Salad days -

It's just too hot to cook.

The name of this delicious, easy to make traditional Tuscan summer salad is panzanella. 

I used to always make the authentic Italian version where you soak the bread in water.

 When you see it being made, the bowl of wet bread is somewhat unappetizing!

In the picturesque hills of Tuscany, leftover bread is used in many dishes such as 

bruschetta, crostini, and the wonderful Ribollita soup I enjoy making in winter.

Panzanella salad is one of the mainstays of the long and languid summer 

luncheon, or supper under a pergola in a flower-filled garden.

The quality of the ingredients are what make it delicious. 

This is my latest version which I think is the best one I've tried to date.

Certainly delicious with the freshly picked and shared tomatoes from my 

neighbor's garden.

I no longer soak the stale ciabatta bread in water - instead I cut it into 1" cubes, 

spread on a rimmed baking sheet, toss with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. 

Bake at 425 degrees until dried out and pale golden brown, about 7-10 mins.

These crunchy croutons don't go too mushy and fall apart when tossed with the

 other ingredients - and I even set a few aside to add to any first day leftovers for

 a fresh crunch next time around!

The rest is basic but with the addition of fresh mozzarella which can make it

 a main dish salad. It keeps well in the fridge for a day or so.

The weekend was very hot and humid here so we didn't go from the house for a

 picnic! No beautiful, scenic photos from the countryside to share - perhaps we'll 

plan that for when it cools down, we have more energy, no afternoon storms pop

up, and the mosquitoes are gone. I'm covered in bites just from my own garden

 (even though I 'bathe' in repellant!), that's enough to make me miserable and

 want to stay indoors. . . . . . . . preparing salads, eating ice cream, drinking 

chilled wine!

Orzo pasta with, roasted summer veggies, toasted pine nuts, and feta cheese.

Classic Caesar with hard-boiled eggs.

Grilled veggies always come in handy - great hot off the fire,

even better later added to pastas and salads.

Are you enjoying summer salads?

What's your favorite?

Dill & Chocolate Brownies -

This week I've been gathering seeds, plenty of dill and a little parsley.

I put a plastic baggie over the seed heads and with gentle manipulation, 

 coax the dried seeds off.  I spread them out a dish on the kitchen

counter overnight to make sure they are completely dry, then tip into

 saved screw top jam jars. . . . . . .mostly Bonne Maman with their always

 cheery red bistro tablecloth check lids.

Next year I will sow the seeds come spring and hopefully they will be as

 prolific as they were this summer.

 

Note:  Don't ever gather seeds and leave them outside to dry overnight

as I did once - they will be gone by morning and your squirrels and birds 

will have full tummies!!!!

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   Are you a brownie fan?

In all honesty they are not a top favorite of mine.

 I really prefer my chocolate calories used other ways.

However, every now and then I pick up a box of Duncan Hines and

make a batch to share, but I usually add something extra. 

These I made during the week. Added small chopped up 

chunks of a bar of LIDL's premium dark German chocolate with 

almonds and orange peel. I love these bars as they are thin and

very easy to break up, and the chocolate is so much better than

a bag of drab chocolate chips.

I saved a couple of squares for melting and drizzling after 

I took the brownies out of the oven.

I actually messed up on the recipe - was making chewy rather than cake,

 but added 1/2 instead of 1/4 cup of water, however they turned out

 perfectly perhaps due to the extra chocolate pieces.

After a couple of days in the fridge I have to say they are tasty.

Do you have a favorite brownie recipe?  Do you have any special additions

 to take them from ordinary to gourmet?

Coming soon -

Nothing special happening. . . . . . .other than Bob picking more figs and

placing another huge bowlful on the kitchen counter this morning!

These are going to an elderly handyman who has done work in our garden. 

He lives in the country and has often brought us sweet potatoes direct from

 the fields. North Carolina is the largest grower of that good for us vegetable - we

 grow more than the rest of the USA combined.

As he loves figs, we are doing our little bit to share the bounty.

Just picked!

I took this photo this morning, framing the house in my window so I can

compare it with whatever appears later!

Looking out my kitchen window I'm really sad.

Knowing that this cute smaller house may soon be gone is very upsetting.

I've pulled up the window blinds every morning for 34 years to this view.

Usually there was a car, or two - that driveway is wide enough to park two 

next to one another - and there were people coming and going, fortunately 

always nice people who made good neighbors.

Now the property is sold and the small house is doomed.

When the wrecking ball comes things will be so different. 

Once construction commences on a larger house, life will be dirty and noisy

for many months.

The surveyors came yesterday - next will be the sign down at the mailbox,

 one we are now seeing often around the neighborhood. . . . . . . . .

 ~  COMING SOON  ~