This dish features some of nature’s best produce – super sweet Sungold tomatoes, sweet red onions and arugula. These fresh ingredients, combined with your favorite toasted bread cubes and a sweet-tart vinaigrette, create a salad you will want to have several times a week. Some of the sweetest and best Sungold tomatoes can be found at the farm stand of Everything Under the Sun at the SF Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Ingredients
2 cups favorite bread cut into 1″ cubes (I use rustic bread from Della Fattoria.)
2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I use California Olive Ranch’s everyday olive oil for this.)
1 small sweet red onion, such as torpedo onions
1 small clove garlic, peeled
2 cups Sungold (or your favorite sweet cherry) tomatoes
1 handful of arugula
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Vinaigrette:
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I use Miller’s Blend or Arbequina from California Olive Ranch.)
1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (You can substitute a favorite dark balsamic if you don’t have white.)
2 large pinches Fleur de sel sea salt
Freshly-cracked pepper
You will also need:
Large baking sheet
Large salad bowl
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Small bowl for mixing vinaigrette
Large spoon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Toss the bread cubes with 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until crispy and browned. Remove when toasted.
Meanwhile, slice the onion into very thin slices and put into the bottom of the salad bowl. Slice the garlic into thin slices and add that to the bowl (be sure to remove the green shoot in the middle, if present). Slice the Sungold tomatoes in half and add them to the bowl.
Add the arugula and the chopped basil to the bowl.
Add the toasted bread cubes to the bowl.
Meanwhile, mix together the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.
Pour over the top of the salad. Toss gently. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a starter salad.
Baking a cobbler is a perfect way to showcase seasonal fruits. I found sweet, juicy boysenberries at the market this morning and could hardly wait to get home to use them. Although I chose boysenberries today, almost any fruit will work in this recipe.
I grew up on cobblers in rural Georgia. This is the way we made them – with fresh, ripe fruit, butter and buttermilk.
Ingredients
2 cups ripe boysenberries
2/3 cup sugar (raw sugar works fine in this recipe)
3 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (lowfat works fine in this recipe)
2 Tablespoons sugar
Topping (optional):
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Fresh mint for garnish (optional)
You will also need:
1 colander or mesh strainer for rinsing fruit
1 small saucepan
1 large spoon
Measuring cups
1 9″ diameter baking dish
1 medium-sized mixing bowl
Individual serving bowls
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rinse the berries and let drain.
Place the berries into the saucepan and add 2/3 cup sugar. Place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat.
Stir to incorporate the sugar.
Bring just to a boil.
Meanwhile, cut the butter into 12 small pieces. When the berries just reach a boil, remove them from the heat and pour them into the baking dish.
Add the 12 pats of butter and set aside for the butter to melt.
Place the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Add the buttermilk and mix well to combine.
Add two tablespoons sugar and mix well.
Stir the berries until the butter has totally melted.
Pour the flour mixture on top.
Bake for about 18 minutes until the top has risen and is browned.
Remove from the oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. Dish up into individual serving bowls.
To make the topping, whip together the cream, 2 Tablespoons sugar and the vanilla extract until thickened. Place a large dollop of cream over the top of each bowl of cobbler. Garnish with fresh mint, if desired.
Serves 6-8.
Growing up in the South, we had homemade ice cream almost every Sunday afternoon in the summertime. Our ice cream had a very simple base of cream, whole milk and sugar. We did not use eggs in it, and we did not cook it. We added fruits and other ingredients to the base, depending upon what we had gathered that week – ripe, juicy peaches or sweet blackberries. Sometimes, we just added vanilla or chocolate to the base. Then we would put the creamy mixture into our hand-cranked churn, cover it with ice and rock salt, and start turning.
My friend Melissa has inspired me to make ice cream again – she has been making some amazing flavors this summer. This recipe was based on what I had in my kitchen one afternoon – some ripe bananas and a bar of outstanding Askinosie chocolate. It has become one of my favorites.
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1 ripe banana
1 cup cream
1 cup whole milk
1 generous pinch of salt
1.5 ounces of your favorite chocolate (I typically use Askinosie’s 70% San Jose Del Tambo bar, but their Dark Milk Chocolate bar with fleur-de-sel works fantastically well, too.)
You will also need:
Small skillet
Large spoon
Measuring cup
Medium mixing bowl
Ice cream maker (I use one with a compressor in it, but you can use just about any kind.)
Instructions
Put the sugar into the skillet and heat over a medium-high flame until the sugar becomes liquid and turns honey-brown.
Don’t stir it but instead shake the pan to ensure that all of the sugar has turned to liquid.
Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Mash the banana (I do this while it is still in the peel) until it becomes soft. Peel it and carefully add it to the honey-colored liquid sugar.
Let it cook for about 30 seconds to caramelize the banana.
Add the cream, turn up the heat and bring the mixture back to a boil.
Stir over medium heat for about two minutes.
Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a medium mixing bowl. Add the whole milk and the salt.
Stir well.
Cover and refrigerate until cool.
Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small chunks.
When the creamy mixture has cooled, remove it from the refrigerator and add the Askinosie chocolate chunks.
Pour the mixture into your favorite ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
When the ice cream is ready, either dish it up or put it into a container and store in the freezer for later use.
I like to make this recipe a day ahead and let it “ripen” in the freezer. Remove it about 3-4 minutes before you need to dish it up so that it thaws slightly.
Serve quickly, though, because it melts fast.
Makes 1 pint of ice cream. Enjoy!
These muffins are delicious and easy to make. They contain no butter or milk but use low-fat yogurt and olive oil instead. I have made these muffins with a number of different citrus fruits – Meyer lemons, limes, grapefruits, Satsuma mandarin oranges – and they always turn out great!
Ingredients
For the muffin:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Large pinch of salt
2 teaspoons citrus zest
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup mild-flavored olive oil
1/2 cup low-fat (2%) plain yogurt (I typically use Fage Greek-style yogurt.)
For the syrup:
1/4 cup citrus juice
1/4 cup powdered sugar
You will also need:
2 medium-sized mixing bowls
Whisk
Large Spoon
Muffin pan for 12 muffins
Paper liners for muffin pan
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and zest.
In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, olive oil and yogurt. When they are mixed well, add the dry ingredients and stir just until they are incorporated.
Pour batter into each of the muffin liners until they are about 2/3 full. There should be enough batter for 12 muffins.
Bake for approximately 18 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed. Remove from the oven. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the syrup by mixing together the citrus juice and the powdered sugar. Poke holes into each muffin with a fork. Drizzle some citrus syrup over each muffin.
Makes one dozen muffins.
