A New Week! A New Look! Golden Italian Salsa!

 

I decided it was my turn.  I decided that if the kids were going to have a new year, so was I.  So here I am.  A new look.  My back to school hair cut.  For so long I have wanted a different look for my blog.  Something that was just me.  I know, the words are mine and the pictures are mine and that was as far as it went.  Now I have something with a little more pizazz and a little more pop and something I feel is just more…..me.  Let me know what you think about the new look too!  I have installed a bar at the bottom of the blog, which will help me share and have you share. 

Here is a quick, colorful way to start your week off.  Using the abundance of tomatoes you have create a quick salsa!  I had some beautiful basil (grown by my brother-in-law) and some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes.  I think this is the perfect recipe to show off the new look.  You can call it a comeback.

 

Golden Italian Salsa

1/2 pound tomatoes, diced. If using big tomatoes, try to get some of the seeds out

1 small onion, diced

3 small jalapenos, minced.  I took the seeds out, but if you want the extra heat go ahead and leave them in.

2 cloves of garlic, minced

A huge handful of fresh basil, cut into ribbons

A couple glugs of extra virgin olive oil

A couple glugs of red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for one hour, until the flavors develop.  This salsa is only good for the day you made it.  Don’t worry, you’ll eat it up!

 

 

 

 

                                                                A New Haircut!

Mid-Week Something Sweet: Plum Almond Tart

 

Well, we are half-way through the first week of school.  All in all it has been a decent two days.  Just a few tears, nothing too heartbreaking.  Isabelle had been telling me all last week that she DID NOT want to go school and after day one she said she would be willing to go back.  I think we are off to a great start and I am so excited to watch the kids tackle all great learning the schools are going to throw at them. 

So, to get you passed the Wednesday bump, (try not to remember you only have 536 lunches to make), here is a beautiful tart.  I am again using on of my favorite cookbooks “Around My French Table”, by Dorie Greenspan.  When I am craving something sweet and delicious and a little bit ambitious, I turn to Dorie.  At the farmers market this week, I purchased a couple quarts of Stanly plums.  Stanly plums are smaller than traditional plums.  They have a blue/purple tint and are really quite pretty.  When ripe, the plums taste like honey.  So delicious!  I can eat four or five of them in a sitting.  As great as the plums are eaten out of hand, they are fantastic baked in any dessert you put them in.  Dorie Greenspan has a delicious orange-almond tart in her cookbook and I decided to adapt it to incorporate the plums. 

This recipe has a few steps to it.  I encourage you to try this recipe.  It is as delicious as it is beautiful.  The recipe for the crust is included down below.  Also check out the other great recipes from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook, “Around My French Table”.  Happy cooking and enjoy the rest of the week!

http://sara826-itstartedwithone.blogspot.com/2011/10/sweet-sundays-french-apple-cake.html

http://sara826-itstartedwithone.blogspot.com/2011/05/gnocchi-la-parisienne.html

http://sara826-itstartedwithone.blogspot.com/2011/04/gourgeres.html

http://sara826-itstartedwithone.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-little-coconut-between-friands.html

 

Want to add some zip to your day? Thai Curry Turkey Burgers are the answer!!!!!!

 

So I am burnt out on blueberries.  I have taken a small break to collect my thoughts and get the kids ready for school.  There have been doctors appointments and meetings at school and last minute trips.  We have to squeeze every drop out of summer while we still can!  I think the family and myself can agree that this was one packed summer!  Alex went to Washington D.C. with his eight grade class, then he came home for one day and went on a mission trip to Cincinnati with the church youth group.   For his 14th birthday, Alex and his dad went to a gaming convention in Memphis.  We took Isabelle and Gabe to Chicago for their birthdays.  Isabelle went the American Girl Doll store and to a Big Time Rush concert and then we went to Lego Land!  So much fun!!!!!!!!

So that was a quick recap of what we did this summer.  School will be super exciting this year.  A new ninth grader at the high school, a seventh grader and a third grader already!!! Where is the time going?!?  So dinner has centered around quick and easy (as it should) and this fall is going to be no different.  The inspiration for this dinner came from one of my favorite restaurants in Traverse City.  Bubba’s is fantastic hamburger joint with the best hamburgers anywhere.  My favorite hamburger is the Curry Burger.  It is a juicy curried flavored hamburger served on a deliciously soft bun, topped with a sweet onion aioli and crispy onion straws.  SO YUMMY!  I usually order it with the sweet potato tots.  I seriously could eat this hamburger everyday! 

Well inspiration struck and I recreated it at home.  It’s not exactly the same, but it kept my cravings at bay.  I used ground turkey instead of ground beef and topped it with a sriracha mayonnaise and mango chutney all on a pretzel roll.  I baked some sweet potato fries and the dinner was complete! The flavors of the ginger, garlic and curry really came through   The kids loved it!!! Ted said it probably would have been a little better with ground chuck.  Maybe next time. 

If you want to spice up your day, give this a try!  Try it before it’s time to put the grill away!  Or head to Bubba’s in Traverse City, Michigan to try the original first hand.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.