A stormy Sunday

... in that Spring-like way....

I made this lovely soup---the "everything green" soup from a recent issue of Bon Appetit.

... and a simple and delicious lemon-tarragon grilled chicken.

Between storms I was able to plant tomatoes and some herbs...

A good Sunday.

Now the sun is out

A gloomy start to the day, but now the sun is back.

Here are some highlights from the past week.

Grilled chicken... with Cherry Republic Cherryaki sauce.

Some truly lovely lavender scones. More elegant than they looked.

And here's a very nice date nut bread. The recipe comes from fellow Michigander Maureen Abood's terrific blog.

A Sunday chicken

For my parents. Along with the butter top bread, etc. A mini-Thanksgiving...

The next night: mac & cheese. I do like real food.

One of my many walks while in Michigan took me past a park from childhood: Bookmobile Park, so called, of course, because that's where the bookmobile stopped. Loved that. And I was so happy to see this new addition: a Little Free Library. The only improvement I can think of: a doll library. Borrow a doll. Share a doll. Leave some doll clothing for a doll in need.

So that was last week. This Sunday's bread is wheat & buttermilk to go, soon, with some pumpkin soup.

The dough had a tremendous rise. The only improvement to the recipe might be a touch of honey. Nonetheless, this is good and will be even better with soup and as sandwich bread.

Just chicken

Yet pretty, in its simplicity.

First, grilled chicken with a very nice side of pan-roasted white beans, kale, and walnuts (recipe from Food 52, kind of) along with some roasted tomatoes.

And then grilled, as before, along with yellow squash and zucchini over basmati rice and some more tomatoes and garlic.

Simple as can be.

A gentle rain

this morning... and a roundup: various things, shades of green.

Basmati rice + chicken + green beans + scallions + oh I can't remember what else.

Gemelli with swiss chard, tomatoes, pistachios.

Wild rice, farro, baby kale, mandarin oranges, dried cherries.

"Silky" zucchini soup. Food & Wine recipe. 

A tomato, some apricots, whatnot

The season's first tomato (not counting cherry tomatoes). An Early Girl. Yes, I won the Samyn tomato growing contest. Given the weather, how could I not?

Quite a bit of basil visible in the background, too...

More of what I think of as "regular food," which is my favorite kind. Chicken with the aforementioned basil; salad with the real-wine-red-wine-vinaigrette mentioned a post or two ago; a slice of The Bread grilled.

And something rather special: "little apricot cakes": lovely is definitely the word.

Finally, summer pleasures include some reading and some sewing (napkins with mitered corners). The attention and care required for the latter are part of the appeal.

Simply pretty

It's interesting: lovely things are frequently nearly effortless.

Here's a simple white bean salad that belongs in that category.

And here it is, plated, with chicken on a bed of sautéed kale. And a few dates, just because.

Officially Spring

—and sometimes the weather has seemed like it.

Regardless, we're on our way.

And here's a round-up of a few recent things....


Grilled sea bass on a bed of brown rice with sautéed spinach, toasted almonds, and dates.

Chick pea and chicken curry.

Two small loaves of my favorite bread.

Autumn

A nice, productive Sunday.

Here are some lovely tartlets: blue cheese, figs, walnuts. Delicious. And no, I did not make the puff pastry. Maybe next time. The recipe is from Williams-Sonoma.

And for dinner, caramel chicken with sprouted brown rice. The recipe is from Food & Wine. Theirs are generally excellent. 

This and that...

Today is a day for catching up.

Here are some figs, grilled with olive oil and goat cheese. Tis the very brief season.

The photo doesn't do them justice.

~

My new favorite bread recipe, made last week and again today, is an oatmeal loaf. The recipe is from Red Star yeast and can be found here. I used honey instead of molasses. And I don't use Red Star yeast, though I'm sure it's just wonderful. In any case, the bread is very easy, rises nicely, has a good crust and  soft interior.

~

I recently got some new dish towels from Sur La Table. Very charming, as you might expect from them.

Note how the pig is almost smiling. This is often the case with pigs. Recall that in Richard Scarry books, the butcher is always a pig, happily selling sausage. Strange.

~

Finally, a simple but very pleasing dinner: grilled chicken and zucchini and summer squash quesadillas. With brown rice and some pretty little tomatoes.

Belatedly

I hosted the annual MFA meet-and-greet—two weeks ago now—and here, at last, are the photos.

First, flank steak, already marinated in low sodium soy sauce, mirin, ginger, garlic, lime juice.

And grilled... along with some chicken that had been marinated in Greek yogurt, etc.

And some salads: watermelon with tomatoes and feta... 

and orzo with baby kale, chick peas, feta, red onions...

and a chopped salad with pears, gorgonzola, pecans and a homemade poppyseed dressing...

Finally, here's a pic of the table.. 

And yes, a good time was had by all.

Variation on a theme

Many of the same vegetables, plus kale (sautéed, inside), and chicken. Delicious.

The rain finally let up

and I was able to grill: Lebanese chicken, zucchini, and tomatoes with feta and basil. Very pleasing.

Cooking for a group

... is always enjoyable, I think. Here's some dry-rubbed barbecue chicken from earlier this week.

And later that same day, a cherry pie. The top wasn't as pretty as I would have liked, but oh well. The recipe was courtesy of Cherry Republic.

Nectarines

Grilled. With chicken. And a what's-on-hand salad: mixed greens, sautéed onions and cherry tomatoes, feta, pecans.

That Sauvignon Blanc is St. Supery, a favorite.