Little Red Deck

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Summer Solstice Salad

Happy first day of summer everyone! It's a rainy one here today, but the boy and I celebrated the end of spring last night with a fantastic dinner out on the little red deck. After a week full of parties and celebratory dinners (yay Daddy day!), we had a fridge full of leftovers and felt pretty blah. I decided we need to eat better (and smarter!) so I pulled together a lovely little meal- without a trip to the grocery store!

Along with some leftover corn on the cob and a bag of frozen shrimp, I adapted this panzanella off of 2 recipes- one by my fave Ina Garten and the other from the lovely Giada De Laurentis.

"Summer Solstice" Panzanella

Ingredients

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 large loaf french bread other country-style white bread, 2 to 3 days old
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus reserve for grilling
2 cans diced tomatoes {you really should use fresh, but it was a pantry night!
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and fresh black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1 hot house cucumber unpeeled, seeded and diced
4 scallions, finely diced

Directions

Cut french bread into thick slices and grill, drizzling olive oil on both sides of the bread. Once grilled, let cool and cut or tear bread into 1 inch cubes and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk 2/3 cup of the olive oil, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer the cubed bread to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish.

Mix the diced tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions and basil into the bread. Pour the dressing over top, and combine well. Cover the salad and let stand at room temperature for flavors to blend, at least 1 hour.

Source: womansday.com via Megan on Pinterest

I wish I had the forethought to take a picture last night (everything looked so yummy!), but you get the idea :)

The best part about Panzanella- you get to use the stale bread you forgot about from Saturday's party. And there are no real rules! Don't have cucumbers? Really like olives? Throw in whatever fresh veggies you want and see what happens.

I hope your first day of summer is a bit sunnier than mine. Have a great week!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

bike crush

Meet Lexa S.

Isn't she pretty?

I saw her today after riding 12 miles on my 6th grade mountain bike, and I have a girl- errr- bike crush now. Of course, with a wedding to plan and some summer adventures around the corner, dropping a grand on a road bike isn't really in my budget.

So in the meantime, I'll just visit her online after spin class. *sigh*

-Tri update is coming! I have to get the pictures from Momma bear!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

CSA Week 6 and Race Preview!

Whew- what a week! I feel like I've just caught up after a whirlwind weekend and the final week of school (YAY summer break!)

First up- the CSA! I'm getting bad at taking pictures, but really, how many times do you all want to see a bunch of kale?

Here's what came in this week's haul:

Tuesday, June 14 - Half Share

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Autumn Blend Organics

1 Bunch Collard Greens - Certified Organic - Sunrise Ridge Organics

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes - Certified Organic - Liberty Branch Farm

1 Head Flashy Troutsback Romaine Lettuce - Certified Organic - Riverview Organics

1 Bunch Scallions - Certified Organic - Sunrise Ridge Organics

2 Yellow Straightneck Squash - Certified Organic - Echo Valley Organics

I traded out the collard greens for extra scapes- they're so delish! Not to mention kinda crazy looking...

Even better- our Fruit Share started this week! Since it is early in the season, a large jar of organic apple sauce paired with a pound of rainier cherries made up our share.

Don't they look delicious?

This weekend, the boy and I did our second Tri together. I want to do a "race recap" like Caitlin does over at Healthy Tipping Point, but I am so glad I signed up this year! I wanted to bail back in March and I'm glad I didn't. Just for giggles- here's how stinking cute I look when I'm running (which is to say, not at all ha)

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Friday, June 10, 2011

JCrew round 2- Rumi and Shoreline Stripe Dresses

Good morning!

Two more JCrew reviews for you- because you know I can't walk into a dressing room empty handed. Even at a way to high for me price point ($118), I snagged the Rumi dress on my way towards the back. Why? Because of this gorgeous in store only violet color!

I grabbed a size 4. It looks good in the pictures, but I remember wanting to size down at the time. This is a definite sale watch item. It's a tad low cut and high hemmed for the work place, but I could see myself walking around the city in this with a cute pair of brown leather sandals all summer! The tie waist hits just under the rib cage, making your legs look just a little longer (and leaner!) than they really are.

