Some Summer Goodies

This Summer we bought a share of a CSA or Community Sponsored Agriculture. I have had a blast with the surprise each week as to what will be in our box! It's also required looking through my Taste Section recipes to find ones that will work with all the vegetables that pile up on my counter.

The June 14th Taste Section contained Salade Nicoise or French Style Potato Salad. This was tasty but not exactly attractive. I am not sure this is one I'd try again but it did require potatoes, green onions, parsely, and eggs - all that were in my box.

I think this is the most interesting recipe I made. It seemed a bit like a recipe contest winner in that it had a lot of steps and unusual "guilding the lily" that a burger doesn't really need. But, as I say, it was interesting and more importantly, good. One of the steps required you to make frickles which I had never heard of. These are fried pickles which I had heard of. You also make a topping of corn, cheese, basil and mayonnaise. That green an red slice is a heirloom tomato slice from my CSA box.

Bruschetta is one of my all-time favorite things- as an appetizer or a meal. I made Basic Bruschetta from the July 19th edition. All that recipe was was the bread brushed with olive oil an broiled. I then made the White Bean and Rosemary Bruschetta and the Tomato, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella Bruschetta recipes. They were really good- I made them for a dinner party we had on our patio. Bruschetta and wine- a meal made in heaven! No photo- it MUST have been good!

Bell Pepper and Tomato Bisque from August 9 was delicious and, although it's been a hot summer, it used up a lot of my tomatoes! I liked the peppers in this recipe and the spot of half and half was a nice garnish. 

I went to my sister's cabin for a Girl's Weekend and brought the ingredients for the Gazpacho with Shrimp and Avocado Relish. I had never had Gazpacho before and it was really nice on a hot day. I always want a bit more spice and I'm sure I could find a way to add it next time.

Our Neighborhood picnic was just last weekend and I brought Chicken Feta Salad to share. It was delicious although next time I'd tinker with the dressing. To me, it tasted a bit bitter. The recipe calls for twice as much olive oil as White Wine Vinegar and I think the proportions should call for a bit more olive oil and less vinegar.  I also thought a bit of red pepper flakes or celery or almonds for flavor and crunch would have made it just a bit better.