Six Months of Food

You may have noticed a 6 month hiatus in my blogging. The blog-free period started around the time work got crazy late last summer. Blogging takes a lot of time and effort, and it can be hard to find the energy when you're working hard every day. I would come home and have just enough energy to cook and eat -- certainly none left over for writing. Either that, or I would finally have dinner on the table but it's already 9:00, so there was no way we were waiting to take pictures before eating.

But now I am more accustomed to my job, and it's time to get blogging again! It's a shame to have made so many great meals over the past months and not post anything about them, so I'll start with a recap of what I've been cooking.

Summer
I was still taking plenty of pictures, since I hadn't yet given up on starting to blog again. We have great farmers' markets here in St. Louis, so my summer was defined by trips to the market and meals made from those ingredients. Here are a couple fun examples of the food I made and ate last summer:

Vitello Tonato: Poached Veal with Homemade Tuna Mayonnaise, Perfectly Ripe Tomatoes, Arugula, and Basil Oil

Individual Raspberry and Apricot Sourdough Bread Puddings

Homegrown Sungold Cherry Tomatoes and Lemon Basil - best summer snack ever

Cocktail: Muddled Nectarine, Gin, Thyme Syrup, St. Germain, Lime, Lemon Verbena Garnish

Crawfish, Zucchini, and Lemon Thyme Risotto

 Zucchini and Basil Fritters

Summer Rolls with Vietnamese Style Grilled Pork, Herbs, and Grilled Summer Squash

Fall
The farmers' markets stay open well into the fall, so I made plenty of fun late summer/early fall dishes from the market. Some of my favorite ingredients are sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes), sunflower sprouts, apples, figs, cucumbers, and corn.

Harissa Marinated Chicken Skewers with Yogurt, Cucumber, and Paprika Sauce

 Baguette Slice with Fresh Chevre and a Blackberry

Fresh Figs and Goat Cheese - Ideal Picnic Lunch

Sunchoke Soup with Pecan and Radicchio Topping

Almond Gazpacho with Black Mission Figs

Tossed Greens and Herb Salad

 Sweet Corn Bread Pudding with Leeks and Bacon

Winter
No more farmers' market, none of that awesome summer fruit... Winter is never the best season for cooking, but there are still plenty of wonderful things to make with winter ingredients. I didn't take as many pictures over the winter, so this will be a smaller sampling. But by now you're probably losing interest in all these pictures of food, so it should be ok.

 Gnocchi Romana and Sauteed Spinach with Preserved Meyer Lemon

Grilled Lamb with Mint Almond Pesto; Haricot Verts; Jasmine Rice

 

Spanish Tortilla with Bell Peppers

"Lord Chutney": Tomato and Chili Jam with Ginger, Mustard, and Garlic  (served with above Tortilla)

Butter Lettuce, Cilantro, Beet, and Apple Salad with Sriracha Vinaigrette

Watercress and Arugula Salad with Diced Roasted Beets, Soft Boiled Egg, and Orange Vinaigrette

It's still winter, so check back for a few more winter recipes before we transition into springtime (I can't wait - I love spring!). From now on I'll be trying to write on my blog at least once a week. After all, I make way too much good food not to write about it here every once in a while!