CTB 2014 - The Sono Baking Company Cookbook

What is the best thing about summer? Is it the lazy days spent at the beach? Maybe the long nights huddled around a campfire? Is it the picnics spent with family or brunches spent with friends?

Nope, it's not any of those things. It's fruit.

Plain and simple, summer is all about the fruit to me. I can do most of those other things at any time of the year. There are always beaches and brunches, but fresh and local produce is something that you can only get now. I've been stocking my counter with all sorts of stone fruits and berries since I saw the first white peaches at Trader Joes.

I like to make simple desserts during the summer with fresh flavors. I made this peach and raspberry crumble into single serve portions so that I could grab one from the fridge, pop it in the microwave and have a personal dessert. The boyfriend tells me that fruit doesn't belong in dessert, so I had this entire recipe to myself! He doesn't know what he's missing out on.

Summertime Salad

One of my favorite thing to to during the summer is to make vegetable slaws. I'll put together the ingredients on Sunday and toss the dressing with the veggies when I'm ready to eat. This brocolli slaw is my absolute favorite thing to make in the summer.

Normally, I hate raw broccoli. It just tastes dry and boring to me. When mixed with slivered almonds and dried cranberries, broccoli becomes so much more delicious. This is the only reason I ever have mayonnaise in my house.

If you are heading to a pot luck picnic, having a quiet dinner at home, or want something to eat at midnight, make this recipe. It barely takes any time at all to prepare and lasts for at least five days in the fridge. Well, it will last for five days, but I doubt it will stick around that long. I've been known to eat a big bowl of this stuff for lunch.

CTB 2014 - The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Two recipe posts in one week? This is crazy!

To tell the truth, I made this chicken to accompany the asparagus from Tuesday. Would I do that pairing again? No way. There was way too much sauce preparation that was necessary for both dishes. When I cook this chicken again (which I will, because it was amazing), it's getting paired with steamfresh vegetables from the microwave.

I will also remember that when I put pans in the oven, the handle of the pan also gets hot. I think that I need to buy one of these pan handle covers, because I always grab the handle and burn my hand. I don't do this to pull the pan out of the oven, I realize that it's warm at that point. It's after I return the pan to the burner and begin reducing the sauce. I'll grab the handle to rotate the pan and Yeouch! That's hot!

Burnt hand or not, this chicken was the perfect dinner. I always have chicken thighs in my freezer for some reason, so this is an easy dinner for a weeknight. Pick up some grapes and olives from the grocery store and you've got yourself a flavorful meal.