tomato slice. Mmm.
This is a really random post, is it not? I blame nablopomo and a tired brain. Coming soon: something light and fruity, cleaned up cast iron pan, apron making, and maybe some wine notes from the Santa Cruz Mountain Wine Passport this Saturday.
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I have been craving pasta salad for about a week now. But we were busy last week so I didn’t really have a chance to make any until Saturday. I went out into the garden and found a couple of yellow squash that looked ready to be picked. It turned out they could’ve used a little longer on the vine (the skin was tough and the seeds still had some green around them). But I used it anyway and it was okay… I think we mostly picked around the squash.
Some mozzarella in the fridge that needed to be used up and a couple of tomatoes on the counter found their way into the salad. I picked a handful of basil which became a garlicky pesto that was nice on a baguette but really good mixed into the pasta. It was the perfect light dinner after our salami and cheese lunch out on the trail.
We were going to a picnic the next day, but while the batch I made with the garden squash was good enough for me and Dan to eat, I wasn’t comfortable serving the under-ripe squash to others. I wound up making another batch using zucchini and yellow squash from the produce market. It was a great side to hamburgers and hot dogs out in the park.
This is a good salad for those outdoor summer parties when a mayonnaise based potato or pasta salad might get questionable out in the heat (don’t get me wrong, I like the mayo-based salads too. But warm mayo is icky).
Garden fresh pasta salad
3-4 tablespoons pesto (recipe below… store bought is fine too)
mozzarella (boccocini aka the small balls packed in water or whey or just regular mozzarella cut into chunks)
tomato (grape tomatoes cut in half, or a larger tomato or two, diced)
zucchini and/or yellow squash (about two medium or one large), cut into short strips about the size of your pasta (I used rotini or fusilli)
pasta: fusilli, rotini, or whatever you have on hand… 1 package
1. Cook pasta in salted water for the time on the package (I like to add 2-3 big pinches of salt to the boiling water).
2. About 3 minutes before the pasta is done, add the squash to the pot.
3. Drain and toss with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside to cool (or not… if you don’t let it cool, the mozzarella will melt a little which really isn’t so bad but for taking to a party I like to let it cool so that everything is still recognizable).
4. Toss the tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto into the pasta.
5. Enjoy.
Basil Pesto
about 1 to 1 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 to 1 clove of garlic (depending on how garlicky you want)
about 1 tablespoon of pistachios
a pinch of salt
about 1/4 cup of olive oil
1. In a blender or food processor (the food processor worked better for me, but the blender worked too with a little coercion), pulse basil, pistachios, garlic, salt and about half of the olive oil.
2. When it is all minced up, add a little more olive oil until it is the consistency you like (more if you like thinner pesto).
3. Use right away or place in a plastic container with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface, store in the refrigerator.
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It was a busy day today. First a picnic in the park with friends and then a family reunion at Dan’s aunt’s house. And now… I am pooped. Normally I would have waited to post something tomorrow, but it being NaBloPoMo and all, I need to post something today. I hope you will forgive me for offering little more than crumbs.
I took a summer garden pasta salad to the picnic which I’ll share with you tomorrow. And a strawberry cake to the reunion. This was the first time I made the strawberry cake as a layer cake instead of cupcakes. It was a huge hit.
Anyway, I am going to go get some rest now. How was your weekend?
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