Watermelon Gazpacho Topped with Crab

This gazpacho is super refreshing because I use watermelon juice along with tomato juice in the base. To that, I dice celery cucumber, green pepper, orange pepper, and tomatoes. Add chopped cilantro, salt and pepper, a few shakes of Worcestershire and a few shakes of hot sauce.

It's great just like that, but even better topped with some freshly picked crab meat right out of my sister's crab pot!

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

A great salad for a hot, summer day.

Tear spinach, radicchio, and romaine leaves. Add sliced strawberries, pecan pieces, and goat cheese. Top with olive oil and fig balsamic.

I'm a huge proponent of cleaning veggies before serving. This is a great salad spinner and a perfect way to dry your washed greens.

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Basic BLT

Nothing says summer to me like a basic BLT sandwich. Wheat toast topped with lettuce, meaty tomatoes, and salty, crisp bacon. Add a little mayo and some salt and pepper for a perfect lunch.

Roasted Orange Cherry Tomatoes

With the abundance of tomatoes this time of year, I'm always looking for ways to make them last longer. I store these tomatoes in a little olive oil and the (peeled) garlic cloves they are roasted with. They are sweet alone as a snack and make a great addition to pasta.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Slice tomatoes in half. To make slicing them fast and easy, see Tomato Tip Below.


Put tomatoes cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add a couple unpeeled garlic cloves on the pan with the tomatoes.
Roast for up to 3 hours depending on the size of the tomatoes. These were pretty small, more like grape tomatoes, and only took 2 hours. They should be shriveled but still have some juice in them.

Tomato Tip - Slicing Cherry Tomatoes in Half

Place tomatoes in a plastic carry-out lid.

 

Top with another lid (upside-down), gently press on the lid and run your knife through the middle.

Voila'. This works great for grapes, too.

Salmon Sliders

Earlier this summer I posted a great salmon burger recipe. Then I discovered this one and it is now my favorite. The uncooked consistency is almost runny and it seems like it won't hold together as a burger, but it does -- and it is the moistest burger I've tasted.


Salmon Sliders
1 lb Salmon, skin removed
1 Egg
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1/4 tsp Red Chili Flakes


Finely chop salmon and mix by hand with other ingredients.
Shape into 8 2-ounce sliders (they will be very loose)
Saute over medium high heat for about 3 minutes per side
Serve on Brioche buns with spicy mayonnaise.


Spicy Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 tsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tblsp Sriracha

Summer Veggie Lasagna

I usually think of lasagna as a winter dish but in my quest to use up zucchini, I decided that even though it was 102 degrees outside, I would give it a go -- that's how much zucchini I've got!  

It turned out to be the tastiest I've ever made. I didn't get a picture but you know what lasagna looks like.

I used flat, not curly, no-boil, lasagna sheets. Instead of meat, I had a layer of sliced zucchini and a layer of mushrooms. 

The ricotta cheese was fresh from the farmers market as was the mozzarella. The ricotta mix included fresh parsley, Parmesan cheese, an egg yolk, and salt and pepper.

The sauce had onion and garlic, a hot red pepper (that I removed before constructing the lasagna) and fresh thyme and oregano from the garden.

I made an antipasto salad to go with it -- also lots of fresh veggies from the garden/market.

I did not make this one any differently than a hundred other lasagnas I've made, so I have to attribute the success of this one to the fresh summer ingredients. 

Culinary Business Academy

I passed the three tests required for a diploma from the Culinary Business Academy. They covered everything from food safety to menu planning and marketing. It was a very comprehensive program. Now I'm buying lots of equipment!

"Culinary Equipment Stainless Steel Square Utensil Rack"