roasted tomato caprese with avocado.

I spent $5.50 the other week on a pound of organic, greenhouse raised, farmer’s market tomatoes.  Every time I think about it, I think of how absurd it is to spend so much on tomatoes (before their official season is even close to starting!) but I couldn’t help it.  I became fixated on a roasted tomato caprese with avocado tartine that I saw on Not Without Salt when I was in California.  It caught my eye and my stomach the second I saw the pictures.  This is the kind of dish that shocked me with it’s simplicity and made me wonder why I never thought of such a combination.  I’ve eaten it about 4 times since getting home (I may have purchased another pound of inordinately priced tomatoes…) and I don’t see my consumption of it stopping any time soon.  It makes for a wonderful light dinner or a superb leisurely rainy afternoon lunch.  It’s salty and creamy and everything comes together perfectly in each and every bite. 

Roasted Tomato Caprese with Avocado

Recipe adapted barely from Not Without Salt (her photos are absurdly beautiful)

1 large beefsteak tomatoes or 2 medium sized tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt plus more to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

A pinch of red pepper flakes

4 large leaves fresh basil

3 thick slices of country bread

½ an avocado, peeled and sliced thin

½ large burrata ball (or buffalo mozzarella)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Cut the large tomato in 1/4″ inch slices. Lay on a parchment lined sheet tray and drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Roast for 30 minutes until wilted, wrinkly, and caramelized in parts.  When the tomatoes have roasted, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool. 

Toast the bread in the oven or in the toaster until golden brown.

Assemble the tartine by topping the bread with the sliced avocado.  On top of the avocado place torn pieces of burrata (make sure you get the creamy inside!).  Add a small pile of roasted tomatoes on top.  Finish with some torn leaves of basil and a pinch of flaky sea salt. 

summer dress lust.

On a completely unrelated food note, I am currently on the hunt for the quintessential summer dress.  A dress that's simple but special, something that can be both dressed up with nude leather wedges and dressed down with simple flats, a dress that I can wear almost every weekend for the next 3 months and never ever get sick of it (which if I can ever find an item like that then I know I will have found something special since after 2 months I almost always get sick of everything).  Something white and breezy and easy and preferably eyelet.  Basically I want the below dress and I can't find it and if you know where I can I would appreciate you letting me know.  

Image via Pinterest.

green pancakes with lime yogurt sauce.

I am not a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination  To me, bacon is the greatest food that has ever existed.  I also have an unrequited love affair with Shake Shack cheeseburgers, and roast chicken is one of the simple pleasures in life, but when spring produce arrives with abundance at the farmer's market, I unintentionally ignore meat and give the green stuff the attention it deserves.  (Maybe you can call me a seasonal vegetarian?)  I've basically lived off of vegetables for the past 10 days (I needed a little vacation cleanse) and when there are dishes like this to be made and eaten, it's easy to live off glorious produce.  These pancakes and hearty and satisfying.  The kind of thing that reminds you of being a kid when your mom when try and sneakily hide vegetables in dishes you would eat, accept here the greens are front and center.  Spinach gets to shine and it pairs beautifully with a creamy yogurt sauce.  A little lime zest and cumin adds the appropriate amount of zing.  This is a beautifully elegant spring dinner.  

Green Pancakes with Lime Yogurt Sauce
Recipe adapted (barely) from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

For the Lime Yogurt

1 cup Greek yogurt
Grated zest of 1 lime
1 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon chile flakes or smoked paprika 
1/4 teaspoon cumin

For the Pancakes

1/2 lb (about 8 cups) spinach, washed
3/4 cup self-rising flour 
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teasspoon ground cumin
2/3 cup milk
6 medium green onions, finely sliced
2 fresh green chiles, thinly sliced
1 egg white
Olive oil for frying

To make the lime yogurt sauce. Combine the yogurt, lime zest, lime juice, salt, pepper, cilantro, and chile flakes.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. 

Wilt the spinach in a pan with a splash of water. Drain in a sieve and, when cool, squeeze hard with your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. Roughly chop and put aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, whole egg, melted butter, salt, cumin and milk in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the green onions, chiles and spinach and mix with a fork. Whisk the egg white to soft peaks and gently fold it into the batter.

Pour a small amount of olive oil into a heavy frying pan and place on medium-high heat. For each pancake, ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan and press down gently. You should get smallish pancakes, about 3 inches in diameter and 3/8 inch thick. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until you get a good golden-green color. Transfer to paper towels and keep warm. Continue making pancakes, adding oil to the pan as needed, until the batter is used up.

To serve, pile up three warm pancakes per person and add a dollop of yogurt sauce on top.  

shaved asparagus pizza is back.

Asparagus have arrived at the farmer's markets in droves and I have found myself consuming them at almost every meal.  They are wonderful in warm salads of diced eggs and crunchy croutons with a sherry vinaigrette    They are also superb when diced into bite size pieces and folded into scrambled eggs with goat cheese.  I also will always fall hard for roasted asparagus that require nothing more then a sprinkle of sea salt, fresh pepper, and olive oil.   While all of those are great there may be nothing better then eating them shredded atop (white) pizza.  I discussed the merits of this dish last year and if you didn't make it then I highly suggest you make it now while they are still in season.  This is beautiful dish (it always feels like the Jackson Pollack of food to me) with the mingling of sweet, salty, and spicy.  It's creamy and crunch and all around perfect.  I made it once this week and you can pretty much guarantee it will be made once a week until asparagus are gone.   Oh and the honey I tell you to sprinkle on top is completely necessary.  You can always use regular honey but as a super proponent (and it also being one of my most used ingredients) I highly recommend buying Mikes Hot Honey.  You will find yourself using it all the time.  

yogurt panna cotta with roasted rhubarb compote and maple caramelized nuts.

