Summer pea soup, lasgna and easy sesame tahini.

Time to check in again with what I have been doing in the kitchen. It's interesting to see what inspires me to cook these days.

I was working in my garden yesterday and realized that some volunteer pea plants were producing a nice amount of peas.

I was thinking about what to do with them when I remembered I had a head of lettuce that needed using in the fridge. Lettuce plus peas equals Potage St. Germain, which is the fancy name for fresh pea soup.
I shucked the peas, there weren't quite enough for the recipe so I added some frozen organic peas as well.  After almost caramelizing the onion, I added the peas, lettuce and broth. After simmering it for about 10 minutes it's waiting for me to puree it in the blender. It will make a nice light summer lunch or dinner

My next inspiration came from a dinner I had at Avanti Pizzeria.
I have eaten there several times recently, I love this place, simple fresh tasty food. The first time, they were out of the lasagna which I had heard was great, so we ordered a pizza Margherita, it was simple but very tasty, I loved how crisp the crust was with just the right balance of sauce and topping.

Luckily the second time, they did have the lasagna, apparently what they put in it, changes daily.
My lasagna had asparagus, fresh corn and mozzarella cheese, I know this doesn't sound very traditional but it really worked. Once again I appreciated their balance of sauce, cheese and filling.
In fact I was so impressed and hungry for more, I decided to try my own version. I used asparagus, yellow squash and onions in mine. I roasted them all first to bring out their natural sweetness and remove moisture. Here is what it looked like before I added the cheese and top layer of pasta. I love the idea of using what I have on hand and playing with a dish like this.

Sesame tahini is something I try to have on hand, it had been on my to-do list for a while. In cleaning out a cupboard I found a large jar of sesame seeds and decided it was time to make it.

It's so very easy, I just had some on a cracker for lunch, it's great in dressings and sauces too.

Looking for inspiration for a recent potluck supper, I saw in my fridge a partly used napa cabbage, and some carrots, time for Asian peanut slaw. These days I don't bother making my own dressing, instead I use the Trader Joe's spicy peanut dressing, it's in the cold case, it makes this salad quick and very easy.

I love this photo from my original post on this recipe.

I am lucky to still have plums, I combined them with some boysenberries to make a fruit crisp yesterday. It smelled delightful, that's all I know since by the time I got to it at the potluck it was all gone.

Plums: plum Zinfandel preserves and more.

Summer is such a fabulous time for fresh fruit, it's hard not to focus on it.
Recently a friend offered me plums from his Santa Rosa plum tree, they are so flavorful and juicy. In fact I had three this morning with my cereal and yogurt for breakfast. Plums like berries are very versatile, they are great eaten fresh, they freeze well and can be made into a host of delicious desserts.

This summer I have been making this rustic fruit tart and wowing my friends. It so easy and quick to make. The one thing I have changed since I posted this recipe three years ago, is the baking temperature, I have bumped it up to 425 F, I find this gives a crisper crust.

Plums can also be used in this clafouti , or cobbler recipe.

When using plums or any stone fruit that clings to the pit, there is a simple way around that.
Check out this post for easy plum processing.

I don't remember when I made up this plum preserve recipe or even the inspiration, it doesn't matter, this has to be one of my current favorites.

Plum Zinfandel Preserves
yield: 7-8 half pints

8 cups plums, seeded and quartered
1 cup Zinfandel red wine
1/2 vanilla bean
spice bag with 3 cardamon pods or 1/4 teaspoon seeds, 1 inch cinnamon stick
6 cups sugar

1) Seed and chop enough plums for 8 cups. See the above link for easy processing of those pitted fruit.

2) In a large pot add the fruit, wine, vanilla bean and spice bag. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3) Add 6 cups of sugar, stir well and bring back to a simmer.

4) Cook for 30 minutes or until the mixture begins to jell. It will stiffen up as it cools so don't over cook it. Remove the vanilla bean and spice bag.

5) If you are going to can it, do the whole canning magic thing with sterilized jars, lids and canning kettle.

6) For those canning the preserves, use the 5 minute hot water bath. Otherwise it will keep in the fridge for several months and makes a great gift.

The depth of flavor is amazing with the tart plums, vanilla and spices !!

Berries !!

I was fortunate enough to visit my brother last week, he has managed to grow a great stand of berries: loganberries ( similar to a raspberry but with a more exotic flavor), boysenberries, olallieberries and a few other odd varieties. He is a generous soul and allowed me to pick to my heart's content. I frozen a large bag full and brought a container home to eat, which I did each morning for breakfast. I had plans to make great creations with these berries but they were just too tasty fresh like that.

With berry season in full swing here are a few of my favorite recipes, they use all kinds of berries and mostly can be substituted. Hopefully they will inspire you or like me maybe you will just eat they fresh !!

Raspberry Rose Curd

Summer Fruit Tart

Fruit Crisp

Easy Fruit Jam

Fruit Ice Cream

Strawberry Tart

Strawberry Cake

Dried Strawberries