Finally a Good Turkey Burger

For those of us, who don’t eat beef or are trying to cut back, a good turkey burger is the holy grail. A burger made from ground turkey seems like a good idea, in theory. In practice, though, it is often quite similar to eating a flavorless hockey puck.
The problem with most turkey burgers is [...]

What’s Cooking in August

What’s cooking in August? Tomatoes! Also zucchini, peppers, basil and blueberries, but mostly tomatoes.

We have been eating tomatoes with pretty much every meal. Having such wonderful ripe, juicy tomatoes on hand sure makes lunch easy. Think of all the sandwich possibilities. Classic BLT, of course. Tomato, avocado and basil. Plain tomato with homemade mayonnaise. Open-faced [...]

Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes

Just as there are five basic plots in literature*, I believe there are five basic pasta sauces. They are garlic and oil, butter, white sauce, vegetable sauce and tomato sauce. But for each of these sauces, there are endless variations. Once you know how to make these five recipes — and they are all very [...]

For Lunch, Snacks, Parties: Mozzarella-Tomato-Pesto Toasts

Mozzarella-Tomato Toasts, originally uploaded by shannon_turlington.
Don’t these mozzarella-tomato-pesto toasts look like tiny pizzas? They are delicious and dead simple to make, plus another good way to use up pesto. As long as you have the requisite ingredients on hand, you can whip these up in no time.
But if you don’t have these ingredients, substitute widely. [...]

Would You Do This? Cherry Tomato Salad

Image by freakgirl via Flickr
The cherry tomatoes have been going gangbusters this year. We’ve gotten so many that I hardly know what to do with them all. I have been eating them every day and giving them away, and still there are more to use up.
Yesterday I wanted to make a quick and easy [...]

Garden Goodness: Mixed Sauteed Vegetables

When the garden starts really producing at the end of summer, you need to think of lots of ways to eat up all those lovely vegetables. You can’t go wrong with a mix of sauteed vegetables.
This versatile dish goes with so many things. Use it as a bed for grilled chicken, steak or fish, or [...]

What’s Cooking in August

Image via Wikipedia
We are officially in the dog days of summer. I don’t know about you, but around here, it’s been 90+ degrees, hot, sticky, with thunderstorms in the afternoons. The other day when I was walking the dog, I detected the lovely deep summer scent of wet dish towel in the air. This is [...]

Caprese Salad

Melon Caprese Salad, originally uploaded by shannon_turlington.
A classic insalata caprese hardly needs a recipe. Just layer tomato slices, fresh mozzarella slices and basil leaves, and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. For me, this simple Italian salad is one of the best ways to enjoy the goodness of summer.
But what about when the tomatoes aren’t [...]

Homemade Tomato Soup Just Like Mom Used to Make (With a Can Opener)

This is a very simple but very satisfying recipe for tomato soup that reminded me a lot of the Campbell’s tomato soup I used to eat as a kid — only better! A batch keeps for about a week in the fridge (I don’t recommend freezing), so this is a good soup to make on [...]

A Big Batch o’ Gazpacho

There’s no denying it. Despite the hotter-than-Hades August that seemed like it would never end, fall has arrived. The cool, crisp days with no humidity almost make you forget that we’re still in the midst of a record drought. Who needs rain when you have glorious blue sky and it’s 72 degrees out?
So why am [...]