I make no secret that I’m a summer girl. Perhaps it’s because I live in a place where we’re lucky to get true summer eight weeks of the year. Maybe it’s precisely  that; summer’s fleetingness that gives summer it’s allure. It’s draw that I can never get enough of.

Summer is my passport to happiness.

PURE

UNDILUTED

ECSTASY

A life long love affair with summer and everything that comes along with it. The warm sun on the nape of my neck. The freedom to lose track of time and let my thoughts drift away into the open blue sky. The taste of the first jewel colored strawberry of the season…

Ahhh…strawberries…Does anything say summer better than local, garden ripened, strawberries? Turn them into a tropical salsa and they are so becoming of a summer indulgence….sticky pools of ruby strawberry juice collecting on crunch and sweet cinnamon scented crisps.

Savor the sweetness with your summer love. Pure bliss.

Summer Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Crisps

Salsa:

• 2 C. Chopped, fresh strawberries
• 1 Tbsp. Chopped, fresh mint
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. Honey

• Combine all ingredients and let stand for half an hour at room temperature.

Crisps:

• 6 six inch Flour tortillas
• 1 Tbsp Butter, melted (or less)
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 3/4 Tsp. Cinnamon

• Combine sugar and cinnamon
• Brush one side of tortillas with butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture then cut into wedges.
• Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for approximatley 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes:

• I used whole wheat tortillas because that’s what I had; use whatever you prefer.
• I find the salsa does not keep well. Try and eat it all, the same day you make it. Which, really, shouldn’t be a problem.
• I would like to give credit for the recipe but I have no idea where it comes from. I’ve had it for years.
• The original recipe called for 2 Tbsp of butter for the crisps. But knowing my love for summer and everything that goes with it, including abundant quantities of time spent outside….in a swimsuit…need I say more?

What makes you happy?

Why is it that rhubarb stirs feelings in places other vegetables can’t reach? It can tease you with the allure of summer sweetness while at the same time be tart enough to make you shiver. Pair rhubarb with sparkling white sugar and it opens up the doors to an entirely new world then presented upon first bite. I think it’s rhubarb’s eclectic qualities that make our hearts flutter and fuss while making other vegetables seem mundane.

One of the first things to pop up in my Mom’s garden, rhubarb hold the promise of sun filled days ahead….it’s summer’s alarm clock.

Rhubarb Almond Snack Bread

adapted from A Whisk & A Spoon

• 1  3/4 C Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 C Butter
• 1/4 C Unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 C Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Pure almond extract
• 1/2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
• 2 Large eggs
• 3/4 C Low fat buttermilk
• 1 C  Rounded, sliced 1/8″ thick narrow rhubarb stalks
• 1/4 C Slivered almonds

• Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Cream butter and sugar until light colored and fluffy. About 4-5 minutes. Add eggs individually beating well after each. Add in extracts and beat another two minutes. Next, alternately add in flour and buttermilk in two additions each ending with buttermilk. Fold in rhubarb and almonds.
• Pour the entire batter into greased loaf pan. Top with: 1/4 C slivered almonds mixed with 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp sugar.
• Bake 40-45 minutes at 350.
• Cool on baking rack completely before removing from pan.

Notes:

• I’m a low fat baking freak. I reduce the fat content in everything. The original recipe calls for 1/2 C butter and no applesauce.
• I thought the almonds might burn if sprinkled on top before baking so I tried to sprinkle them on top the last ten minutes (once again, adapted the recipe to be more “health conscience”. FAIL.). The almonds rebelled and fled the scene.
• I would like more rhubarb. Next time I will not slice the pieces as thin and use 1 1/4 cups.

I should warn you now: if you do not seek gratification from chocolate these cookies are not for you. If, on the other hand you have a long standing love affair with chocolate, as I do….these intensely dark, velvety cookies can be your new titillation.

These cookies are NOT good for you.

They are not good for your waistline, your morning run, or your teeth. You should stay far away from these cookies. FAR AWAY. Do not fall into their clutches.

But oh, the sugar rush. The warm chocolate melting in your mouth. It’s so wrong.

How could you not fall in love?

Triple Chocolate Cookies

• 10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 3/4 C flour
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tslp. salt
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 C packed brown sugar
• 5 Tbsp butter at room temperature
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Mix in usual manner. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

NOTES:

• I used Valrhona 70% Guanaja chocolate for both the melted chocolate and chocolate chunks.
• I rolled out the dough into 20 cookies and let it sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours before baking (I think it makes a better cookies. Don’t ask why. I don’t know. It just does.). I only baked 8 cookies so as to not fall into a chocolate stupor and chucked the rest of the cookies into the freezer for some later lovin’.
• I will have to run a gazillion miles tomorrow in guilt.