Oh the spoils of summer... fresh juicy tomatoes, tender zucchini, and rows of spicy arugula abound. It's a short lived treat here in Michigan, so I am savoring every second of it. Call me crazy, but I am not interested in canning or saving these tasty little morsels for the dreary winter months, despite the abundance. Indulging now in the backyard harvest serves to build my anticipation over the winter. I need that proverbial carrot. That being said, I do grow more than I can eat and as a way of dealing with the overflow, I share. Not only does this feed my friends, it feeds my soul and nothing is more satisfying than that.
Zucchini Tomato Stack
Slice 1 zucchini and 1 tomato. Brush zucchini slices with oil (I used roasted garlic oil) and roast on a baking sheet about 5-7 minutes at 450 degrees. Sprinkle tomato slices with sea salt and layer with roasted zucchini in a stack on top of vidalia onion dressing. Finish with fresh arugula leaves.
There's nothing like a sweet, juicy peach on a lazy summer afternoon. If it's not dripping down your face as you devour it, start over. Wonderful as a ripe peach may be, the perfect sidecar is a healthy dose of fresh ginger. Throw in some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom and an ideal flavor combination is created. Using a muffin tin, I enclosed this tasty mixture in a flaky pie crust and created individual peach pastries... curing the long standing problem of a deflated slice of pie that has unfortunately lost it's filling to a previous cut. No one should have to endure an imbalanced crust to filling ratio! Buttery and sweet with a hint of spice, these tiny treats were gone almost as quickly as they were created...ephemeral like the days of summer.
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