ROASTED RED POTATO SALAD with ARUGULA and GOAT CHEESE
            (adapted from Spring Evenings, Summer Afternoons
                             by Barbara Scott-Goodbody)

Potatoes:
3 pounds small red new potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size
8 unpeeled cloves garlic
Coarse salt
1/3 cup olive oil
Vinaigrette:
2 teaspoons grainy mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salad:
3 cups arugula
2 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper

1.  To cook the potatoes, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2.  In a roasting pan, toss the potatoes with the garlic cloves, salt to taste, and olive oil.  Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the potatoes are fork tender.
3.  To make the vinaigrette, whisk the mustard and vinegar together in a small bowl.  Slowly add the olive oil, whisking constantly, until the vinaigrette thickens.
4.  To make the salad, take the potatoes from the oven and scrape them into a large bowl.  Pour the vinaigrette over the warm potatoes and gently toss them with the dressing.  Add the arugula and toss again. 
5.  Spoon the potato salad onto a large platter.  Sprinkle the crumbled cheese over the top.  Season with pepper.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 
                  

My kitchen is too warm and I've been gone too much this summer to participate in the July Daring Bakers Challenge, so I thought I'd take you for a tour of my garden. 

I have one lone eggplant after the resident bunny mowed down the other, but the remaining plant should provide enough for my summer ratatouille and eggplant parmesan.  The basil is still awaiting the ripening of my twenty heirloom tomato plants. 

I have two urns filled with rosemary and thyme.  They'll be transplanted into smaller containers in the fall and moved indoors for the winter months.

                       DILLED POTATO-GREEN BEAN SALAD
               (Recipes From an Ecological Kitchen by Lorna Sass)

1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 pound just-cooked small new potatoes with skins on
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 to 1 cup tightly packed minced fresh dill
1 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Steam green beans for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender-crisp.  Run under cold water.  Drain thoroughly.  Cut into thirds lengthwise.  Place in serving bowl.  Cut cooked new potatoes into quarters.  Add potatoes and walnuts to beans.  In a food processor or blender, combine oil, 3/4 cup dill, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, salt and pepper.  Blend to a thick, creamy dressing.  Taste and add more mustard or vinegar, if desired.  Toss dill-mustard vinaigrette into potato-bean mixture.  Let mixture marinate at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.  Adjust seasonings before serving, adding more dill, if desired. 

This post is for my husband.  I've been trying to get him to sit down and look at the photos I took of this golf course in France, but it hasn't happened. 

It wouldn't be truthful if I said we entered the grounds of this golf club to take photos for him, altho' I have been trying to lure him to the south of France on the premise that he could play golf while I'm exploring cafes, markets, patisseries, and antique shops.  Susan and I stopped when we saw "restaurant" on the sign.  We were getting hungry.

I'm not sure what the buildings of this golf club were originally.  Maybe part of a farm? 

                    A simple, but elegant interior.  Very French.

I thought it was interesting that each table had opened bottles of red wine, ready to go.  Also very French.

     Was the chilled champagne for a golfer celebrating a hole-in-one?

I've always said, "You'll never get me to live on a golf course!", but I wouldn't mind living next to this place.

I had forgotten about this blueberry tart.  I forgot how I made this tart over and over last summer.  When I happened upon the recipe again last week, I ran out immediately to buy two pints of blueberries.  And if you decide to make this tart, please, use the best, high fat sour cream you can find--none of this low-fat or non-fat stuff!

The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Chez Nous--Homecooking from the South of France, by Lydie Marshall.

                               TARTE AUX MYRTILLES
            (Blueberry Tart from Chez Nous by Lydie Marshall)

1/4 cup whole unskinned almonds
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
One 9 to 10-inch unbaked tart shell (see recipe for my favorite below)
4 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 cup sour cream mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1.  In the bowl of a food processor, process the almonds, 3 tablespoons sugar, and the flour until the almonds are finely ground.
2.  Sprinkle the almond mixture in the unbaked tart shell and cover with the blueberries.  Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar over the berries.
3.  Place the tart on the bottom rack of the oven and lower the temperature to 400 degrees.  Bake for about 30 minutes OR until the bottom crust is golden (peek by gently lifting the tart with a long narrow spatula or the blade of a long knife).
4.  Sprinkle the tart with confectioners' sugar before serving it with a bowl of sweetened sour cream.

                                      TART DOUGH

2 tablespoons almonds
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 1/3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 tablespoons ice water

Grind the almonds in a food processor.  Add the flour and salt and process briefly.  Add the butter and process until the butter resembles small peas.  Do not over-process.  Add the water slowly, while pulsing the mixture.  You may not use all of the water if it is a humid day.  As soon as the dough begins to come together, turn off motor.  Flatten dough and wrap in plastic and refrigerate for two hours before rolling dough. 

I am always in search of olive oil when I am in France and usually haul home several.  This past trip was no different.  Two of the oils I bought were purchased at an outdoor market.  One was purchased in Malaucene and the other in Carpentras.  Our friends Maria and Dieter have spoken often of their favorite olive oil that is produced in France near the charming Provencal village of Maussanes Les Alpilles.  Since Maussanes was on our way to Arles, where we spent our last night in France before returning to Germany, we naturally planned a stop to visit the mill and salesroom where the oil is produced and sold. 

Once you reach Moulin Mas Des Barres, you drive through the grove of olive trees...

until you reach the buildings that house the mill, salesroom, commercial kitchen and dining room.   I peeked into the kitchen where they  were assembling desserts.  We were told that Mas Des Barres prepares lunch for tours of 30 or more people.

