Roasted Winter Squash With Cranberry-Sage Butter

Morning Glory's Farm Food: Stories from the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen by Gabrielle Redner, a cookbook I recently received to review, is more than just a cookbook. Sure, it has recipes, but it's also filled with information and stories about the Martha's Vineyard farm, the farmers, the crops they grow, and even other farms on the island. For someone who cares about farms and farmers' markets, as I do, the book sends a great message about getting to know your food and where it comes from. It's all about respecting vegetables and taking the time to notice how much better local food tastes.

Farrotto With Butternut Squash, Sage, And Goat Cheese

If you couldn't tell from my Farro "Risotto" with Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese and my Roasted Tomato Farro Bake, I love farro. I'd choose it over rice any day. Its nutty texture goes with so many different ingredients and flavors. It works well warm, as in a baked dish, or cold, as in a salad. It's even nice in soup. And if you desire a little creaminess to complement the nuttiness, you simply need to cook it risotto-style to make a farrotto. I love its versatility.

My Go-To Summer Pasta Dish

It's been a good summer, hasn't it? As much as I like to hold on to summer forever, fall is my favorite season so I'm not upset it's coming. But before embracing the new season, I want to take a little time to reflect on this one.

Mini Profiteroles With Tomatoes And Basil

Can you guys believe it's almost Labor Day? I know we still have a few weeks of summer left, but for some reason, Labor Day always feels like a symbol of the end of summer. To keep the summer going strong, I made these mini profiteroles and filled them with a mixture of ripe, fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and basil, plus olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a little salt and pepper. These mini profiteroles would be perfect to serve at any Labor Day party or barbecue or just as a dinner-party hors d'oeuvre.

Roasted Tomato Farro Bake

I am getting tons of gorgeous, colorful tomatoes from my garden, and while I love eating them as is, I've also been trying to find new ways to use them. They're great in salads and in pasta dishes, but I was searching for something a little different.

Pasta With Summer Squash, Garlic, And Basil

I am in full-on summer vegetable mode now. I run over to my tomato garden every day after work to see if my assortment of cherry and pear tomatoes are ripe enough to pick. I spy on my cubanelle peppers, hoping that they'll finally be big enough to pick and grill. I imagine stockpiling corn on the cob, giving it a quick dip in some boiling water, and slathering it with butter. And I crave summer squash, as much summer squash as I can get my hands on.

Israeli Couscous With Roasted Squash And Eggplant

Summer is finally here! Can you feel it? I've been enjoying the long days and warm rays and trying to get outside as much as possible. I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't been blogging as much -- I just haven't really wanted to spend my time sitting in front of the computer (after sitting in front of one for 8 hours at work every day) when I could be outside taking Gunner for a walk, tending to my tomatoes, or just sitting on the deck listening to Pandora and sipping coffee with Jeff (usually while we stare at our tiny backyard and think how amazing it could be if money were no object).

My heart also hasn't really been into blogging, and there's nothing worse than trying to write something when you just don't feel like writing it. You guys would see right through that. So the posts I have been sharing with you -- though they're few and far between -- are the ones that make me feel that spending some time at the computer (albeit in the late evening) is worth it. These are the posts I really care about and hope you do too! I'm not writing just to write; I'm writing to share things with you, like this Israeli couscous dish that's chock-full of summer vegetables.

Farro "Risotto" With Mushrooms, Asparagus, And Goat Cheese

Before we start talking about this farro "risotto" with mushrooms, asparagus, and goat cheese, I realized there are some things some of you probably don't know about me. And it's time to come clean. First, I am obsessed with micro pigs -- mini pigs, teacup pigs, all of them. Seriously. Whenever I'm having a bad day, I just do a Google image search for them, and I instantly feel better. (Try it. The cuteness is almost unbearable.) If only Jeff would agree to getting one for a pet. I'm sure Gunner, our 90-pound chocolate lab, would love a micro pig for a companion.

Soup Sundays: Hearty Minestrone Soup

Two weekends ago I came down with a really horrible cold (and I am just finally starting to feel better, which is why you haven't heard much from me lately). All I wanted was to stay curled up on the couch with a blanket and some hot tea. And I wanted soup. I had actually made chicken soup the week before because Jeff was sick (yup, he passed his cold on to me), so I didn't want the traditional cold-curing soup. I was really craving vegetables (probably my body's way of asking for vitamins), so I turned to an old recipe for a hearty, herby minestrone soup that I had posted years ago.

Kamut Khorasan Wheat Berries With Roasted Vegetables And Sherry Vinegar

Have you guys heard of Kamut? I'd been hearing about it recently, and it sounded right up my alley, as I love quinoa, farro, and other grains. Kamut is a brand of khorasan wheat, which is an ancient grain that has been described as a "high-energy wheat" because of its high percentage of lipids. It is higher in protein than modern wheat.

I recently got some samples of Kamut khorasan wheat berries, flour, and flakes. So far I have broken into the berries and used them in a simple dish with roasted vegetables, sherry vinegar, and Parmesan.

