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Today lunch was a delightful platter of roasted vegetables. I had a Spanish onion, cubanelle pepper, eggplant, grape heirloom tomatoes and a small beefsteak tomato that were cooked outside on the grill.  I placed the cooked vegetables on a platter, seasoned with sea salt and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. I added a ball of burrata for my husband and I. We enjoyed it on our porch where there was a light breeze and peaks of sun from behind the clouds. 
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​I’m still hunting down recipes that can be cooked outside on the grill. Recently, I found on The New York Times webpage, Cooking, a recipe by Ali Slagle for Grilled Chicken with Tomatoes and Corn. This quick and easy recipe needed boneless, skinless chicken thighs, extra virgin olive oil, chili powder, kosher salt, large ripe tomatoes, a fresh ear of corn, small red onion and fresh oregano.
 
A trip to a local produce stand, Matt’s Farm Market in Belmar, yielded beautiful sweet corn and tomatoes for this meal. Instead of chicken thighs, I used boneless, skinless breasts that I butterflied open. The recipe also called for fresh oregano, which is one of the many herbs from my garden.
 
The preparation begins by coating the chicken with olive oil, chili powder and salt. I did this early in the day, but you can do it up to a day ahead. The veggies are all served in the raw state. I thinly sliced the tomatoes for a base, topped with corn kernels, red onion and oregano. The vegetables are seasoned with salt and extra virgin olive oil
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​My Dreyer Farm’s CSA offerings this summer have been wonderful; a great selection of produce to try out new and varied recipes. Recently, on The New York Times website, there were several recipes that I found to go along with my vegetables. One was a recipe by Kay Chun for Eggplant Parmesan Pasta. Also, I found a recipe for Skillet Tortellini with Corn and Crispy Rosemary by Ali Slagle and Roasted Beets with Moroccan Spices by Mark Bittman.
 
Eggplant Parmesan Pasta takes just 35 minutes to prepare and packs a lot of flavors. For the recipe you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, panko bread crumbs, kosher salt, black pepper, a yellow onion, fresh garlic, eggplant (peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, about 8 cups), 28-ounce can of tomatoes (crushed), fresh basil spring plus chopped basil, dried oregano, pasta such as mezzo rigatoni, fusilli or shells, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and fresh mozzarella. 
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Recently when I was in the mood for meat loaf. Many years ago, I purchased a steel grill meat loaf pan from Williams-Sonoma. The loaf pan has an open bottom with a handled insert and a perforated base that allows fat to drain and is meant to be used on a grill. Although no longer available, a similar product can be found at Amazon or  Sur La Table.
 
Cheesy Meat Loaf with Bacon and Herbs was the recipe that was included with the pan. The ingredients needed are extra-virgin olive oil, carrots, celery, an onion, fresh garlic, fresh bread crumbs, warm water, fresh flat-leaf parsley, mozzarella cheese (shredded and cubed), salt, pepper, ground beef, eggs, fresh thyme and thick-cut bacon. ​I used fresh herbs from my garden for this dish. 
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​Despite the heat, I’m still cooking. When considering what to cook, I do consider the weather and what I have from my weekly CSA box. Such was the case when I chose Yewande Komolafe’s recipe for Ginger Chicken with Crisp Napa Salad. This 30-minute recipe needs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, kosher salt, finely grated fresh ginger, fresh garlic, fresh cilantro, ground cayenne, a neutral oil, a lime, 1/2 of a small Napa cabbage, seedless cucumber, fresh chives, fresh mint leaves and either rice vinegar, distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
 
As my CSA box this week included regular cabbage I substituted that for of Napa and I substituted fresh parsley over cilantro for personal taste. To start, the chicken breasts are pounded to an even thickness of 1/2-inches and seasoned on both sides with salt. The chicken is marinated in a mixture of ginger, garlic, cilantro, cayenne, lime zest and oil. They only have to sit 10 minutes at room temperature before cooking.
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​I made my first trip into Manhattan since COVID. My daughter wanted to see Sean Hayes in “Good Night Oscar” and her husband wasn’t interested.  Initially she was talking about an evening performance, but sensing my hesitation, we went the Sunday following her return from vacation on Long Beach Island. My daughter selected the restaurant, Ci Siamo, which is behind the Daniel P. Moynihan Train Station, convenient to Penn Station where we arrived. Although it was a hot and sticky day, the walk was quick and there was a slight breeze.
 