I would have been very happy sitting at this table with a  French baguette and a glass of wine.

      The cafe table and chairs were covered by a canopy of fig trees.

How I wish figs would grow in Minnesota!

There was a charming salesroom (I could find a place for that cupboard somewhere in my house!)...

                               that sold regional food items...

                             soaps in the shape of olives...

and of course, Moulin Mas Des Barres Olive Oil.

Owner/manager Rene Ouenin spoke with us (or I should say my daughter, since he spoke no English) about this area of Provence.  His home is right next door.  I tried to imagine what it would be like waking up every morning on this incredible property.  He seemed very proud and rightly so.  If you're driving through the Alpilles between St. Remy de Provence and Marseilles, I urge you to take the small backroads through the mountains and explore this special area of France.

                              GRILLED BALSAMIC CHICKEN
                     ( adapted from Cottage Living, March 2005)

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1.  Rinse chicken, and pat dry.  Place in a gallon-size zip-top plastic bag.  Combine chicken broth and next 8 ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
2.  Reserve 1/2 cup marinade; pour remaining marinade over chicken.  Seal bag, and refrigerate up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.
3.  Grill chicken until cooked through, basting with reserved 1/2 cup marinade every few minutes.

This summer I think I have been eating more blueberries than I ever have.  There is a large bowl of freshly washed berries setting out on my kitchen table and every time I walk by, I scoop up a handful of blueberries to eat  -- as if they were just picked from the plant.  But blueberries are also wonderful when baked. 

In this tart I combined blueberries with nectarines, a favorite of mine, along with a rich custard. 

                  BLUEBERRY and NECTARINE CUSTARD TART

1 partially baked 9-inch tart shell
3 large eggs
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large nectarines, halved and sliced
1/2 pint blueberries

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.  Whisk the eggs until blended.  Whisk in the sugar, then add the heavy cream and vanilla, mixing gently.
3.  Cover the bottom of the tart shell with a single layer of nectarine slices.  Sprinkle blueberries on top.  Slowly pour the custard into the tart shell.  You probably will not use all of the custard. 
4.  Bake the tart, which has been placed on a cookie sheet in the center of the oven, for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until custard is set and beginning to brown slightly.  Cool for about 15 minutes before eating. 

Yes, yes, I know.  After July 4th you should not cut rhubarb and let the plants regenerate.  But really....

Do these plants look like they're suffering?  This is just half of my rhubarb.

I've done the rhubarb compotes, the rhubarb pies, the rhubarb upside-down cakes, so when my friend Kathy stopped by last week for dinner and told me about the rhubarb slush she drank at a wedding, I thought... this is it!  I'm going into rhubarb slush production!  I searched the web looking for recipes, and there were hundreds; the majority of which included strawberry jello.  I chose to leave that ingredient out of my slush.  What we drank out on the patio last night was very, very good; just what I hoped for, and even tho' we enjoyed a beautifully cool evening, this is a refreshing drink that is perfect for a hot summer day.  If you are inundated with rhubarb, I suggest you go into slush production as well.  Sit outdoors with family and friends and enjoy!

                                      RHUBARB SLUSH

8 cups rhubarb, diced
1 pound organic strawberries, halved
5 cups water
3/4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 cups sugar
8 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 cups vodka
1 cup rhubarb compote, optional

Combine rhubarb, strawberries, water, lemon juice and sugar in a large pot and simmer until rhubarb is tender.  Drain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pushing on the solids to extract as much juice as possible.  Discard solids.  Return liquid to the pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Cool, then stir in lemonade concentrate and vodka.  Pour the slush into a freezer-proof container and freeze.  The mixuture will not freeze solid because of the vodka.  I stirred a cup of rhubarb compote into the slush mixture and I highly recommend that or possibly mashing up fresh strawberries and stirring that into the slush, but it's totally optional....  Scoop slush into large glasses and top off with soda of your choice.  I used Key Lime Soda from Whole Foods. 

               TORTELLINI and VEGETABLES with VINAIGRETTE

1 pound cheese or meat-filled tortellini
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 1/4 cups finely julienned carrots
1 1/2 tablespoons thinly-sliced scallion
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 1/8 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper

1.  Cook tortellini; Drain immediately and rinse under cool running water.  Drain well.  Reserve in large bowl.
2.  Steam broccoli about 3 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse under cold water.  Steam carrots, about 1 minute.  Rinse under cold water.  Add broccoli, carrots and scallions to tortellini.
3.  Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard in a bowl.  Whisk in herbs and seasonings.  Pour vinaigrette over salad; toss gently to mix.  Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours.  Remove from refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving. 

Every morning I awake with good intentions to accomplish many of the things on my "to-do" list.  But it's finally summer and all I really want to do is be in my garden and sit on my patio enjoying meals made with my garden's bounty.  During the school year weeknights can be extremely harried, but once summer arrives and our fast-paced lives slow down, I find myself asking friends to come over for a drink on the patio. 

I make this Italian White-Bean Spread often during the summer and will have it on hand to serve with crackers or raw vegetables when friends drop by. 

                                   WHITE-BEAN SPREAD
   (Once Upon a Tart by Frank Mentesnana and Jerome Audureau)

2 15-ounce cans white beans
3 tablespoons or more olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1.  Drain and rinse the canned beans in a colander.
2.  Place the beans, oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and blend until you have a smooth, spreadable puree.  Add a touch more olive oil if the spread is too thick.