First, I have to apologize for the crazy look of this post! Apparently Blogger’s editing features aren’t working correctly tonight, and it’s decided that everything I type needs to be underlined. It also keeps changing fonts on me, and nothing I can think of seems to fix it. Sigh.

I don’t know about you, but when summer rolls around I never feel like spending a ton of time in a hot, steamy kitchen. However, San Diego summers roll around, they throw that tricky May Gray/June Gloom wrench into the equation and trick you into thinking you want something warm and comforting. This year in particular, the weirdly chilly and overcast weather has extended it’s way into July – that is, when it’s not busy morphing into a week long heat wave. All this crazy and unpredictable weather has resulted in an equally unpredictable roster of dishes turning out of my kitchen.

For me, summer cooking means simple, comforting, and satisfying. Personally, that means soup and sandwiches.  When I was growing up, Sundays usually meant soup and sandwiches for dinner. We’d switch out between BLT’s and grilled cheese, with Campbells to go along side. For this month’s segment, I decided to up the ante a little, and throw a little variety into the mix. I started off with a classic cold soup – Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho. Talk about summer in a bowl! To go along side it I stuck with the Spanish theme, and used some nutty Manchengo cheese along with some fresh roasted figs in a pressed grilled cheese sandwich. As always, all the amazing summer produce I used for the segment came from my friends down at Specialty Produce. If you still haven’t signed up for their Farmers Market Bag program, this is really the time to do it. Tons of juicy stone fruits, melons, berries and tomatoes are at their peak in the summer, and the bags are chock full of goodies each week!

For those chilly days when you want something warm but still summery, I went with a Thai inspired corn chowder. The flavors of lemon grass, ginger, red chili flakes, cilantro and sweet corn meld beautifully into a fresh and brightly flavored soup. I took a little help with the “sandwich” here, which is actually a stuffed pita pocket. There’s a Thai restaurant at the foot of Mission Hills called Saffron that makes the most amazing Thai grilled rotisserie chicken, and my favorite peanut sauce in town. They sell pieces a la carte, as combos with rice and tangy Asian slaw, or you can buy the whole bird. I picked up a couple pieces of white and dark, shredded them, and combined the meat with peanut sauce and crunchy, crispy pickled veggies for some zing.

Lastly, I made a chilled dessert soup. Two, actually. There are tons of recipes for cold fruit soups out there that call for heavy cream, yogurt, sour cream, etc. I wanted something lighter though, and truer to the fruit. In the end, I settled on a nectarine soup, and a strawberry one. Both are blended with mint, balsamic, a sprinkle of sugar, a pinch of salt, and in the nectarine’s case, a hit of heat from a little red chili flake. To go along side, a grilled lemon pound cake cream cheese sandwich. It’s the perfect summer dessert!

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

from We Heart Food

Ingredients
4 large red heirloom tomatoes
2/3 English cucumber, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic
1/4-1/3 cup sherry vinegar
3 tbsp diced day-old baguette, crust removed
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 English cucumber, seeded and diced
yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
red onion, diced

Instructions
Core and peel the tomatoes, then cut into chunks. In a blender, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, most of the vinegar, and bread. Taste, and if needed, add the rest of the vinegar. Puree until smooth. While pureeing, slowly add olive oil until emulsified. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until cold. Serve in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and garnish with cilantro, accompanied by the diced cucumber, bell pepper, and red onion.

Makes 4-6 cups, depending on the size of the tomatoes

Grilled Manchengo & Fig Sandwiches

Ingredients

Manchengo cheese

fresh figs

good quality white bread

butter, softened

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Slice each fig in half

Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet

Roast until soft, juicy and tender, about 20 minutes

Slice cheese to desired thickness

Butter two slices of bread

Place one slice butter side down on hot grill pan

Arrange cheese and figs to cover bread, top with second slice

Weigh down and press sandwich with a cast iron skillet, or other pan weighted with canned goods

Cook until browned and crisp, flip, and repeat

Thai Coconut Corn Stew

from Eat Me, Delicious

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp oil

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

3/4 tsp coriander seeds

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 stalk lemongrass

4 cups frozen corn kernels

2 cups vegetable stock

1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 tsp lime zest

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 – 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onions, celery, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, salt, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cut off lower yellow bulbous portion of lemongrass,and remove and discard tough outer leaves along with upper portion of stalk. Using a chef’s knife, “bruise” the bulbous portion to release flavour: cut a few slits and using pressure of knife, open and bruise stalk. Add it to the pot, along with 3 cups corn kernels, stock, and coconut milk, and increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove lemongrass, and with a hand blender, briefly puree soup to make it a little creamier. Return lemongrass to pot, and stir in remaining 1 cup corn kernels and diced red bell pepper. Cover and cook for another 5-6 minutes on medium-low heat. Stir in lime zest and lime juice (adjust to taste). Season with additional salt if desired. Just before serving, stir in cilantro.