Maple-Orange Roasted Fall Vegetables

While I love maple syrup year-round, something about fall usually has me craving it. And while I like pancakes or waffles slathered with butter and doused with maple syrup, I really love incorporating maple syrup in savory dishes. I think it pairs especially well with squash and other fall vegetables.

I've made ginger-maple baked delicata squash in the past and also some maple-glazed baby vegetables (Brussels sprouts, beets, and turnips). Thinking about these two dishes inspired me to make these maple-orange roasted fall vegetables.

Quinoa And Grilled Sourdough Salad

Hey, guys. Do you see these tomatoes? I grew them! I'm pretty impressed that I've been able to keep the plants alive and get some gorgeous little tomatoes. I planted all plum tomatoes, but they've been coming out different shapes and sizes. My initial plan was to grate them and turn them into sauce, but I really didn't have enough of them to make very much sauce, so I used them in a salad instead. 

How To Make An Heirloom Tomato And Goat Cheese Tart

I wait all year for beautiful, ripe summer tomatoes. And when they finally show up, I can't get enough of them. They're great in salads, especially Caprese; they're wonderful paired with feta and watermelon; they make flavorful soups and sauces; and, if you really want to showcase their beauty and range of colors, they make the most stunning tarts.

Lemony Israeli Couscous With Corn, Scallions, And Zucchini

With most barbecues revolving around meat, I think it's important to have a flavorful, summery vegetarian side dish in your back pocket for any non-meat-eaters you might be hosting. Thinking along those lines, while glancing through my "Pastas and Such" Pinterest board, I saw a light, bright-flavored quinoa dish with corn and scallions. Using that as my inspiration, I came up with an Israeli couscous version and threw in some zucchini too -- just because I had it on hand and some extra vegetables never hurt anyone, right?

Backyard Barbecue With McCormick Grill Mates

This post was sponsored by McCormick and is the second in a series of three posts featuring McCormick Grill Mates and Lawry's. The opinions expressed are my own.

A couple of weekends ago, we had some friends over for a little backyard barbecue featuring McCormick Grill Mates products and concepts from the McCormick Grill Mates and Lawry's Flavor Forecast: Grilling Edition. I spent days planning and re-planning the menu. I thought about all of McCormick's trends as I planned: Flavors to Watch, Breads on the Grill, 5-Minute Marinating, Smoke & Spice Pairings, Charred Fruit Drinks, DIY Condiments, and Social S'mores. McCormick offers a lot of ideas and recipes for these different trends.

Sausage-And-Quinoa-Stuffed Squash

So my garden is still alive! And not just alive, it's still growing vegetables -- some we've been able to pick and eat (like zucchini) and some I'm still waiting on (like the peppers and tomatoes). I had two pattypan squashes growing, and after hemming and hawing over when was the right time to pick them, I finally harvested them at 3 to 4 inches wide, the perfect size for stuffing. With a zucchini ready for picking around the same time, I decided to develop a stuffing recipe with enough for both kinds of squash.

Cucumber Salad With Feta And Toasted Bread Crumbs

You'll want to eat this cool, crisp summer salad with cucumbers, feta, and toasted bread crumbs every night. The crunch of the cucumbers is punctuated by creamy, briny bites of feta, and the lightly salted toasty bread crumbs are like the icing on the cake. It was inspired by a cucumber salad we tried at Ten Tables in Provincetown -- one I couldn't wait to re-create at home.

Zucchini Hash With Soft-Cooked Eggs

So remember how I told you I already found and picked a zucchini from my garden? I was so excited about it that I had to cook it and eat it right away. I had some boiled potatoes in the fridge and decided to make a zucchini hash and top it with some soft-cooked eggs. With zucchini from my garden, potatoes from Siena Farms, and eggs from Silverbrook Farm, I had a super-local meal that was summery and satisfying. It makes a great breakfast or breakfast for dinner.

Soba Noodle Salad with Pesto And Grilled Eggplant

Every time I get a new issue of one of the (too) many food magazines I subscribe to in the mail, I immediately flip through it and dog-ear the pages with all the recipes I want to make. I never end up making everything I flag, but I turn back to the recipes often and eventually get to some of them. Sometimes I follow the recipes exactly, and other times I use them for inspiration.

I made skirt steak tacos with a mango guacamole inspired by the Smoked-Chile-and-Mango Guacamole in the May issue of Food & Wine (I still need to make the Silky Tortilla Soup in that issue). I made a fabulous punch by swapping out brandy for rum in the Strawberry-Ginger Punch in the June issue of Bon Appetit. And most recently my friend and I whipped up the Soba Noodle Salad with Pesto and Grilled Eggplant from the July issue of Food & Wine.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

We have a grill! And we are so excited about it. We broke it in right away with steaks, peppers, asparagus, and corn on the cob. It was quite a feast. Since then we've grilled pork, potatoes (with which we made an amazing potato salad), chicken, and, of course, some hot dogs. For the most part, I've done the prepping and Jeff has done the grilling, but last week as he was heading out to a softball game, I fired up the grill to make a grilled vegetable salad for my friend and me to have for a little girls' night dinner.