FINALLY!!! Our tomato harvest is in full swing, bushes are loaded, and they are demanding attention. If you are in the same boat as I am, here is an answer to your dilemma. I have canned tomatoes for nearly forty years, and was desperate to find an easier, less messy and time consuming way to deal with them. Enter our two ingredient, slow cooker tomato sauce – truly the easiest and most delicious tomato sauce I’ve ever eaten. Throw it into a crockpot, and after it’s cooked down by half, blend the living daylights out of it, and freeze. No seeding, no peeling – just pure tomato.
As much as it pains me to say this…and it does, I may owe the success of our tomato harvest to my mother, Neeners. I finally succumbed to her constant nagging to “Cut those tomato bushes back – they need the sun!!” When I mentioned to her that I had recently read an article in Mother Earth News that said just the opposite, you may imagine the response I received. “To Hell with Mother Earth. I AM MOTHER EARTH!!! Listen to me!!” I noted that Mother Earth was not a person, but a magazine. She snorted “Then I am going to send her a letter and tell her how messed up she is and she is no kind of Mother Earth in my book.” At that point I gave up on the whole entire business, handed her some clippers, and told her to snip to her hearts content.
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Caprese salads are simple by definition, and usually only consist of tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella cheese and olive oil. But here’s the thing… fresh mozzarella, in spite of all of its many virtues, can be a bit of a yawner in the flavor department. In this recipe, the fresh mozzarella is given a little more personality by marinating it in olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and tons of herbs. I think you will find this to be a game changer in all things Caprese. The only thing missing here is a loaf of artisan bread and a bottle of wine…….
The recipe for the Korean Grilled Chicken comes from our good friend, Mike Turina. Mike has lived in Hawaii for nearly 30 years, is an excellent cook, and an absolute terror in the kitchen. When Nic (that’s what we call him – not sure why) enters our kitchen, all within 100 yards grab a HAZMAT suit and prepare to be covered in flying soy sauce, shrimp heads, and a noodle or two. That’s just how he operates. The result is always worth the mess, however. The last time Nic made the recipe for us, it was for an OSU tailgate party. The game was dismal, our grill was incinerated, but the chicken was delicious. 
Here we have Summer in a jar. This recipe uses a lot less olive oil than most, and that’s just because I like the basil to do the talking, not anything else.. I’ve been making pesto for many years, and this recipe has changed, and gotten easier, with time. I find it’s not necessary to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and also not necessary to use the ultra-expensive pine nuts if you’d rather not. After using walnuts for eons, I changed to pumpkin seeds because so many of our friends & family have nut allergies, and didn’t want them to miss out on this sauce that finds it’s way into everything from appetizers to pasta. I really like the pumpkin seed flavor better than anything. Such is life – just keep experimenting! 
This is one of those salads that you really can make your own – it all depends on what’s crying out to you from your garden in desperate need of picking, or less dramatically – what looks really good at your local farm stand or supermarket. This one takes advantage of the best of summer – fresh green beans, steamed until just tender, sliced cherry tomatoes and grilled corn that has just begun to char and caramelize. Add a few more touches here and there, and whip together a light, creamy lemon and mustard vinaigrette, some tangy blue cheese, and you are good to go. This salad travels well and fits right in at any picnic or barbecue.
Here we have the ultimate summer dessert. The one where you hide pieces of it in various places around the house, then excuse yourself for some lame reason, seek it out and go dig in. There are currently two pieces in our refrigerator and they will soon mysteriously disappear. That’s just the way it is with this dessert. You take a bite. Then another. Then add a scoop of ice cream. And when all that eating is done you might get amnesia because you got sensory overload and your mind short circuited due to food joy. With that warning in place, I say let’s get moving on making some just for you.
This is what I call the perfect solution for a hot summer evening. I am all sweaty and not in the mood to cook, but since I am forever in the mood to eat, let’s just throw everything on the grill. Skewer some big shrimp and slice up some hearts of romaine lettuce, grab some blackberries and your favorite Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese and croutons and you are good to go. Grilling the romaine to a slightly smoky char gives this salad a whole new identity. Use your favorite best-quality Caesar dressing to make this a nearly effortless endeavor, which is critical during this time of year. Jump right on over to the blog and I’ll show you how you can get this on the table in no time flat. 
Holy cow! It’s blistering hot outside this week, which means I will stay as far away from the oven as humanly possible. Have you ever heard people say that they lose their appetite and can’t eat when it’s hot outside? I am not one of them. But what to do when it’s so hot out that all you want to do is sit in front of a fan with a refreshing beverage? Thoughts immediately went to these big old shrimp, served nice and cold with some crisp peppers and a refreshing lemon and herb dressing. I have been making this recipe for about a million years, and it has appeared at just about every catering job I’ve ever had because it’s easy, beautiful, and no fail – this is very important when you have run out of time and have had delusions of grandeur about estimating how much food you could prepare for a couple hundred people in a short amount of time. This shrimp presentation is wonderful as an appetizer or light lunch or supper served with grilled bread, but also great tossed with orzo pasta for a cool summer salad. Bathed in lemon juice and olive oil, the shrimp are in good company with bias sliced scallions and red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. The scent of fresh herbs perfumes the dish and makes it irresistible. Come on over to the blog, and I’ll talk you through it…