Panzanella is one of my favorite summer salads, and I’ve been craving it constantly of late. It’s beautiful and packed with flavor.  It’s another of those practical Italian peasant dishes which utilize leftover stale bread. A true Florentine would disapprove of my addition of cucumber and leftover roast beef, as those are not traditional additions to panzanella.

I fired up my oven the other day to make a chicken pot pie with some leftover grilled chicken.  It was 90+ degrees outside.  I wanted to make the most of the time the oven was on, so I timed things to throw a loaf of whole wheat bread into the oven with the pie.  It’s the first homemade bread I’ve made in a few weeks and was worth the effort.

Panzanella Salad
1 or 2 thick slices of crusty day old bread, cubed
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 small English cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 lb thinly sliced roast beef, cut into strips
1 tablespoon capers
1/4 cup chopped mint and/or basil (I use a combination of both)
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine bread cubes, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, roast beef,  capers, mint, and basil  in a bowl.  Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and toss well. Let the salad stand for 10 minutes to allow the bread to soak up the juices.

I promised you a recipe using the Florence fennel I harvested the other day, and for a change, I’m delivering in a timely fashion.  Fresh produce waits for no one!  This salad is a take on a traditional Italian dish, Pasta E Fagioli, or pasta and beans.  Mediterranean peasant food is my all time favorite.  If I have to be more specific, then it would the simple practical Tuscan dishes which utilize fresh seasonal produce, cheese, hearty breads, and leftovers.

My sister, the world traveler, just gifted me this tin of cold pressed organic olive oil she picked up on a recent trip to Cyprus. I thought this recipe would be worthy of such a high quality olive oil. Some day I would love to visit Greece and Italy, but for now I’ll have to live vicariously through my sister’s traipsing around.

Pasta e Fagioli Salad with Fennel
4 ounces whole wheat penne (1 1/2 cup dry)
1  15 oz can Cannellini Beans (of course, I recommend organic)
1/2 medium bulb Florence fennel, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used a little more than a teaspoon of salt)
Small bunch of greens of your choice
Basil

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  I’m always sure to salt my cooking water because I hate bland pasta.

Combine the beans, fennel, tomatoes, onion, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a roomy bowl.

Drain the pasta and toss with the bean mixture. Place greens on a platter or plates, and spoon mixture on top. Garnish with chiffonaded basil.

I would have preferred to use my favorite arugula, but my current planting isn’t ready yet. I still had a little bit of spinach left in the garden, so that’s what I was stuck with.  Cress would be a good choice for greens also.  I guess I like anything with a bit of a peppery bite.

This recipe was born out of an overabundance of snow peas and cilantro in my garden, although I’m positive I can’t have been the first to throw these flavors together.  My guys were gone, and I wanted a quick, light summer meal for one.  They wouldn’t eat this in a million years…. even if they were starving. Bart won’t eat cilantro or raw snow peas, Kelie won’t eat anything that swims, and I’m positive Kuyler would have a problem with the whole combination. Thank heavens they leave me from time to time, so I can eat foods I like.

I get raw shrimp in the shell and cook it myself.  I think the flavor is far superior, and it only takes a couple of minutes to dunk them in boiling water until they begin to curl and turn pink, then toss them in a bowl of ice water to chill. Feel free to use your favorite shrimp.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad with Snow Peas & Orzo
1/2 cup orzo, cooked according to package directions
3 to 4 ounces cooked and chilled shrimp (6 to 8 shrimp depending on size)
3/4 cup raw snow peas, cut in half
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Cilantro
Salt & pepper to taste

Whisk together olive oil and lime juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  In a bowl, toss vinaigrette together with orzo, shrimp, snow peas, and cilantro.  The amount of cilantro is entirely up to personal taste.  Serves one as a meal, or two if serving as a side dish.

