When the days become as hot as they have been lately, my meal planning becomes super simple. I want fresh, light, and easy. And what's easier than throwing together some yummy salads a couple of nights a week? I love creating salads with whatever I have in the fridge and my favorite trick to take a salad from good to great is adding some fruit to the mix! There is something about that sweet bite from fruit mixed with the other salad ingredients that is so delicious, especially if you are eating salads a couple nights a week as your main course, fruit helps to keep your taste buds excited! My grilled flank steak and cherry salad is the perfect summertime dinner, combining some of my favorite flavors onto a plate!
Fall is slowly creeping it's way into Louisiana and this week at the farmer's market it was evident that fall produce has started to arrive. Squash, of all kinds are everywhere you look. So, in an attempt to eat a little lighter this week, because lately I've been eating like I don't have to go to the beach in a week...which I do, I decided to go the salad route with my acorn squash. And what a salad it is y'all. This spicy honey roasted acorn squash salad is scrumdillyumtious and you definitely won't fell like you are missing anything in the food department.
A friend of mine brought me back some chile infused honey from Lafayette and I have been dying to use it. I love combing sweet and spicy with ingredients like squash or sweet potatoes especially if they are roasted because their natural sweetness comes out already. I knew that the infused honey would be perfect for the squash and turns out I was right.
What have I gotten myself into? I'm officially addicted to homemade bread and I haven't even perfected it yet...so that means this is either going to be a problem or it's going to be the best thing I've done in the kitchen in a long time! My second week of adventures in bread making has come and gone, and I'm hooked guys!
This week I went full on wheat mode with a new recipe. Last week the recipe I used called for half regular all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. This week the recipe was 100% whole wheat and has lots of other yummy ingredients that are good for you too! Which made me happy, because the overall goal of me making my own bread was so I that I would know what ingredients were in my bread and that it would be healthy for me too.
This week my "what an idiot" moment was when I realized that the reason my second rise wasn't rising fully was simply because I was dividing the dough into two when really I only had enough dough for one large bread pan. Um hello...so after I realized that I made another batch and it rose just perfectly....or would have but then I forgot to brush the top with milk and sprinkle with oats, so I frantically pulled it out of the oven and added the missed step only to realize that me taking it back out of the oven made the loaf collapse a little...waaa.
I have already confessed to you my love of corn and how I could eat it everyday. You could say I am on a corn kick right now, kinda like my blueberry kick that I just got off of. There is so much of it at the farmer's market and it's fresh and sweet and so great for any meal, any night of the week. Throw a piece of salmon on the grill, and we have ourselves a healthy meal that is ready in a jiff!
Most of the time I like to eat corn off of the cob because, I dunno maybe I like getting it stuck in my teeth? No, that can't be it...whatever the reason, I am not sure I even know, I like it. However, I found myself with 18 ears of corn (they are five bucks for a dozen, how could I resist) in my fridge and figured I should try something different with it. This is how my corn salad came to be.
This meal is perfect for getting you back on track after that holiday weekend that we all just came off of with too much barbeque and not enough veggies. It would be great for lunch or dinner and it's quick and easy for those weeknights when feel like you don't have the energy to cook something that's good for you.
One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is to slice a tomato and eat it all by itself, because for these few summer months tomatoes are at their peak and are so sweet and juicy. I just slice and add salt and pepper, simple as that! They become the perfect snack, or the perfect addition to any meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. My other fave summer veggie are cucumbers that beg to be eaten just sliced with a little garlic salt or Cajun seasoning. My other favorite thing to do with these beauties is to make a fresh summer tomato and cucumber salad that is the easiest side dish to accompany any weeknight meal or summertime backyard BBQ's.