I ate a large amount of sweets while out west.  Homemade ice cream sandwiches from State Bird Provisions, root beer floats and chocolate ginger cookies at Ad Hoc, and bacon chocolate bars from Animal.  I was a gluttonous pig feasting on sweets and I have no shame in admitting that (I can also justify it with the fact that we walked and hiked a great deal which is why I actually came home in better shape than when I left.  I love when that happens.)  Of all the desserts we ate the standout one was the yogurt panna cotta with wild blueberry compote and caramelized nuts from Baco Mercat.  (I labeled this one of my top 10 dishes!)  The flavors were superb – tart, tangy, and sweet.  The texture was equally excellent - creamy and crunchy.  They boy and I were both smitten with the dish probably because it tasted like a pie and pudding mash-up (and who doesn’t love a good dessert mash-up).  Upon returning home, it was on the top of the list of things to make but with a more seasonal spin.  Rhubarb seemed appropriately tart and a perfect counterpart to crunchy maple caramelized walnuts.  This is one of those super fancy looking desserts that cause people to ohh and ahh over it but really it couldn’t be easier.  While it’s perfect for a fancy dinner party, I prefer serving it just because since it elevates the everyday into something special (it also makes for a lovely if slightly indulgent breakfast). 

Yogurt Panna Cotta

Recipe via Smitten Kitchen

Makes 1 9-inch round panna cotta or 6 4-inch ramekins with about 2/3-cup servings

Let’s talk about sugar for a second.  I went with ½ cup since I thought with the tart rhubarb the sugar would be necessary, but I would personally prefer it a little tarter.  My suggestion is 1/3 of a cup, I think that would be ideal, but ¼ cup would also work well with a sweeter compote (or even with the rhubarb if you prefer tart!)  Expect more compote recipes as the season progresses.  Maybe this will be the summer of compote!

Neutral oil such as canola or safflower

4 tablespoons (60ml) water

2 ½ teaspoons (1 packet or ¼ ounce or 7 grams) unflavored gelatin

2 cups (460 grams) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

2 cups (475 ml) milk, heavy cream, or some combination of the two (want about ½ cup of cream)

¼ - ½ cup (50 – 100 grams) sugar (see my comments above)

2 tablespoons (30ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice from about ½ lemon

If you plan to unmold the panna cotta later, lightly coat the inside of a 9-inch round cake pan or smaller dessert cups with the oil. (No need to if you will scoop it from its cups.)

Place water in a small bowl. Stir in gelatin and set aside until the gelatin softens, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk all of yogurt and 1 cup of milk, cream or a mixture thereof. In a small saucepan, bring remaining milk or cream and sugar to a simmer. Stir in water-gelatin mixture (it will dissolve immediately) and remove from heat. Whisk this mixture into the yogurt mixture, then stir in lemon juice at the end. Pour mixture into cake pan or smaller cups and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours for small cups and up to 8 for a large pan. It’s best to do this the night before you need it, to be safe.

To unmold the cake pan, fill a larger baking dish with 1-inch boiling water. Dip panna cotta cake pan in it for 10 seconds, then flip it out onto a flat round platter. (A curved one will cause the panna cotta to appear sunken in the middle.)

To unmold smaller dishes, bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer and dip the bottom of a small panna cotta cup in one for five seconds, then invert it onto a plate. Repeat with remaining cups.

To serve – Top with rhubarb compote (recipe below) and 2 tablespoons chopped maple candied walnuts (recipe also below). 

Roasted Rhubarb Compote

Recipe adapted from Chow

Makes about 2 cups (for each ramekin to get 1/3 cup)

1 pound rhubarb

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)

½ cup granulated sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and arrange a rack in the middle.  Rinse rhubarb under cold water, trim ends, and remove any leaves.  Slice each stalk in half lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into 1-inch pieces. 

Combine rhubarb, lemon juice, and sugar in an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish; toss together until rhubarb is well coated with sugar. 

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the rhubarb has released a lot of juice and the mixture is bubbling, about 35 minutes. 

Remove the foil and continue baking until the juices are slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool. 

Maple Candied Walnuts

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

2  teaspoons unsalted butter

¼ cup pure maple syrup

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Coarse salt

1 cup walnuts (3 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Stir in maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, and ½ teaspoons salt.  Bring to a simmer (mixture should be frothy), about 3 minutes.  Add walnuts, and toss to coat using a rubber spatula.  Cook, stirring, until sauce is syrupy and bubbly, about 3 minutes. 

Transfer walnut mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into a single layer.  Bake until walnuts are caramelized, about 10 minutes.  Transfer sheet to a wire rack.  Stir, and let stand until cool and hardened, about 30 minutes. 

white and a pop of gold.

My current kitchen obsessions seem to mirror my latest clothing obsessions.

I am loving clean lines, lots of bright white, and pops of gold (which is pretty much what I always love but I especially love it now that summer is coming).  

How do people keep their kitchens so clean?  Do people with kitchens like this even cook?  I like to think they do because what's the point of having such utterly adorable tools if you aren't going to use them (those cutting boards!).  Maybe the whole world is just far neater and cleaner then I am.  I am jealous.  

(People with kitchen's like this can probably also wear white pants and not dirty them immediately.  I am jealous of that too.)  

Image via Pinterest