Sweet Bean Salad

Cold salads are a nice break from the stove in the summer -correction- anytime, and can be as filling as a full-course meal, if topped with items of substance and protein.  This green and bean salad is wonderful for either lunch or dinner.  I concocted this sweet salad treat when I had a hunkering for bean salad.  It is light yet complete, and requires little preparation.  You could lay a few grilled chicken or steak strips across it if you are serving it as a dinner, especially if you are hosting company, in which case, I would set it up as a salad bar.

Three beans are used in this one, although I have done some with up to seven beans.  For this salad, I strained then mixed together:

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pink beans
• 1 can wax beans
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can sweet kernel corn

 

Then I stirred in to the bean mixture:

(approximations since I do not typically measure)

 

1 - 2 Tsp sugar

2 Tsp olive oil

2  - 3Tbsp cider vinegar

1 Tsp garlic powder

2 Tsp oregano and basil blend

Few dashes of salt and pepper to taste

A hearty squeeze of lemon juice (about 1 Tbsp or so)

Ladle the mixture over fanned romaine greens because presentation is everything, right?

 

 

 

 

Drop a few grape tomatoes on top.

 

 

 

Rip off a piece of French bread and slip it onto the side of the plate.

 

Run a knife through every couple of inches across lettuce leaves if you prefer to eat it chopped then lightly toss with your fork.

 

 

The sauce that develops is sweet and aromatic, so be sure to drizzle it on as the dressing.

 

 

 

A fine plate of goodness.

 

Simple Sundress and Strawberry Parfait

Simple & Strawberry & Parfait.  What's not to love?

Pick a bowl or glass of your liking.  Then fill up with layers of fruit, yogurt and granola of your choice.  Simple as that!  That's why I love these.  I have made tons of variations and hold in high regard any dish that can be easily put together, is easy to substitute ingredients with and winds up looking parlor servable.

I used a classic sundae shaped serving cup.  It had a perfect nook to hold one whole strawberry at the bottom in lieu of a cherry on top (but you can add that, too): 

From there, I began stacking my combination of Greek yogurt, pineapple rounds which I used simply for the like shape of the bowl otherwise fresh is best, and granola.  See the strawberry foundation?

After spooning a little yogurt on the base strawberry, I put on a coating of granola.  I actually used a lowfat granola cereal.

Then a sheet of pineapple,

 Then more sliced strawberries,

Then another blanket of yogurt,

 And onward and upward until your cup runneth over.

At the last minute, I thought to sprinkle on some tinsel of shredded coconut.  I bet toasted coconut would bring another dimension to the accumulated flavors as well.  Food for thought.

 ***

Keeping things easy today, I am wearing a fit and flair sundress with a cardigan to stave off the chill of the forty degree temperature drop we just encountered.  New England is glorious-once you resign yourself to bizarre and unpredictable weather patterns.  Its a big chunk of the charm of this region.  You may be scrounging for a turtleneck in July or a short sleeved T in January.  I have learned to keep a few off-season items stashed in a drawer year round for exactly these predicaments.

Dress:  Eshakti, Cardigan:  Talbots, Shoes:  Envy via Zulily  Sunglasses:  Coldwater Creek

Pashley Britannia and Strawberry Lemonade

A tisket, a tasket, a lemonade-filled basket..

                                                 

Pashley Britannia

IF, IF , IF I was the ecstatic owner of this snazzy beauty with her wicker bonnet, I would go cruisin' with the sun tingling on my shoulders and the wind snarling my hair, and my basket would craddle this for when I sat on my tuffet under a willow tree:

I combine a refreshing drink and light snack in one sturdy, easily toted container with these simple steps:

Fetch a mason jar.  Any size will do.  This is a 40 oz jar for reference.  Because I like a lot of lemonade and strawberries.

Cut a lemon in half and squeeze both into jar:

Fill with water to about an inch or so below the neck and scoop out any drifting seeds.

Next, add one teaspoon of honey and stir well.  Drop in ice, sliced lemon rinds and whole (washed) strawberries: 

The lemon rinds and strawberries will mostly float on the top snuggled in with the ice:

Now, if you are setting sail on your Pashley Britannia (or variation of), simply screw the lid on, wrap in a dishtowel or pretty fabric, slip a straw alongside it and lay it in your wicker basket for your outing.

Of course, if you are not the ecstatic owner of that snazzy scarlet beauty with a bonnet, as I am not (maybe I'll go for the Target prototype), then the back deck shares the same warm sunlight and breezes.  Stick the straw in your drink, plunk down on a wicker chair, throw your arm behind your head and bask.

