Tomatoes for breakfast are one of my favorite things about summer. I typically have wonderful red ripe tomatoes waiting for me in the garden each morning. If I don’t have any sitting in a bowl on the counter, leftover from the day before, I wander out in the garden after feeding the cats and pick…
Side Dishes
Tomato, Basil, and Onion Salad or Pasta
I’m not sure why but my basil never took off this year. I have parsley and oregano and rosemary galore, but no basil or cilantro–which I desperately need for my tomatoes! But my tomatoes are doing great and I grew a batch of red onions as well. I pulled some up, let them dry, and…
Potatoes Romanoff (Do Ahead Mashed Potatoes)
We had company for dinner last night. I like to have as much done ahead of time so that I have time to visit and talk. These potatoes taste great and are easy for entertaining as you can do them earlier in the day and just refrigerate until about 30 minutes before you want to…
Cold Avocado Soup
I find myself turning again and again to The Taste of Summer: Inspired Recipes for Casual Entertaining during the summer. Some of the recipes, of course, are quite good year-round, but the focus on warm weather foods and summer produce is quite nice. Tonight, I had a few gorgeous ripe Haas avocados around. I love putting some…
Rice–Plain old white rice
When I was growing up we almost always had potatoes with dinner. Sometimes we’d have a baked spaghetti and meat sauce kind of thing, or maybe lasagna, but the primary carb was definitely potatoes. Boiled, baked, mashed, scalloped, fried. And they were good! But I remember plain boiled white rice as a rarity, something to…