Reformatting this blog has proven to be a bit more tedious than I had first imagined. Imagine that! I could go on and on about iWeb and MobileMe and tags and categories and robots and stats, but then that would just be me being super cranky and boring you to no end. And I hope that even if you may disagree with my cantankerous and narcissistic point of view sometimes (and the overwhelming number of times I mention my cat) , and even if you may not like the food I'm writing about, I hope I'm not completely boring you. I try to mention things like almost cutting my finger off and my narrow escapes from internet dating predators just to make sure you're awake. Hell, I'll even further lower my standards and throw out something like a cat on a leash if it makes you think I'm some kind of blog surrealist or if it means you'll read a post about tomato and crab soup.
So, anyway, as I'm reformatting each individual entry from the last almost-three-years (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz), I'm being reminded of many embarrassing rants and some pretty crappy photography (this blog did pre-date Instagram--you can see a few pics of my live feed at the bottom of this post-- and Hipstamatic, after all). But there has also been a silver lining: there are many appetizer, salad and dessert recipes that I failed to document along the way that now can be posted. I'm also formatting a page with full menu suggestions that may prove helpful for you, and it should be up in the next week or so. If, of course, I don't have an aneurism while I continue to re-visit these old, obnoxious posts.
So the first old recipe that will be new to you is an arugula salad with grilled avocado and peaches, topped with a red pepper, red wine and vanilla vinaigrette. It's an acidic and refreshing summer salad that takes full advantage of a grill or grill plate and of the stone fruits that are starting to pop up in the farmer's markets right now. I served this last summer when my gay boyfriend was visiting from China after his first year of teaching there. Since he just finished his second trip back here, I thought it a fitting (and delicious) summer tribute to him. I hope you'll give it a try!
Avocado Salad with Peaches
4-6 servings
recipe by
Bon Appetit, August 2011
ingredients
1/2 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 almost-ripe avocados
8 cups arugula or sorrel
2 peaches, diced and peeled
preparation
Roast bell pepper. Peel and chop pepper; purée with red wine vinegar, vanilla, and sugar in a blender until smooth.
With machine running, gradually add olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Halve and pit avocados and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and place cut side sown on a medium-hot grill until nicely charred, about 5 minutes. Peel and thickly slice.
Toss with arugula or sorrel and peaches. Drizzle dressing over.
Thanks for pardoning my blog dust as I push this little toy train into its future. I appreciate it, really. I hope that you'll feel free to let me know if this new format provides better functionality for you, or not, and if you like it, or not. Comments are always appreciated (even mean ones, since I need more people to make voodoo dolls for-- like the chick who in the last few months has co-opted "soupapAlooza" and managed to totally screw up my google ranking. She's totally on my shitlist).
Until the next time...soup on!
xo