The 3 Little Beans .....

went right into my mouth! I have not had a 3 Bean Salad in years! I dressed the 3 little guys with a shallot, red-wine and Meyer lemon juice vinaigrette & served them with a warm toasty piece of a French baguette!

Friday's Dinner

Chiptole Pepper Salt Rubbed Pork Steak, b-b-qued to perfection! Served with a traditional style slaw with a Dijon Mustard dressing!

How Does your Garden Grow.....

We have been trying to grow tomatoes, pumpkins, spicy little peppers, Meyer lemons, etc... in our garden for about 4 years. About the only thing that really does well are Favas! They grow like 4 foot weeds! Can not complain .... they are delicious!!!

French way of eating ..

One of my favorite meals when it is just me, is a nice glass of wine, some outstanding cheese & a nice baguette! We have a tendency to eat this way very often when we are in France but do not do it at home as a couple - Why, I ask myself? L. is still out of town .... and maybe I was just missing him and our last trip to Paris; but, the two got me thinking and I whipped this up for dinner. A nice baguette with warm goat cheese & sliced tomatoes, I sprinkled some minced lavender over the top which added a very refreshing taste to this dish - bursting with flavor with the heirlooms and herbs! I also had an excellent glass of Malbec! Bon Appetite!

U-Pick Berries

We went to Webb Ranch to pick berries .... logan berries, blackberries, raspberries, boysenberries - tons of fun and tons of berries! Made homemade ice cream with some of them. Used David Lebovitz basic Vanilla recipe & then swirled some mixed berries that I had crushed and let sit for awhile, into the soft ice cream during the last couple minutes in the ice cream freezer! YUMMY!

Too Cute

Okay, I hardly ever buy anything frozen - the occasional bag of frozen fruit when out of season, a pint or two of ice cream, the sweet peas that L. loves so, a couple of Portuguese Chorizo from his mother and that is about it in our freezer except for the token bottle of gin, some plastic ice cubes (they don't dilute your drinks) and some beer glasses. Well, walking down the frozen section at the grocery the other day, I saw the cutest little guys and just had to bring them home for dinner! The Itsy Bitsy Ravioli from Rising Moon Organics. Look how cute they are all cooked & wrapped up in a little olive oil, and a drop of fresh pesto all topped off with some shaved Parmesan! Truly almost too cute to eat!! Delicious! I highly recommend!

All Choked Up ...

L. is out of town - can you guess by the simple meals going on! Steamed with lemon, olive oil and a little white wine - served with good old mayo and an icy cold belgian beer! Yum!

Chickpea Salad

Simple dinner of homemade green garlic hummus, warmed pitas (I am looking for a recipe, anyone??) and a simple Chickpea Salad. Light & refreshing!

New Potato Salad

Inspired by this recipe, from Real Simple magazine. I did add a little minced red onion to the recipe as well I served it warm. We are trying to eat vegetarian for a couple weeks so instead of a big juicy steak or burger, I added a grilled portabella mushroom which I seasoned with Olive Oil, and a Chiptole Pepper rub. The photo does not do it Justice, it was really fantastic!

We SCREAM for Ice Cream!!!

I was very excited to par-take in the July Monthly Mingle & we had a great time trying out some new flavors! Came up with this one using bits and pieces of a bunch of different recipes & my own touch as well! It was Delicious!! Mascarpone Cheese Ice Cream with fresh blueberries.

Grilled Burgers

Had our friend B over for another great night for the deck. So we threw some burgers on the grill. Italian seasoned with cheddar cheese, whole wheat buns, red-leaf lettuce and heirloom tomatoes. Served them with spicy sweet potato fries and grilled/woked veggies (using my newest addition).

Palbo Peppers Stuffed with Sweet White Corn

Another great night in the city by the bay so we decided to dine al a fresco! Tonight I grilled some stuffed Peppers. They make a great summer time dish - slightly sweet and slightly spicy and very easy to cook! Served with a Spanish Rice and a bottle of wine .... should had made margaritas, what was I thinking!?!

Ten Wines to be Tasted .......

We picked up an assorted case of wine today. We each got to add 6 bottles to the case and the only rules were that it had to be something we wanted to drink and it had to be under $10 a bottle ... not $10.99, under $10! When we got home we each picked 5 out of the case (the other two are the token ones for emergencies). The ten we picked we will be featuring in our tasting! After we taste them, we will either keep it or leave it. If, it is a keeper, it will be added to the Best Wines for under $10 list on our blog! Stay tuned ... we have some drinking to do!

Ribs! Ribs! Ribs!

Last night we had our friend W. over for a cookout. Warm evening in the city and we were going to take advantage of our beautiful deck & Weber! Started the evening with a bottle of 2004 Tobin James Dusi Vineyard Zinfandel and a Hummus Platter. The food was great and the wine was FANTASTIC - juicy, jammy and spicy all wrapped up in one! We then grilled up some beef short ribs which I had rubbed down with a Chipotle Pepper and Salt rub, that I made earlier in the day. These ribs are really outstanding - full of flavor!! I am drooling just thinking about it - summer addiction for warm nights on the deck! Served it with an Asian Inspired Slaw that I tossed together and then we popped open a 2004 Tobin James French Camp Vineyard Zinfandel - another winner which really complimented the grilled beef, which was slightly spicy as well as the sweetness in the slaw! We ended the night with chocolate anglefood cake which I bought at Whole Foods and covered it with those great strawberries I have been raving about! Fantastic meal for a warm summer night in the city!!!

The Three Macarons

Labors of Love ....... Verbena with a basil buttercream filling Lavender with a honey buttercream filling Hibiscus with a strawberry rhubarb filling

Blue Moon Strawberries

I picked up some strawberries at Whole Foods, today, mainly because they were so darn cute. Bright red & petite and some were oddly shaped, but really cute! Then I took a bite ................... the sweetest, juiciest, sinful strawberry I have ever had - I am completely in love with Blue Moon right now!

Super Woman ....

Not sure who I think I am today ~ maybe all of your inspirations have done this to me! Baking Portuguese masa, French macarons (3 flavors), Hummus, making homemade yogurt (which is really easy & super tasty) and baking some Zucchini bread (old family recipe)...all in this 20 Sq. Ft. kitchen! As well as the usual living stuff: errands, house-work, laundry, my job, yard work, breathing ...... Stay tuned!

Vietnamese Food with a French Flair

Check it out ............ TAO

Lamb Sausage

Finally grilled those Lamb Sausages - fantastic! Served with some grilled eggplant which was drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grey sea salt & fresh ground pepper. Roasted a mixture of yellow, orange & red beets with thyme & made a simple salad drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, feta and more grey sea salt. Dessert .... simple summer figs!

Zucchini Ribbons

The theme this week is: "Create something from what you have on hand"! I made some zucchini ribbons and created a risotto with a bit of chili flakes and lemon. Let me say one word to describe this meal, "Delicious"!