Don't forget to munch on the strawberries.

Cheers!

Strawberry Embellished Chocolate Frosted Donut Fake-out

The best donut shop in the country, in my bashful opinion, is in a town where I grew up.  Mrs. Murphy's. I have tried all the area donuts and the bigwigs - none compare.  The proportion is perfect and the textures are spot on per type.  Their cakey ones are thick and cakey.  Their doughy ones are fluffy and doughy.  And flavors? Seasonal and year-rounders, all scrumptious.
 

My oh my I miss being near that shop.  It is probably for the best.  Now I have to rely on my mother jaunting through that area and then to visit me in order to indulge.  She has happily taken on donut duty.  When I see her coasting into the driveway then gathering her things out of the car and double checking her stuff and then arranging it on her arms and then turning to saunter up the walkway at the casual speed of that infamous turtle, I have to restrain myself from lurching at her while my eyes zero in to spy that 12 x 12 treasure trove. I want to call out "Hey there! What's taking so long?? You are carrying time sensitive cargo!"  But I would never do that (well... never say never).   Instead, I make a b-line to receive that beautiful white box tottering on my mother's loaded arm - oh, I mean receive her, of course.  I try to be cool and act like I'm just trying to help her manage her bags.  Which I truly am.  But I really want to pounce on that box, too.  I lift a bag from her hands while being extra helpful by yanking that precious box off the scale of her forearm.
 

The box is weighty and warm.  The aroma of vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon and fresh dough slips out from slightly buckling folds.  I plunk it down on the counter and jam my finger into the corner flap.  The taped sides always slow me down.  Hate that tape.  I have broken nails ripping through that tape.  Entirely worth it.  Because once I throw that flap back, I am giddy with the choice I must now make.  Honeydew or Honey dip?  Chocolate glazed or lemon filled?  Cruller or round?
Thanks, Mom!
 

Being that I only get that white box delivery like once every four months, I had to create something similar to the chocolate frosted for the other 362 days of the year.  This is what I came up with:

Isn't it the cutest little thing besides babies, kittens and puppies?

As this is strawberry celebration week, begin, of course, with fresh strawberries-

And sweet dinner rolls.  These I bought, but homemade sweet bread is even better.   If short on time or not keen in the kitchen, the rolls are a great alternative:

Slather on some Nutella or a chocolate spread of your choice-

I use about one or two tablespoons.  Make sure to cover almost to the edge in lovely swirls-

Layer on slices of strawberries-

 

Don't forget to act all debutante and stick your pinky out when you scarf down that faux donut.  

I make these with or without the berries.  Without berries, I simply put the top of the roll on and have a little chocolate sandwich.  Further jazz these up by adding a dollop of whipped cream.  Yummers.

Strawberry Celebrations

The Beatles sang it best with Strawberry Fields Forever.   The streaming lanes of low lying plants flowing across the landscape make the notion or care of time drift away as one meanders and gathers.

Strawberries dreamily evoke warm memories of past and call to commence the season's rolling in those hot, hazy, humid, complain-while-its-here but miss-it-when-its-gone, bee buzzing, percale sheeting, lake splashing, popsicle dripping, gnat slapping, mosquito slaying, lazy days of summer.  About this time each year up until a few years ago, I would be hunched over those flourishing greens that sprout those almost heart shaped baubles of sweet red lusciousness.  Around the second week of June, usually second picking, we would pile out into the forever-fields and begin to scout the rows for the brightest jewels dangling from a nestled stem.

The kids, myself included, would have to sample a few, you know, to make sure of the bounty's ripeness.  We would leave with stapled crates brimming, and I would be daydreaming of the tangy-sweet ways we could enjoy them besides the instant gratification of munching them down on the car ride home.  Nope, I wanted to savor some throughout the weeks ahead.  Pies, tarts, parfaits, smoothies, salads and of course SHORTCAKE! 

For the start of my tribute to strawberries, I decided to represent the flavors of the fresh cream coated gems by wearing their colors.

 

Its been upward of  91 and humid this week including today, so I couldn't take being all buttoned up any longer.  Plus I wanted to show the jacket worn open and reveal the pretty ruffle on the tank.  It really didn't alleviate the sweltering.

  I often throw my hair up in this style, but its not usually seen from behind in the photos.  Here is a shot from the back.  Sometimes I pin the edges down slightly to tuck them closer to the pony point.  Then I just let the hair fan itself out and free fall around the crown. 

Jacket:  Coldwater Creek, Tank:  JCP, Skirt:  Ann Taylor, Shoes:  Talbots, Clutch:  Vera Bradley