This week’s weather has been insanely, prematurely HOT! I wasn’t quite prepared for this kind of heat, and have been trying to quickly shift into summer cooking gear. To make matters more difficult, my guys are on a big painting job this week.  After a full day in the blazing heat they’re not craving hearty meat and potato dishes.  This evening’s dinner will be grilled shrimp marinated in a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, Old Bay seasoning, and served over a bed of crisp greens from the garden. I’m also planning to serve this quick grape salad which took me all of 5 minutes to prepare.

Hazelnut Grape Salad with Cilantro
3 cups halved red grapes
1/2 cup hazelnuts
Handful of chopped cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Tablespoon good olive oil
Sprinkling of salt

Toss all ingredients together and it’s ready to serve.

Last weekend I got a day that was testosterone free! My husband was away on a job site and took our youngest son with him to work.  My oldest son went to Illinois for some college related computer nerd conference. When the boys are away I get to eat what I want, and there’s no one around to complain.

I had some arugula and baby Florence fennel in my garden that needed to be used up before I start getting hard killing frosts, so I settled on a salad using the two.  The flavor of arugula benefits from citrus, and I had lemon that needed to be used up.  I’ve had a container of pasteurized crab meat in my refrigerator just awaiting an opportunity, so the decision to make crab cakes was easy.  This recipe is sized to serve 2 people (about 4 cakes), so I ate it for both lunch and dinner.

I’ve sampled quite a few crab cakes over the years.  To be honest, a good crab cake is rather hard to come by when you live in the Midwest. In my neck of the woods, the only way to get truly fresh seafood is to buy a live lobster and cook it yourself.  Outside of boiling Mr. Lobster myself, “fresh seafood” and “Indiana” is an oxymoron. Most of the seafood available to me is either frozen or shipped in, and is at least a week old and ready to expire.  Now that I think of it, this recipe would probably be really good with lobster.  But, I digress.

This recipe features the crab, so good quality meat is essential.  Because I don’t have access to fresh crab, pasteurized crab from the refrigerator section of the seafood department is the next best option. If you have access to fresh crab, and are inclined to steam and pick it, I encourage you to do so. Whatever you do, DON’T use the tinned stuff from the tuna fish aisle! Ick! Also, you want the meat to be a little chunky, and not shredded to bits.  The crab meat is the star, and a little chunkiness provides nice texture.

Arugula Fennel Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Baby arugula, rinsed and dried
Fennel, very thinly sliced
Red onion, thinly sliced
1 part fresh lemon juice
3 to 4  parts good extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste
Honey, to taste

This is a very simple recipe. Toss the arugula, fennel, and onion in whatever proportions you find pleasing. Whisk the  lemon juice and olive oil together. Season with salt and pepper. Add honey to balance the acidity of the lemon juice. A lot of personal preference comes into play, and making a vinaigrette you like requires tasting. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad just before serving. It’s also perfect with the crab cakes.

Crab Cakes
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon sour cream
1-2 tablespoons fresh snipped herbs (parsley, chives, chervil, tarragon … whatever you have available)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dash Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch or two cayenne pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces crab meat
3/4 cup Panko style bread crumbs
1/4 cup Panko crumbs for breading
Mild flavored oil for cooking

I’m a huge fan of Panko crumbs. Nothing results in a nice light, crispy coating better than using Panko crumbs.

In a bowl, whisk the butter, egg, sour cream, herbs, lemon juice, and seasonings together. Gently mix in the crab meat and 3/4 cup bread crumbs. Place mixture in the refrigerator and allow it to sit for 10 or 15 minutes. This will give the bread crumbs time to absorb some of the moisture, and the mixture will bind a little better. The mixture is primarily crab meat, and barley enough binding ingredients to help hold it together.  For this reason, you will need to handle the patties gently.  Form the mixture into patties and then pat each side in the remaining 1/4 cup of Panko crumbs. Heat skillet over medium-high and cook crab cakes, about 4 to 5 minutes per side, remembering to handle gently so they don’t fall apart.