Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Farro & Chickpea Salad

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Grilled Shrimp with Farro & Chickpea Salad

I know it’s summer when my food brain can’t dream beyond salads.  Or grilling.  Or grilled salads.  Yes, indeed, summer is here and I am in the zone–let’s make something tasty.

To pass as dinner, a salad has got to have a lot going on: contrasting textures, bold flavors, vibrant colors.  You want it to taste light and summery but be filling and satisfying enough to keep you from devouring a pint of ice cream later in the evening.  Ideally, it’s a salad that packs well so you can whisk it off to a park for an impromptu picnic or bring it to a potluck and be the girl/guy who brought that salad.

It’s a tall order, but this salad is up for a challenge.  It’s got it’s bases covered–a hearty, nutty mix of farro and chickpeas tossed with tons of grilled zucchini and red onions, dressed for summer with fresh oregano from the garden, lemon, and red pepper.  The addition of grilled shrimp skewers transform it from “lunchbox” to “maybe we should open a bottle of wine”.  Perfect.

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Fresh Apricot & Tarragon Scones

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Apricot Tarragon Scones

This spring, as soon as fresh apricots made an appearance at the grocery store, I made a salad with them and the first sprigs of tarragon from my garden.  The combination was good, day-dreamy good, and my mind wandered to familiar territory: butter, baking, and scones.

Do you remember a few weeks back when I shared an apricot and strawberry cobbler with you?  I told you how the apricots had actually been meant for a batch of scones but (because life happens) they wound up in a cobbler instead.  Don’t get me wrong, that cobbler was outstanding and if you haven’t tried it yet, or at least tried the combination of apricots and strawberries, you should.  Now.

Just because those apricots became a cobbler doesn’t mean I gave up on my dream of fresh apricot scones.  I finally got to them and they were as good in my real world as they were in my day-dreamy fantasy world.  Buttery baked goods and ripe stone fruits are always a winning combination in my book (uh, peach pie anyone?) and the presence of tarragon adds an air of intrigue.

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Grilled Pork Chops with Rhubarb & Fig Compote

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Grilled Pork Chops with Rhubarb Fig CompoteGrilled Pork Chops with Rhubarb Fig Compote

This was an idea that started as a salad, grew butterfly wings, and transformed into something magical.

On the first go around, the idea was very vague–“hmm…pork would taste good with rhubarb and dried fruit”.  I pounded out  pieces of pork tenderloin, gave them a quick sear, and topped them with an arugula salad dressed with a rhubarb vinaigrette and a smattering of dried figs and pecans.  The flavors were good but it just didn’t pack as much punch as I’d imagined.  I wanted amazing, not meh.

Thankfully, I spotted a recipe on another food website that made me decide to give these ingredients a second shot together.  It was lamb chops with rhubarb-raisin agrodoloce.  Excellent, it was basically the flavors I had imagined working so well together made into a dish that made more sense.  I combined my ingredients list with the method used in the recipe and came out with a winner.  Meh?  No way!  I got the “amazing” I’d been after.

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Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms & Peas

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Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms & Peas
This time of year, I always feel like I am just gasping for air, struggling to stay caught up, and trying to remember where I’m supposed to be and when.  And if you have kids, whew…I don’t, but I remember being one and this time of year was even crazier back then with all of the end of the school year stuff.

Somewhere in there, between the string of weddings and graduations and band concerts, you’ve got to find time to eat.  Just because we’re all busy doesn’t mean we want to compromise on flavor or trade a satisfying meal for garbage picked up in a drive-through.  Pasta dishes like this one are perfect endings to crazy days.  The orecchiette is dressed with a touch of Mascarpone so it feels a bit indulgent and completely comforting.  Nearly every piece of orecchiette cups a pea and there are plenty of sautéed mushrooms to keep that feeling of indulgence from transforming to guilt.  Best part?  It’s ready in the amount of time it takes to boil the pasta.  Nice.

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Salmon with Morel Mushroom & Brandy Cream + Chicken & Morel Mushroom Fricassée

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The past week has been very mushroomy in my world.  It started with creamy orecchiette pasta with shiitake mushrooms and peas (look for that a little later this week!) and ended with an absurd amount of morel mushrooms served with salmon one night and in a chicken fricassée the next.

I only say absurd because if one were to buy as many morels as I’ve eaten in the past few days, they’d probably have to take out a second mortgage or sell a vital organ.  I priced them at the grocery store and they were $15.99 for 4 shrively mushrooms.  Yikes.  Thankfully, I’m lucky enough to have (future) in-laws that live on several wooded acres that are ripe with morel mushrooms most springs and a fiancé that loves hunting ’em down.  This year, Matt wound up with enough for us to have 2 very mushroom heavy dinners plus a bag to share with my parents.  Here’ s a taste of what we came up with and, perhaps, a little cooking inspiration, should you also come into a heap of morels this spring.

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