more summer eats

I know it doesn't exactly seem like soup weather...but this one might surprise you.

Seafood corn chowder with bacon and shrimp. It came together quick too!

So good (hard to have just one small bowl). Make it! 

Summer pasta

Jen was over last Friday and let's just say it had been a hell of a week. We both needed some comfort food. Pasta isn't something I usually indulge in...but desperate times call for desperate measures. We thought it best to start dinner with a little wine. (read: a little wine)

This is a great recipe for summer because it features zucchini which we all have too much of right now.

And basil, which we can never have too much of (growing heartily in my garden), 

and Parmesan cheese... which is good year-round (like every day!)

It's also pretty. That's important. 

The kids will eat it too. You can't say that about everything that comes out of my kitchen.

Besides, there are lots of ways to burn off the extra carbs...

Summer Pasta:

1 2/3 cup olive oil (divided)

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 T dijon mustard

6 cloves garlic sliced

1.5 # chicken breasts (I use 3)

2 red bell peppers

2 portabella mushroom caps

1 red onion

1 16oz pkg of penne pasta

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup slivered fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

** In a bowl whisk together 2/3 cup olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Reserve 1/2 cup of this marinade for basting vegetables. Pour remaining marinade into a ziploc bag with thawed chicken and marinate about an hour or longer. Chop veggies and grill alongside the chicken basting with reserved marinade. (Jen and I didn't have men around so we didn't grill, we baked the chicken and sauteed the veggies. You can totally skip the grill... but sometimes it's nice to get the boys outside and save on the dirty dishes. If you do saute the veggies, just dump the reserved marinade into the pan while they are sizzling away). Boil pasta and drain. Mix in remaining cup of olive oil (I do a little less), Parmesan cheese, grilled/sliced chicken, and veggies into the cooked noodles. Garnish with basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. This makes a lot of pasta. I easily feed 6 adults with this recipe. 

Enjoy!!

How to make jam

First and foremost, put your kids to bed, or send them outside. You won't need them for this process! Next, pull your hair back into a ponytail. This is going to get hot and messy. 

Put on an apron (hopefully you have a cute one) and if you like to live on the edge like me you'll wear white underneath.

Pour yourself something lovely to drink. You're going to be stuck over a hot stove for a while. It's nice to have something cool to sip. I like bubbles a lot so it was mineral water for me. 

Queue up some booty shakin' music, 

and get everything set up.

Now you're ready to do the easy part. Just puree...

boil, and stir... and dump in pectin... and ungodly amounts sugar... and stir some more...and keep stirring.

Give it a little taste to make sure that it is sweet enough. (Right? Because 7 cups of sugar could leave it tasting a bit blah?!?? Certainly not, but lick your fingers anways...just in case). 

Then ladle the sticky red stuff into jars and process in a water bath for 10 minutes- during which time you can a.) clean up a little. b.) start your next batch. or c.) stand inhaling strawberries in a foggy sugar daze and think wistfully about taking your own bath:

or doing this to your hair, or handing out these.)

When the time is up, pull your jars out. Set them on a towel, stand back, and sigh. You should feel all domestic and farmy. 

I've got a whole bunch more to make tomorrow and it's all going on the shelves at Tractor Mac's!

More stirring...