I wish the pictures did the color justice. It's such a vibrant purple. LOVE.

Next up was the Shoreline Stripe Dress. Adorable, but again- not for $78.

I grabbed an xsmall here due to the sizing (xxsmall-xlarge), and could definitely go up to the small since the dress fit very close (the top should blouson- and well. It simply didn't). The adjustable straps are great, but you're stuck going strapless here since it's essentially a long tank top. With no lining, I'm going to wait until this hits the $40 mark.

The heat is supposed to be more bearable today, but it's already steamy! I need to find some summer dresses stat!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

JCrew review! Stowaway Dress

Good morning, Heatwave! It's a steamy 85 degrees this morning on the little red deck, and the forecast reads 97 by mid day. Whew! So what's better on a day like today than throwing on a cute sundress to beat the heat?

Last week, I saw the 10 day forecast and decided it was time to preemptively prepare my closet for the heat to come. Remember this pretty dress from JCrew?

Source: jcrew.com via Devon on Pinterest

It's the ultra light and comfy looking Stowaway dress in tropical turquoise. I grabbed an xsmall based on the sizing (xxsmall-xlarge) and headed into the fitting rooms...

So cute!

I could wear this all summer! Right?

WRONG.

Uggggh the dreaded front view. If ONLY the drawstring didn't exist or was a few inches higher :( Maybe if I could hike the skirt up without my booty hanging out even! Sadly, this went back on the rack. (note- I did try on the small, and it was way too baggy. The arm holes were indecent to say the least)

Do drop waist dresses work for ANYONE?

For now, it's back to the iced coffee! Have a lovely morning :)

CSA- weeks 4 and 5

Good morning!

Our 5th CSA share came in yesterday and it. is. gorgeous. So much so, that it made up for a disappointing week 4. Here's what came in the box:

Tuesday, June 7 - Half Share

1 Pint Strawberries - Certified Organic - Healthy Harvest Organics

1 Head Green Endive - Certified Organic - Meadow Valley Organics

1 Bunch Sweet Onions - Certified Organic - Liberty Branch Farm

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes - Certified Organic - Sunny Crest Organics

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Eagle View Organics

1 Head Red Romaine Lettuce - Certified Organic - Riverview Organics*

1 Head Butterhead Lettuce - Certified Organic - Echo Valley Organics

*swapped out for ANOTHER pint of glorious strawberries!

Here's the haul:

berries berries berrrrrries! Yes- they are all gone already (minus a handful waiting for my momma!). I made strawberry shortcake biscuits last night and may have eaten another for breakfast this morning. shhhh ;)

Another exciting addition to the bunch- garlic scapes! I am going to try sauteing these in a pasta dish this week. Oh- and the lovely spring onions already met their fate with the grill last night. Phenom.

So why was I bummed last week with our CSA? It looks pretty good, right?

And here's what was included:

Tuesday, May 31 - Half Share

1 Head Green Romaine Lettuce - Certified Organic - Riverview Organics

1 Bunch Asparagus - Certified Organic - Maple Lawn Organics, Meadow Valley Organics, or Plum Hill Organics

1 Bunch White Scallions - Certified Organic - Railroad Organics

1 Bunch Red Chard - Certified Organic - Maple Lawn Organics

1 Bunch Baby Scarlet Turnips - Certified Organic - Outback Farm

1 Bunch Oregano - Certified Organic - Noble Herbs

1 Bunch Green Kale - Certified Organic - Eagle View Organics

Well, the romaine lettuce was up first for storage. I noticed there was a little black slime on the tips, so I trimmed it off and broke the head of lettuce in half....to find MORE BLACK SLIME. eww eww eww eww ewwwwwww. Yes, I know this is a risk of organic veggies. BUT GROSS.

The scarlet turnips were a bit tough- I need to come up with a better way of preparing them. And I managed to destroy the red chard using a recipe found on epicurious. I really should have gone with my gut on that one.

So, all in all- we got some good stuff last week. It was just a let down in comparison to the others. The good news? I am back to LOVING my CSA and can't wait to make more delicious meals this week!

ps- do you like the redesign? I'm hoping the new layout will allow for bigger pictures!