I Should Have Waited

 And made this next week.

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Because next week, the temps are hitting low to mid nineties.  And I will NOT want to cook.  Or eat. Or even think about food.

But this? This was easy. Light.  Perfect for those new to cooking, or, in this case, not really wanting to spend a lot (or any!) time over a hot stove.

Cook chicken, flavored with Italian seasoning, as well as S&P. Cool. slice.

Mix small tomatoes with (torn) basil, garlic and olive oil.  That gets tossed with al dente angel hair pasta. Top with the chicken

That's IT.

It's nothing spectacular. But it's summer without the heat and humidity, in a bowl. 

As for next week, we may be putting ice cream on the menu.

Pan de Cristal Flavor Bombs

 I think this may be the most amazing nine ingredient combo, ever.

I watch a lot of food and comic/geeky YouTube (did you know Callebaut has a channel?!). 

King Arthur dropped a video for their Pan de Cristal a week or so ago, and ...um. Yes. This I had to make.

I love this dough. I love this recipe. I love this bread.

Five ingredients. Very low-effort. As I've been telling Alex for years, bread is mostly about time.  

Excellent crust; crisp and shattering.  But the interior is soft, and shiny like glass! (Hence the name.)

And so full of flavor.  You could easily put away a loaf as is.

But if you could fill that amazing bread with flavor bombs like tomatoes slow-roasted for hours and hours, and rich, caramelized garlic, with the creamy sweetness of burrata, why would you pass that up?

You wouldn't. 

This sandwich is perfection.  That is all.

 

Getting Fancy

 

When you're only using a few ingredients, they have to count.

Alex kept getting these targeted ads for a sandwich from...I think it was Jimmy John's?

It's not a place we'd patronize, both for the lacking in vegetarian options and some social/political stances by the owners that don't align with our own.

But apparently they're now offering a caprese salami pesto sandwich, and well...that sounds pretty good, yeah?

 

Luckily for us, Earth Fare is now carrying a selection of plant-base deli meats, including salami.

They're all really good - I like the 'ham' in particular.

Their sandwich is 'salami and fresh mozzarella, slow-roasted tomatoes, basil pesto, balsamic glaze, oregano-basil, oil, onion and mayo, on French bread.'

We riffed a bit, using fresh but out of season tomatoes (helped along by a bit of sugar and salt to draw out the flavor), skipped the onions because...no, and a drizzle of this glorious, thick balsamic vinegar.

No need to reduce to a glaze, because this stuff is SYRUP.

With only a handful of ingredients, you use the absolute best you can get.

And this stuff is top notch.

Chilaquiles Rojos with Fried Eggs and Cotija

 

Matt can't handle a large breakfast early in the morning, so before work, it's usually a couple of pieces of toast and some tea.

But weekends and vacation days, I get to have fun.

Recently, I made these chilaquiles (which took a bit more work as our broiler no longer works...sob).  

He didn't quite lick the bowl clean, but it was a near thing.