Thai Chicken Pitas with Creamy Peanut Sauce and Pickled Veggies

adapted from Petit Chef

This was actually a recipe for chicken burgers, that I reinterpreted using shredded chicken.

Ingredients

1 Rotisserie chicken (I used the excellent version from Saffron), shredded

Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp garlic (or garlic powder)

2 tsp red curry paste

2 Tbsp coconut milk (or more to make thinner)

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until needed.

Pickled Veggies

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1-2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp red curry paste

1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled into strips

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, curry paste, chili sauce, and garlic to combine. Make sure the sugar is dissolved.

2. Add the veggies and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes (the longer they go, the more tender and flavorful the vegetables will be)

To finish pitas:

Spread some peanut sauce on a toasted pita. Place shredded chicken inside, and finish with pickled vegetables.

Santa Fe Chilled Nectarine Soup

adapted from medicinenet.com

Ingredients

2 lbs (8 small) nectarines, cut up

1 cup apple juice

1 cup cranberry cocktail juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (I substituted mint here, so it would marry with the strawberry soup)

Instructions
1. Combine nectarines with juices, salt, pepper flakes and vinegar in electric blender.

2. Whirl until smooth and blended. Add cilantro (or mint) leaves and whirl in a stop-and-go fashion a few seconds, just to chop.

Strawberry Soup with Mint and Balsamic

Ingredients

2 pints fresh strawberries

2 ts white balsamic

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

sugar to taste, depending on how sweet your berries are

pinch of salt

Instructions

Wash and hull berries, reserving a couple to chop for garnish

Combine berries, balsamic, mint leaves, salt and sugar in electric blender

Whirl until smooth and blended

To serve soups, pour slowly and simultaneously into opposite sides of the same bowl.
Garnish with chopped strawberries, and mint.

Grilled Lemon Pound Cake Sandwiches

from canadianliving.com

Ingredients

3/4 cup cream cheese, softened

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp grated lemon rind

4 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp vanilla

12 slices (1/4 inch thick) Lemon Pound Cake

2 tbsp butter

Instructions

In bowl and using fork, mash together cream cheese, sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth. Spread over 6 of the pound cake slices. Sandwich with remaining slices. 

In large nonstick skillet, melt half of the butter over medium heat; cook half of the sandwiches, turning once, for about 3 minutes or until edges are crisp and golden. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Yep, that’s right, tonight’s post is about cheese and crackers. The recipe: cheese, crackers. Instructions: combine, eat.

Sometimes, it’s the very simplest things in life that make you the happiest. The thing about cheese & crackers for me is that they always make me think of my dad. Not the crackers so much, as the cheese. And not even the cheese itself so much, as the act of slicing it. When I was a kid, there was always a big brick of extra sharp cheddar hangin’ out in the fridge. More often than not, it was a Costco sized block. It sat there on the very top shelf in the door, awaiting one of two fates: be sliced and eaten out of hand by my dad, or be grated and sprinkled all over the top of any number of the things we regularly ate for dinner. Goulash (no where close to an “authentic” version, I peeked at the actual recipe years back and discovered it’s true title was “Navy Super Skillet”), Tamale Pie, Enchiladas, Hamburger Pie (in retrospect, this was Shepherd’s Pie, and I loathed it), etc. Somewhere around junior high my parents purchased this bohemoth of a grating device, that had a great big handle that you cranked in order to turn any number of tumbler-like attachments that promised to grate, slice, shred, and generally perform any sort of culinary magic you could possibly wish for. It was so big in fact, that it had three metal feet to which suction cups were attached – the idea being that you had to anchor it to the counter in order to apply the necessary pressure to achieve all your grating goals. Problem was, our counters were made up of lots of little 4″x4″ textured ceramic tiles. Not so good for suction cup grippy-ness. You know what does have a nice smooth, fully suctionable surface? A washing machine. Let’s just say I grated a LOT of cheese in the laundry room in my day.

