Summer Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

Today’s recipe is to some extent similar to eggplant parmesan, but it’s assembled in single-portion little stacks. Much much much much simpler to make.
Layers of tender grilled eggplant, slices of charred tomato, melty mozzarella, sharp Parmesan cheese, fresh basil leaves...could it get any better?
Uh, that would be a “NO!”

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

If you’ve ever been to Maryland, you know eating crabs is a summer pastime: picnic tables covered with brown paper, silver buckets, buttered corn, french fries, cornbread, and the unmistakable scent of seafood.
In Maryland crab meat goes on everything: hamburgers, stuffed shrimps, stuffed mushrooms, soup, literally everything gets crab meat. But my absolute favorite thing made with crab meat are crab cakes.
When done right, crab cakes are just fabulous: the perfect blend of lump crabmeat, hardly any filler, and an amazing blend of seasoning. DELISH!

Easy Blackened Chicken

First off, let’s make things clear: Blackened chicken is NOT the result of burning your chicken, or cooking it too long, or from it sticking to the pan.
No, the blackened part of the chicken is the result of a mix of spices and herbs (paprika, salt, cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, white pepper and onion powder) that coats the chicken and when put to high heat, gives the chicken an outer char.
Usually the coated chicken is seared on a smoking hot skillet to create the blackened effect and then it finishes cooking in the oven.
But in an effort to simplify the cooking process, I skip the ‘smoking hot skillet’ part and instead cook the chicken under the broiler.
It gets a little less blackened but the taste and texture are there, believe me.

One-Pot Cheesy Beet Rice

After I posted the recipe for the One-Pot Creamy Garlic Zucchini Rice three weeks ago, Mark @JerseyStylePhotography asked me if I have ever tried making it with beets instead of zukes.

Since I’m not very fond of beets — despite a recipe for chocolate beet cake and one for beet juice on this blog — my answer was of course “No”.
I mean, why on earth would someone ruin a perfectly good recipe with beets?
What a crazy idea...

Avocado BLT Sandwich

What is your all time favorite sandwich? The one you think is the ultimate sammie?
For me it’s the BLT. Sorry, let me rephrase that, it's the avocado BLT.
It’s my feel-good sandwich and my guilty pleasure, especially after a very hectic work deadline or a grueling workout.
Bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado on toasted bread with a bit of mayo.
So simple, so very delicious.

Maple Peach Blueberry Crumble (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

This awesome Maple Peach Blueberry Crumble lived a full life of about 10 minutes before being devoured by me, sister, nephew, and niece, while sipping Blackberry Mint Iced Tea.
A perfect pairing if you ask me.
And you know what? Two kids unknowingly devouring a homemade gluten-free fruit crumble and loving it is mysteriously satisfying.
I honestly wasn’t trying to trick anyone but I found myself giggling from the kitchen and intentionally withholding the knowledge that this was healthish.

Tomato Confit Pasta with Olives and Capers

I am fairly certain that I wait all year for tomato season, you know, the same way I wait for the Giants to get back to the field or for Apple to release its latest gadget.
I don’t know why I get so excited about tomatoes. It’s in my DNA, and I’ve learned to accept it.
I eat them on eggs, in frittatas, cooked and raw in every possible format and seriously, don’t even try to bring me a sandwich without a thin slice of tomato in it. Sister did it once and let’s just say, it didn’t go very well.

Simple Maple Vanilla Roasted Plums

Okay people, this is barely a recipe.
It’s more a suggestion of how to best celebrate the incredibly sweet plums.
Since I was a kid I loved plums. Red plums, black plums, yellow plums, and even green plums.
When ripe, plums are wonderfully sweet with a rich, complex flavor. They are a convincing argument that fruit is the best candy there is.
So sweet, so juicy, so tender.

Blackberry Mint Iced Green Tea

At this point you are well aware that I love making my own iced teas and adding different combinations of fruit and fresh herbs.
So far I’ve made Rosemary-Peach, Raspberry Mint, Ginger Mint, and even a Lemon Sparkling Iced Tea.
And today I present you with some awesome, super refreshing Blackberry Mint Iced Green Tea.
Because the heat wave we’re currently experiencing in my neck of the woods is a double-whammy (with high heat and high humidity) and one of the most effective ways to cool off is to sit in the cool shade and drink a tall glass of iced tea.
Or at least that’s what I like to do!

Fudgy No-Bake Brownies

So far, the summer has been cruel: Hot, humid, and sticky just about every single day, and more often than not a combination of all three.
So you should take me seriously when I say that the heat is getting to me and that I have zero desire to cook anything that involves turning on the oven for more than 5 minutes.
Besides, why would you even need to cook for longer than 5 minutes in the dead heat of the summer? The farmers’ markets are overflowing with produce that require minimal (or zero) heat to make it tasty: Tomatoes, zucchini, and glorious stone fruit.