Frothy Goodness paired with a Breezy Day

Sometimes you just have to write about things you enjoy, things you love. Today's entry is one of those times. Coffee is a connector, a mediator, a meeting maker. It's become a daily indulgence for lots of us and life long passion for many. I'm sitting outside on this beautiful, 'after the storm' summer day, at a place that I would love to call my own, Ellwood's Coffee. How many of you have thought about how great it would be to own and operate a coffee/wine bar/social gathering spot/community based business? I have. Many, many times...starting in college when I lived in a sleepy little Virginia town that tried to balance community and an ever-growing college population. Ellwood's has done it right, from the organic coffee right down to the energy efficient bathrooms.

And let me tell you, this latte I'm working on (my second) couldn't be better. Thank you, Ellwood's...Bellissimo!

Spinach and Chickpea Soup

With that recent cold snap (down from triple digits), I figured it was time for a hot lunch. We just got back from a long weekend away and I had a bag of fresh spinach that needed to be used up quickly. I didn't feel like having a salad so the next best thing was a quick and super simple soup! The base of this soup is really tasty and the add in's can be changed up. However, I really liked the combination of the leafy, green spinach and the protein-packed peas. It comes together in about 10 minutes so its a good one if you are in a hurry. Here's what I put together:

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 lemon (zest and juice)

1 piece of parmagiano reggiano rind leftover from some other fantastic meal

2 cups fresh spinach

1/3 cup chickpeas

4 basil leaves

Start by bringing the stock, water, lemon juice, zest and rind up to a simmer. The rind adds a nice saltiness to the soup and gets every, last bit of flavor out of that pricey block of cheese. Add in the spinach, peas and, at the very end, the shredded basil. Told you it was easy!

Chilled Gazpacho Soup

Remember the marinated and grilled veggies post from the other weekend? I recently had an opportunity to make it again when we had some friends over to welcome them back to town (yahoo!). While at our favorite farmer's market Saturday, we bought a brown bag full of summer squash and baby zucchini so we threw those on the grill with spring onions, mushrooms and a baby eggplant. We used the same balsamic marinade and they came out just as tasty as the first time.

We had almost a pound of the grilled vegetables leftover so last night I decided to try making Gazpacho which, surprisingly enough, I've only ever tried once. We'll be changing that this summer! Here's how it came together:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 raw white onion, diced

1/2 large green bell pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves

leftover grilled, balsamic-marinated summer vegetables

1-26 oz can crushed tomatoes with basil

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups low sodium chicken stock

2 cups water (or more if you want to thin it out)

fresh chopped herbs - I had basil, oregano and thyme on hand

crushed red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

I started by sautéing the onion and green pepper in the olive oil with a little S & P in my Martha Stewart Collection Enameled Cast Iron Casserole Pot until the onions were translucent . Next I turned up the heat on the stove a bit and added the crushed garlic, grilled vegetables, tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken stock. I broke out my trusty Cuisinart cordless hand blender and blended all the veggie bits together until there were no big bite-sized pieces left (although I left it a little chunky because I like that texture). Next I added the water, the fresh herbs, the bay leaves (these will come out before serving), a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch more black pepper. I brought the soup up to a boil and then put the lid on and took it off the heat to simmer for about 30 minutes.

From there the whole pot went into the fridge overnight and then the chilled soup went into my belly over lunch. With these 100° days, I've been craving ice-cold lunches and this one hit the spot. It's a great way to help meet your veggie quota for the day and enjoy a refreshing, cool meal.

Heart of Palm – a delicacy

I was just reading up on Heart of Palm and how it's harvested.  Things appear to be different today that even just a few years ago but I would say it's still a delicacy.  There is nothing else I can think of that matches it's texture and flavor and it's nutrient rich goodness.  This is a quick summer salad for lunch any day of the week:

1 can heart of palm

1 avocado

8 grape tomatoes

olive oil

red wine vinegar

basil

S & P

Toss it up and serve it cold!