Blogging by Mail ...

I saw this event & thought it looked like fun & it was! We received a terrific package full of fun food items and a few little kitchy things as well! A BIG THANK YOU to Don't Burn Down the Kitchen for her thoughtfulness and effort!

Roasted Peach Ice Cream

I love roasted banana ice cream so I took some peaches I had, roasted them with a little brown sugar and fresh lavender and then added to a basic vanilla ice cream - wonderful!!

Grilled Pizza??

For dinner we had something besides a stuff pepper. It was a beautiful night and it was calling for us to enjoy our deck, so I whipped up some homemade pizza dough and we grilled pizzas. A Blue cheese and tomato one and a Mozzarella with tomatoes and arugula. We enjoyed the smokiness of the grilled pizzas with a 2005 Espelt Saulo wine!

Thursday's Dinner

Can you tell we are down to bare bones in our house? Stuffed (yes, more) peppers for dinner. This time red bells with brown rice that I sauteed with shallots, garlic and some diced red pepper and finished it off with some of that nice goat cheese from the other night. As always, very good combination!

Wednesday's Dinner

I have been dying to try Padron Peppers after reading this post on Becks & Posh; but, I never have a chance to get to Farmer's Market on Saturdays. Strolling by Bi-rite Market and I found them! Guess what was part of dinner! Sauteed with some olive oil & sprinkled with the famed black salt flakes we love. For dinner I stuffed some Pablo peppers, I had leftover from last week, with some sweet white corn, kidney beans, sauteed shallots and garlic and some goat cheese! Wonderful!

Need to shop ...

Have not had time to hit the grocery store - we are living on what is left in the house from last week! Tonight: Pasta with ricotta, pesto and some tomatoes that I wilted on the stove top for awhile until they burst! Served a mixed herb salad with a sprinkling of our favorite black salt flakes. Simple but satisfying.

Everything but the kitchen sink ...

PASTA! It took us almost 18 hours to get back from the big apple - nothing in the house except, 1 eggplant, 1 red-pepper, some shallots, garlic, frozen pesto, pasta and the token cans of chickpeas! This is what we came up with - Roasted Veggies tossed with warm pasta and a splash of Pesto! As well as a fantastic bottle of Vino - 2006 Castano Monastrel (Organic)! (see side notes)

Getting Crazy in the Kitchen

Wanted to have fun with The Crazy Kitchen Gadget fun! We just got this new gadget and love it! It is great as it not only is a pourer and keeps the drips off the table and your clothing but it also has a stopper built in, in case you do not want to drink a whole bottle at one setting! The recipe: A good bottle of vino!

Mirror Mirror on the Cake??

I was very honored to be asked to participate with the Daring Bakers! Not only because I find all of the Bakers incredibly talented; I was also looking forward to the challenge! My first was definitely a challenge. We were asked to make a Strawberry Mirror Cake. Honestly, I have never attempted something as difficult since I was about 15 and I tried to make Floating Islands. While my Mirror Cake did not come out the prettiest, hence, why I wrapped a brown ribbon around it, it did taste wonderful and the smell of fresh baked cake and very fresh strawberries made our home smell wonderful all weekend!