good things to eat

i've been trying to visit the farmer's market as many times as i can this summer. when there's fresh food staring me in the face, it's easy to find motivation to cook a tasty meal!

From yummy food

heirloom tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and manchego cheese (and rosemary whitefish)

the wicker park market had a huge assortment of different colored heirloom tomatoes that begged for prime plating. i sliced them up thick and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar, a touch of olive oil, sea salt, pepper and basil chiffonade. what i lacked in fresh mozzerella for a true caprese i gained with salty manchego which pulled the tomato tanginess together with the buttery whitefish i fried up.

From yummy food

rosemary whitefish with avocado quinoa salad

the whitefish of choice, flounder. the herb of desire, rosemary. i briefly marinated the fish in olive oil, anchovie paste, garlic and finely chopped rosemary then sauteed it in a hot pan to make a pretty golden brown crust, adding salt & pepper to taste after. light, flakey and no burned garlic!

for the salad i threw together cooked red quinoa, fresh white onion, pine nuts, goat cheese and cherry tomatoes. and the dressing is a riff off the one i've done before from 101 cookbooks.com. pretty much i used the avocado as the fat instead of olive oil (i did put a wee bit in there for a thinner texture), lime juice, salt & pepper. really simple, really nutty-wonderful.

From yummy food

pesto!

start with healthy basil plants. harvest a hunka leaves. chop chop chop. YUM! i actually did this batch by hand - no food processor. no joke.

my pesto is a balance of basil, lightly toasted pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, salt & pepper and olive oil. for real, i used the ulu knife gramma & pop-pop brought back for me from alaska. it's really amazing how well the rocking knife works! yes i chopped for a good 20 minutes to get everything the right consistency (the secret is you add the dry things little by little - olive oil last and separately), but i admit, when i was done, it was gorgeous, flavorful and way prettier than a lump at the bottom of my kitchen-aid.