But I digress. It’s rare that I buy a block of cheese for myself these days, being that I have a lactose intolerate roommate, and I’m rarely able to eat it all before it goes all moldy and yuck. But whenever the hankering for plain old cheese and crackers strikes, I always default to that trusty sharp cheddar. I remember watching my dad stand at the pull-out cutting board, slicing neatly and perfectly down the block in a single smooth, seemingly effortless stroke. He’d pop a slice in his mouth, feed one in tiny bits to the cat, wrap it up and put it back in the fridge. Then the next time he went to repeat this ritual, there would be an added element or two. A sigh. Then a bellow. “Who destroyed the cheese?!?” or ”Who hacked up the cheese??” “What the heck happened to the cheese!?” also made the regular rotation. It was a rhetorical question, of course. Everyone knew what had happened to the cheese. Mom had not hacked up the cheese. Dad had not destroyed the cheese. The cat had certainly not had a paw in marring the cheese. A kid had gotten their grubby little mitts on the cheese. Probably with a butter knife. Occasionally a paring knife, if I was feeling brave. My brother was a guilty party too, he definitely hacked his share of cheese blocks in his day. I simply wasn’t strong enough, coordinated enough, or at one point tall enough to really get that leverage you need to slice cleanly through a large hunk of semi-hard cheese. Certainly not armed with a puny butter knife. Inevitably I’d get about an inch down, and then the knife would shear off and hit the cutting board with a thunk, flinging my shard of cheese onto the counter. I’d keep at it, with the same result over and over again, until the face of the cheese looked like a very poorly constructed, very steep stair case. Occasionally I’d manage to get one entire slice completely intact – half an inch thick on one side, so thin you could see through it on the other. I think the most common result though was the smooth curved slice that occured when I’d start out strong, but then lose momentum part way down. If you repeat this action enough times, you wind up with a block of cheese that resembles something like a half pipe skate ramp.

As you can see from the paper thin corner on my slice in the picture, I still have not mastered the art of slicing cheese. Every time I mess it up, I hear my dad saying “Who destroyed the cheese???”

Sorry dad, it was me. I totally messed up your cheese.

You may have noticed the change in design on my blog in the last week or so, and the reason behind the switch was that I needed a template with more than two columns. What I needed that third column for was the “featured publisher” badge and advertisements from Food Buzz! It’s a great blogging community with tons of fantastic food blog listings, resources, information, helpful tips, and best of all, support for great causes. Every day they publish a “Top 9″ culled from all the featured publisher posts that day, and this week they’re partnering with Electrolux in order to raise money for ovarian cancer research. This is a cause near my heart, as my mom had to deal with the results of a positive test for pre-cancerous ovarian cells when I was in high school. It was an incredibly tough ordeal, and she showed amazing strength through out it. Every banana split post that goes up before noon on Friday will result in another $50 donation to the cause, and earn it’s author a shot at the “Top 9″ for the day.

That said, behold the bohemoth: Bananas. Peanut Butter Bacon Ice Cream. Homemade Hot Fudge. Maple Whipped Cream. Yep, seriously.

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 lb bacon, cooked crisp

Instructions

Step 1: Chop bacon, cook until crisp. Drain on paper towels, and cool completely.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, combine the creamy peanut butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer and beat until smooth.

Step 3: Add the milk and blend on low speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and the sugar has been dissolved.

Step 4: Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla with a mixing spoon or a whisk.

Step 5: Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Step 6: While mixture is cooling, pulse bacon in food processor until very fine.

Step 7: When ready, pour the ice cream base into your frozen ice cream maker bowl.

Step 8: Let mix until thickened, about 15-20 minutes.Add bacon in the last 5 minutes of mixing.

Step 9: Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Hot Fudge Sauce
by Bea on allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 2
(1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Combine condensed milk, chocolate and salt in top of double boiler over rapidly boiling water. Stir and cook until chocolate melts and mixture thickens, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in water, a little at a time, until sauce reaches desired consistency. Cool slightly and stir in vanilla. Serve.