Catching Up

I am here!  I just got caught up in all the things.  I have to figure out how to work in my blog time too. I have loved being back and I don't want to lose it again.

In case anyone is still wondering about the question I last left you with....what I was my plan for this bowl of yum - chicken, pea shoots, carrots, cucumber and Thai basil?

A few pieces of each were lined up on a rice paper wrapper.

 Summer rolls!!

 The perfect summer lunch.

Apparently early August was The Wrap Era. I seemed to be wrapping everything. This one is leftover turkey burger and veggies, with a bit of hummus to hold it together.

Grilled chicken, tomatoes, onions and spinach. In addition to holding everything together, the hummus "glue"makes all the difference in flavor.

Grilled chicken and leftover peach salsa. It was tasty, but got a bit soggy by lunch time.

I made a batch of one of our all time favorites - Salsa Verde Chicken tostadas. Red cabbage with cilantro and lime juice to top it off.  I used the salsa verde I wrote about in my last post - it was perfect! It isn't a character glass, but I couldn't resist these vintage daffodils,

We had a grilled pizza party this weekend.  I love this white pizza topped with greens and crispy pancetta.

We cut up a buffet of toppings and everyone built their own pizza. We cooked the pizzas on the grill. Grilling gets a little crazy, but so worth it. Afterwards, I collected all the leftover cut up veggies into one container. The next morning I used them in a super simple veggie egg scramble. 

I had a little bit of dough leftover. This morning I made breakfast pizza with spinach, tomato, mozzarella and sausage.  An egg is carefully placed in the center before baking.

Bake for at 450 for 10-12 minutes until egg is set. I wasn't sure how cooked the yolk would be - it was a perfect like my favorite over-easy eggs. Then spreading the yolk around the top was so decadent.

I was definitely a fan and will probably play around with this concept in the future.  I would like some fresh herbs next time. Unfortunately, my husband was not into it. I knew I was taking a chance with fresh tomatoes and spinach, but I was hoping the egg and sausage would win him over.

Food has been a bit unbalanced with a few too many treats again. However, I am not throwing out whole days because of them, so that is progress.

Loving the farmers' market this time of year...as long as we get there early before it gets too hot.

I am still enamored with these tiny eggplants - the color :)

Speaking of color, there are so many varieties of  tiny tomatoes in the market. Thankfully, the squirrels are finally allowing me to have some of the Sun Gold tomatoes from my garden, so I didn't buy any of these.

 Who knew there were so many kinds of garlic??  I bought three varieties to sample.

 I snapped a quick picture of the description to help me remember why I chose what I chose.

 My three.  I have to be honest. I should have written down which three I chose. I am already not sure :(

In addition to the produce, there are some beautiful handmade items. The colors of this yarn makes me wish I were a knitter.

 I am not sure why I didn't buy this shark. It feels like something I need, but where would I put it??

My haul from the week before last - tomatoes, English muffin bread, eggplant, peaches, chard, beet, zucchini.  I am ashamed to admit I wasted another beet. I love beets, but apparently I am too intimidated to actually cook them. In the green box are ground cherries. Inside each papery husk is a sweet/tart little fruit.

I didn't get a close up of the ground cherries, but I found this picture and description on Sage Garden Greenhouse's website.  "Sweet, tropical-tasting gold berries wrapped in paper husks add magic to your garden.Bushy plants grow 2.5 - 3’ tall. When ripe, the husk around the fruit becomes papery dry and the fruit falls off the plant to pick picked up from the ground. Some people place a tarp underneath the plants to make harvesting easier, but either way the husks keep the fruit clean. Native to Central and South America. Use as you would a common tomato. Can be eaten raw, used in salsas, salads, as a flavouring, and in jams and jellies. Fruits are excellent in desserts. Fruits dry well." 

This Green Zebra tomato was perfectly ripe and delicious in a wrap pictured above (with Grumpy Bear glass and a side of cherries).

In an out of my comfort zone move, I tried my first clothes swap last weekend. Everyone brings clothing they no longer want.  Then for a $5 donation you can take as many "new to you" clothes as you wish. My niece invited me last minute and I didn't have anything to take, but they accepted can goods if you didn't have clothing to share. I was concerned I wouldn't find anything in my size, but I did pick out a couple of things (I will post pictures when I wear them). I also got a couple things for my sidekick - shoes and a cute hat for winter. My niece got a couple bags of goodies. The poor workers were hanging items as fast as they could as more people came in. I didn't think I was going to get my niece out of there - she was constantly rechecking racks for new items. They had a good turnout and I saw plenty of happy "customers".

Last week we had the opportunity to go to a practice round of the PGA Championship golf tournament held this weekend in St. Louis. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm ruined our plans. We ended up exploring a neighborhood I've always wanted to check out. It is called The Hill. It is known for its Italian cuisine - restaurants, delis, bakeries and grocery stores. Baseball greats like Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola grew up there. We picked up a few things to take home.

First stop the Missouri Baking Company. I could not resist the Concord Grape Coffee Cake - word is the grapes were grown by a gentleman right there in the neighborhood. It was tasty but the seeds in the grapes were a bit tedious and the cake part got a bit too soggy from the juice. I wonder if I can get back there before peach season is over...

Gioia's Deli is know for its hot salami. (hot as in temperature - not spice). The guy in the white hat did a great job introducing us to the menu.

 My husband chose the Italian Trio and I got the Hogfather. You have the option to top your sandwich any way you want, but sometimes you just have to go with the menu The Italian Trio was Mortadella, Genova & Hot Salami. Served on Garlic Cheese Bread and Garnished with Pepperoncinis, Onions and Vinegar & Oil. "Cathy's Favorite." It sounded too simple and we were tempted to add on. It was perfect just they way they made it. I  got a kick out of the little pig nose on my Hogfather sandwich.

I have a thing for fire hydrants and love the different paint jobs in various communities. These red, white and green ones were everywhere.

I was intrigued by these long narrow houses and would have loved to go on a door to door tour. I couldn't help imagine growing up in this neighborhood in the 50's. Nonnas cooking huge Sunday dinners and kids spilling of the porches. Apparently the houses are rarely offered on the open market and the neighborhood is still over 75% Italian-American.

I would have liked to have walked around a bit more, but we were dodging rain as it was. Not to mention, is it creepy to just stroll around random neighborhoods?  Next time we will need to try one of the many restaurants. I will let you know if I talk my husband into a return. I just checked and their are walking tour plans online, so it must be okay :)

There are a few more things I want to include from the last week or two, but if I don't get something posted it will be another week or two.  Life marches on :)