Upon our arrival we were seated in an open dining room with a view of The Manhattan West Plaza. Spacing between the tables was ample, the chairs comfortable and the table had a nice proportion for two people. We began with a cool non-alcoholic drink for each of us. I selected the Phony Negroni made with juniper, bitters and bubbles ($14) and my daughter had Tonio made with Italian bitter, grapefruit, elderflower and tonic ($14). Both were delicious and refreshing
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​The steamy days of summer really put a kink in one’s cooking. However, I’ve been finding some delicious one pot pasta dishes that go well in this hot weather. Melissa Clark’s recipe for One-Pan Shrimp Scampi with Crispy Gnocchi takes about 30 minutes to prepare and makes for a quick post-beach supper. In last week’s Dreyer Farms CSA box, I had two green zucchini that came just in time to try Alexa Weibel’s recipe for One-Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta. As Sunday was overcast and gray, why not bake even more cookies. I made Rosemary Walnut Biscotti from a vintage issue of “Gourmet Magazine, December 1992.
 
If you are a subscriber to The New York Times, you can find Melissa Clark’s recipe in her column “A Good Appetite.” This recipe appeared in the article titled “Give Your Gnocchi the Shrimp Scampi Treatment,” published in October 2022. I love this recipe because it’s quick, you can use fresh or frozen shrimp and shelf stable gnocchi, such as Wegmans potato gnocchi, which I love. For the recipe you’ll also need extra virgin olive oil, unsalted butter, fresh garlic, dry white wine (clam juice or broth works too), kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), black pepper, red pepper flakes, one pound of shrimp, a lemon and fresh chopped parsley.
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I don’t mind being in the kitchen in the summer as we have central air conditioning and I limit what I prepare in the oven. As a matter of fact, I just made Amy’s Oh’s Very Best Cookie and Chocolate Sugar Cookie doughs. Then I baked off one sheet pan at a time of each flavor and refrigerated the rest to bake off at a later time.
 
I stopped in at Pastosa Ravioli in Manasquan this morning and picked up a ball of fresh mozzarella. It was the perfect day to pair this with New Jersey tomatoes from Matt’s Farm Market in Wall Township.  As I selected a ball of mozzarella, I could feel the warmth through the wrapping indicating it was just made. As I was paying, I congratulated one of the owners on their fifth anniversary of being open in Manasquan. As I was leaving, he stopped me and handed me a complimentary loaf of prosciutto bread. What a wonderful surprise!
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The summer is off and running at my house. My granddaughters are taking swimming lessons at a local health club, so they’re at my home every Thursday. Depending on my daughter’s calendar, it could be for the day or a few days, hence my delay in posting.
 
It’s very rare that I prepare the same recipe twice for my husband, especially since I’ve started this blog. During CSA season, where there’s an occasional bumper supply of radishes, carrots or zucchini coming in, I need to come up with a new preparation.
 
Such was the case recently when another bunch of radishes came in my share. Although I have some recipes, this time my search led to the Food Network’s recipe for Chili-Lime Roasted Radishes. This was so easy to prepare as I already was in possession of Chili-Lime Seasoning from Williams-Sonoma. Besides fresh radishes and chili-lime seasoning you’ll need kosher salt and olive oil.
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With the new CSA season well underway, my pickle is trying to find, delicious and easy to prepare recipes for the produce that’s coming in. Last week’s CSA box brought more pickles and a zucchini. I could have made Easiest Fridge Pickles from the website Smitten Kitchen, but where’s the fun in that? So, I turned to my favorite source, NYT Cooking, and found a recipe by Melissa Clark for Bread-and-Butter Pickles. For the recipe you’ll need Kirby cucumbers, coarse kosher salt, fresh dill, light brown sugar, cider vinegar, coriander seeds, black pepper corns and allspice berries.
 
Although an easy recipe to prepare, I did have a problem locating both coriander seeds and allspice berries. I was able to find the coriander seeds at a second food store, but no luck with allspice berries. I substituted ground allspice in the same amount as if I had the berries. (*Note: for difficult to find spices I suggest Penzeys.)


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

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