I’ve written swooningly about fleur de sel before, but the truth is that I adore nearly all types of natural salt, not just the premium-quality French “flowers”. Yes, I said “natural” salt- not regular table salt, which is prepared thusly:

mined, heat blasted, chemically treated, and then anti-caking agents and iodine added to it (source)

Seriously, who needs all that? Natural sea salt is readily available almost everywhere now, in nearly all colors of the rainbow, from grey to pink to sparkling white…

Which brings me to the point of today’s post. It’s the height of summer where I live right now, and in this heat my strongest food cravings are for fresh, local ingredients: bright green lettuce, crunchy carrots, crispy jicama. Served raw… with nothing more than a sprinkling of good salt.

Our dinner last night, for example, was this: four large, juicy organic tomatoes. I washed them, sliced them thick, drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled with Japanese sea salt, and served with a hunk of toasted sourdough bread. Perfect with a chilled bottle of Pinot Noir. It was one of the best meals we’d had in a long time.

What are your favorite simple meals?

This is a most fabulous

Ingredients:

• 12 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• S & P to taste
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, slivered
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pd Italian bread
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons Romano

What’s Next:

Set oven to broil. 

In a large bowl- toss together roma tomatoes, minced garlic, shallots, basil, lemon juice, S & P and 1/3 cup olive oil.  Chill overnight if possible.

In a small saucepan- add 1/4 cup olive oil and slivered garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.  Toss garlic in trash, keep olive oil.

Slice Italian bread in small to medium size slices.  Brush pieces with garlic-based olive oil.  Add roma tomato mix.  Sprinkle Parmesan & Romano cheese on top.  Place in oven until browned and bubbling, about 2-3 minutes.  

Enjoy!

Eat well & Laugh often!

Since deciding to really work on my writing, I’ve disciplined myself to write at least three pages every morning- which leaves me less time to prepare the sort of fancy breakfasts my husband and I love. I’ve made night-before breakfast puddings, of course, and have a bag of croissants in the freezer, ready to pop into the oven for some buttery morning bliss. But I wanted something different- and remembered one of my favorite dishes when I was traveling Spain as a Vegetarian (!): Tortilla de Patatas.

At first, I thought Tortilla had something to do with the corn chips- and what a delight it was to discover that it was actually a thick omelette, filled with something delicious. Like fried potatoes.

I make this the night before, and don’t bother to heat it up, because my husband likes his cold, with lots of tomato ketchup. But by all means, give it a few minutes in the oven if you want it hot.

Oh, and these are perfect for other times of the day as well- like lunch, dinner, or as some late-night tapas.

Tortilla de Patatas
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4-5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
salt & pepper to taste
4 large eggs

First, cook the potatoes: heat the olive oil in a skillet over low to medium, and cook potatoes slowly. Do NOT fry them, you’re not making hash browns here. You want the potatoes cooked and soft, but not mushy. Drain, and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with a whisk. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add potatoes to the eggs, and let sit for about 10 minutes. Heat more olive oil in a large skillet, and pour the egg-potato mixture in. Shake pan around to prevent sticking and get it evenly cooked… after a few seconds, when the bottom is cooked and firm, flip. Cook until golden brown.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, Italian style
• 1 cup artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1/2 tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• S & P
• 1 pound tiger shrimp, de-veined, peeled & washed
• 1 cup penne pasta (I love the wheat version)

What’s Next:

In a large skillet on medium-high:  heat up olive oil & saute garlic cloves until browned.  Turn heat down to medium-low.

Add the cans of tomatoes and chopped artichoke hearts to skillet.  Mix together.

Add basil, oregano, Italian seasoning and S & P.  Stir until uniform.  Simmer for 30 minutes to meld flavors. 

In a medium saucepan- boil 3 cups water.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain & set aside. 

In a medium saucepan- boil 3 cups water.  Add shrimp and boil for 5 minutes.  Drain and add to tomato concoction.  Stir and simmer together for 5 minutes.

Place pasta on plates and spoon shrimp mix on top.  And there you have it, instant delicious!  Serve with a side of Italian bread and you have yourself a wonderful weekend meal!

Eat well & Laugh often.

It could work.

And because one of the things my husband and I love most about Sundays is having our families over (we were both raised this way), we decided to make an event of it: hereafter known in these parts as Ice Cream Party Sundays! Here are tips on throwing your own:

• Ice Cream. You’ll need ice cream, of course. Three plain flavors should do, such as Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. I like to throw in some unexpected flavors as well, such as Cheese or Ube or Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. Because I can.
• Accessories. A stack of small bowls, or (as in the photo above) edible waffle baskets. I like to put out a box of sugar cones as well. If we’re expecting mostly adults, we use Margarita glasses for extra chic-ness.
• Toppings! Here’s where you can go nuts. Literally, with nuts- and crushed oreos, mini M&Ms, marshmallows, fresh fruit, whipped cream in cans… the sky’s the limit.
• Syrup. I actually prefer my ice cream without toppings, but doused in generous amounts of syrup. Warm up some chocolate syrup, make your own ganache and add a few tablespoons of corn syrup, or perhaps some caramel with about a cup of cream mixed in.
• Have savories available. Too much sweet can leave your guests yearning for something salty and savory. Try also serving something like a cheese plate or even simply a bowl of barbecue chips.