gimme some oven

When fresh blueberries first began arriving at our market this summer, I already knew where my first batch would go.  :)

These blueberry crumb bars are an absolute favorite of mine.  (I can’t believe it has taken me this long to post on them!)  I actually made them for the first time last summer to take along on a camping trip with some friends.  And I must admit – I was so proud of myself.  :)  They looked great, were amazingly delicious (upon sampling – shhh – before leaving), and even survived the trip just fine in the cooler without getting smooshed.  But little did I know that the biggest fans of these yummy bars would be…

…the raccoons!!!

Argh!  Yes, unfortunately some raccoons from the forest raided our stash in the night and licked up every last crumb of the blueberry deliciousness.  I was NOT a happy camper.  But alas, it ended up being an excuse to make some more.  And some more.  And (even after blueberry season ended and I needed to raid the freezer)….some more.  :)

Definitely a dessert recipe you’ll keep on hand for years to come.  So grab some fresh or frozen blueberries, keep far away from raccoons, and give these a try!  I guarantee they won’t last long…

see recipe for blueberry crumb bars

I have had the privilege of taking tomatillo salsa-making lessons not once, but twice this summer.  Once was during my fabulous Mexican cooking course at the Culinary Institute of America (read all about my adventures here, here, and here!).  But a few weeks before that, I actually had a fun evening cooking and making all sorts of rockin’ salsa, guacamole, tacos and carnitas with my friend, Ita!

Interestingly enough — in addition to being absolutely delicious (and addictive!), the recipes for tomatillo salsa verde from Chef Remolina and Ita were identical! Kid you not.  I shouldn’t have been surprised — Ita was born and raised in Oaxaca, and our course at the CIA was on Pueblan and Oaxacan cooking.  But still, it was fun to see the traditional recipes really line up!

According to both of them, the key to making authentic, delicious salsa verde is using a molcajete – a Mexican, granite mortar and pestle.  (Ita’s was shaped like a pig!)  You can definitely make salsa verde in the food processor as well (see tip below), but apparently there’s something in the process of dry-roasting the vegetables and then grinding them by hand that releases different kinds of yummy flavor.

I have to admit though.  Ita will tell you — I’m a total wimp with the molcajete.  After a few minutes, I was sweating and whining about my aching arms, and my veggies were still hardly broken up.  Whereas with just a few swift, expert twists with the pestle, Ita had all the veggies perfectly broken up, and she adeptly multi-tasked all of our other recipes in the meantime.  Clearly, I have much to learn.  (And maybe a few more push-ups with Jillian Michaels to do…)

Probably the biggest surprise in salsa-making lessons was learning that there are no secret, surprise ingredients in authentic salsa verde.  Just the normal tomatillos, serrano, cilantro, lime juice, onion, garlic, and salt.  But believe me, there’s nothing “normal” about how incredibly fresh, deeply flavored and 100% addictive this salsa can be.  Infinitely better than anything you could ever buy at the store.  :)

So cheers to delicious and healthy Mexican food.  (And a special cheers as well to Ita and her fiancee, Nick (also a fantastic chef!), who are getting married in a month!  Felicidades!!)

see recipe for tomatillo salsa verde

A few years ago, I made the decision to bid farewell to having cable in the casa.  And I have to say, I’ve never looked back!  Nearly any show I want to watch is now online, and if not (like “Mad Men”…tear…), I’ve made my peace with waiting til DVD.  :-)

But of course, the one thing I miss dearly is the Food Network.  I feel like everyone around me is always talking about the great recipes, techniques, and favorite chefs they watch regularly.  So I sigh and watch what clips I can on Hulu, and learn what I can reading books and blogs.  But while hanging at a friend’s recently, Giada came on as we were changing channels, and we ended up watching an episode for kicks.  Loved it!  :)

That day, she happened to be making this yummy zucchini crudi recipe.  I still don’t have a mandoline, but she used a simple vegetable peeler to create these beautiful strips of zucchini, tossed with some asparagus and a simple lemon dressing, and finished with Parmesan.  I immediately came home to give it a try, and also threw in some yellow squash and carrots to add color.  (And blanched the asparagus to give it even more color!)  And voila — a gorgeous summer vegetable salad!

I’m happy to say that it tasted just as wonderful as it looks!  I was a little curious about the raw (“crudi” in Italian) zucchini/squash, and the simplicity of the lemon dressing.  But both were light and fresh — perfect for summer!  So grab your vegetable peeler, and have fun making this beautiful dish.  Thanks, Giada! see recipe for summer vegetable “ribbon” salad

Talk about a delicious 15-minute meal!

This grilled tilapia with a yummy cherry salsa could not have been easier…and tastier!  Since our heat index has been hanging in the triple digits all week, I actually took the easy route and just cooked the fish on the stove in my grill pan (in the comfort of my air-conditioned kitchen).  Then chopped and stirred together the cherry salsa ingredients while the fish cooked.  And voila — an absolutely delightful sweet and savory dinner that you can feel great about enjoying!

So cheers to delicious and healthy summer meals that let you spend less time in the kitchen…and more time enjoying this gorgeous season.  Even if it is a zillion degrees outside…  :)

see recipe for grilled tilapia with cherry salsa