Summer menu

Yum

There’s not much that I’ve been thinking about more lately than food. I’m not sure what’s gotten in to me, I think it was our Berkshires trip with the very organized and stocked kitchen, plus the amazing Great Barrington farmers market. Also, what better way to really get to know someone than to understand how they eat? maybe?

Anyway, I’ve been on a real kick. So, the only thing I could really think of to share with you this week is all the yummy things I’ve been eating. Everything is simple, nothing takes long, and I legitimately promise you, you will be so pleased with yourself if you make any of these things. I know I have been!

Also, on those days where it’s like… what do people even eat for dinner and why does it need to be made every night?? You can come back here for some ideas.

Enjoy!

Breakfast

Every morning starts with coffee of course. I have mine with honey and whole milk. My husband usually makes a smoothie with frozen berries, Greek Yogurt, whole milk and protein powder (this is the one I use, it’s very clean, grass fed, unflavored). Sometimes I have some hard boiled eggs with salt and red pepper flakes. But these are the normal old, year round every day things. There have been a few things we’ve made on slow weekend mornings this summer that are worth sharing because a delicious breakfast sets the tone for the whole day, yes? Yes.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

This is an Ina Garten recipe, and of course the queen can do no wrong. I made them first because I had picked up some delicious Narragansett Ricotta and ended to use up the last bit. Please do not skip the corn starch, it will make the edges a little crispy, which I love. I skipped the figs and made a blueberry syrup (frozen blueberries - a cup?, a few table spoons of sugar, and lemon juice. Heat it all up till it’s bubbly and mash up the berries a bit) to go with these, which we all agreed made the whole event feel more like we were eating a pastry than plain old pancakes. Highly recommend.

OH! also, I used the left over blueberry syrup to make a blueberry cold foam for my iced coffee. Did you know cold foam is so easy to make? I do 2T cream, 1T milk, 1T of whatever syrup I want which is sometimes a vanilla cinnamon simple, but this time was half that and half blueberry. Yum. Whiz it with your little frother. Pour over your iced coffee. Who needs the coffee shop?

Granola

This is another staple-ish in our house, but we’ve fallen out of the habit of making it. In an effort to get back on track I had my robot tell me how to make mine the closest to Purely Elizabeth as I could. I didn’t have all the ingredients it mentioned, but a good takeaway was adding the chia seeds which give a crunch that’s nice. Here’s what I did:

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

• 1/3 cups maple syrup

• 1/2 cups coconut oil, melted

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

• 2 tablespoons water

Mix it all together, spread it as thin as you can on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, and PRESS DOWN on the spread out granola. This helps it to clump, which is what we want. Bake at ~300-325 for about 20 minutes, rotating as needed. My temps and times are always approximate because I cook in an aga which has 0 real temperature control. Basically what you’re looking for is for everything to be golden brown. When you take it out of the oven let it cool completely before breaking it up to store it - this helps keep those clumps. Serve with Greek Yogurt and fresh berries, and a little more maple syrup or honey if that’s what you require.

Lunch

Lunch is sort of a non-event around these parts, except when we are going to the beach. The beach requires the perfect turkey sandwich. We’ve found a sourdough bread at our local shop that is perfect for sandwiches: not too thick or tough. Actually all the breads from this brand are great for grocery bread, FYI! The lady on the front of the package is intimidating, but don’t let her deter you. My favorite turkey is Boars Head Oven Gold, which I have to make a special trip to a specific store to buy around here, but it’s worth it. Sliced cheddar, a leaf of romaine, a sprinkle of salt, several Grillos pickles, and obviously mayo. Have you tried the Graza mayo? To die for. Not the “fancy” version, you want the kind with the yellow label.

Dinner

Nighttime cooking is where I really shine. I’m not much of a baker which takes me out of the game for many breakfast treats, and as mentioned lunch isn’t really my forte. But dinner is my time. I will admit I go through spurts of wanting pizza most nights, or wondering if anyone in my home will ever have an idea for dinner options besides me. But once I’m in my routine, our house becomes my favorite restaurant. This is all not to say that I make anything fancy, I don’t. I actually can’t think of anything fancy I have made - ever. Simple is the name of the game. I have certainly been known to complicate the shopping part though. The farm shop, the fish market, the butcher (for the turkey breast for sandwiches), Whole Foods, Market Basket, the milk farm, and lots of last minute dashes to Shaws which is our local grocery (not ideal). I’ll go everywhere I need to, to find just the right things I need.

When we were in the Berkshires a few weekends ago, I spent my early morning before anyone was up, watching my favorite man on TV - Jamie Oliver. I watched him make this breaded chicken with avocado crema, and then made it from memory when we got home. FIVE STARS. The bacon, the breading that doesn’t require multiple bowls and messy dipping, and the crema... truly so good, and so easy. Nothing brings joy like easy, right?

Another night, when I had bought the ricotta I told you about when we were discussing the pancakes, I didn’t even have a plan for it, I just bought it because I knew it would be good. I regularly buy the Narragansett feta, which I love, but hadn’t ever seen the ricotta. I mean, this ricotta…. It’s not even the same food as the sad grocery store ricotta. It’s a little salty, a little sweet, and the texture is perfection. So, I whipped it with a little olive oil, lemon juice and salt, and a handful of whatever chopped herbs came from my garden (I think I did basil, oregano and chives), and served it paired with sautéed summer squash ribbons. I know I served a protein with it but honestly I don’t even remember. Probably some grilled chicken. Who cares what the protein was?! the salty, herby cheese with the sweet, light squash was like summer on a plate. Now that it’s August, I’ll pair the whipped cheese with tomatoes next time. Sigh… I want some now!

Dessert

I love dessert, and never skip it. It’s very important to me! Mostly ice cream. Honestly, is there anything better? My daughter Amelia is pretty much an expert at making ice cream at home, which is a gift I never knew I’d be given. I think it’s worth mentioning that the night we ate Jamie’s breaded chicken, she made a banana cream pie and vanilla ice cream….. all four of us were saying: we never need to go out to eat again in our whole lives we can just eat this every night! She’s really our dessert expert all around. She has the patience I do not for measuring and timers and all these things, where I really like to cook by feeling.

I did want to tell you though, if you don’t have a 13 year old daughter who likes to make French style ice cream with eggs from your backyard chickens about once a week, I have a solution: Van Leeuwen. Holy shit you guys, this ice cream is so good. Specifically the banana honeycomb, but I’ve only seen that flavor once. Other favorites from this summer have been pistachio (this is not like any other pistachio you’ve had), affogato, and black cherry chip. I don’t know, all of them are my favorite. Also, I just googled the brand to see what flavors I have missed and I just learned that they have ice cream shops - 2 near(ish) to me! I’m going. You should too. They also sell it at all of my grocery stores (Shaws, Market Basket, and Whole Foods) so I’m sure you’ll be able to find it too.

Hungry yet?

<3