Wow - It's August!

Sorry for the prolonged absence - stress makes me uncommunicative, a poor trait I'm afraid!
It's been hot, hot, hot, and dry, dry, dry.  
Our local microclimate seems to have suffered more then the valley around us, which makes it all the more frustrating!  I've been watering and irrigating as able, but there's just nothing like a good inch of rain.   Since June, we've had just barely over three inches of rain, and it's showing.

The end of the sprinkler....

Anyway - here are some delicious recipes for the goodies that have been coming your way:

You've hopefully been making pesto with the basil over the last several weeks.
Well, here's an alternative milder option to try.

Curly Parsley

Parsley Pesto

This homemade pesto is a great way to use up extra parsley and adds fantastic flavor to sandwiches, pasta and more.

Yield: 1/2 cup (serving size: 2 tablespoons)

Ingredients

 2  cups  fresh parsley leaves

 2  tablespoons  walnuts, or toasted pine nuts

 2 cloves garlic

1 1/2  tablespoons  grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1  teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil

1/4  teaspoon  salt

Lemon Cucumbers - try them diced into your tabouleh!

Summer Tabouleh

Great salad for these hot days!

Basic Ingredients (see below for other possible additions)

1/2 cup medium grain bulgur

1 1/4 cups water

4 cups loosely packed, roughly chopped parsley

1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes, Cherry or Roma tomatoes,

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/4 to 1/2 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped mint leaves

For the dressing:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 to ½ teaspoon minced garlic

Pinch of sea salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Bulgur - Bring water to a boil, pour in bulgur, stir, cover, and turn off heat. Let stand 20 to 25 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and bulgur is fluffy and tender. Pour off any remaining liquid.

Dressing: Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, salt and oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.

In a large salad bowl, toss together parsley, tomatoes, green onions and mint. Add bulgur. Pour dressing over salad, toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Liven it up!   Add diced peppers, carrots, cucumbers, cooked chickpeas!

Wheat-Free Chard Ricotta Tart 

(makes 1 tart in a 7 X 9 inch-ish pan)

1 1/2 pounds greens (arugula, spinach, swiss chard)

1/4 + 2 T butter, melted 

1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced

2 large potatoes unpeeled, and scrubbed

3 tsp chopped fresh sage  thyme, oregano, rosemary (I also used dried thyme...use what you have)

1 cup feta cheese (or cheddar, or mozzarella or whatever you have)

2 large eggs

2 cups ricotta cheese 

Salt and pepper to taste

Clean, trim and chop the greens. Heat 2 T of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add half the garlic and half the greens. Add more garlic and greens as they cook down. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain off any excess liquid.

Slice the potatoes very thinly and of uniform thickness. Create a thin layer of potato slices on the bottom of your pan and overlap them slightly to make a crust. Slide a few up the sides to make an edge. Drizzle the remaining melted butter over the crust. Sprinkle salt, pepper, herbs of choice and cheese of choice over potatoes of choice and/or availability, as the case may be.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, add the ricotta, more herbs and cheese of choice, salt and pepper. Gently add the greens and mix well. Spread the cheese-greens mixture over the potato slices and press lightly.

Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 10 minutes. The potato crust should be brown and crisp and the filling should be firm to the touch. Let cool about five minutes before cutting into wedges. Enjoy with a green salad or braised carrots.

Hmm, Yum.   Recipe from From Amy Traugers Blog at http://localchow.blogspot.com/