Sue Moran's Buttermilk Doughnut Bundt

Baking a good cake is always such a pleasure! I knew from the moment I saw Sue Moran's latest Bundt cake over on her blog, The View From Great Island that I would be making it for my little church's Sunday fellowship hour. So, that's just what I did this past Saturday.

Summer Vegetable Quiche

The other day, I made this homage to late summer. This quiche has all the usual suspects from a late summer garden - zucchini, green pepper, onion, tomato, basil and oregano. Before long, we'll be looking back at the days of full counters and wishing for that squash and all those tomatoes! This particular quiche went with me to my book group luncheon and joined a bountiful counter top buffet of soup and rolls, chicken Caesar salad, fruit crisp, and cookies. We DO eat well when we gather to chat up our books!

Red Lentils and Peppers

Late summer here and I'm beginning to have a hankering for soups, stews, and slurries, but the reality of all the garden produce that is stacked up on counters and chilling in the fridge cannot be ignored. So this evening super chilled cucumber fast pickle cools the palate between bites of this simple lentil/pepper slurry on a bed of caraway rice.

Quinoa and Spinach Salad with Almonds and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This very easy salad came together in the heat of that oppressive day we had this week ... the first really hot day of springtime here in New England. The recipe comes from a summer line-up of terrific side dishes posted at a food blog called COOKIE + kate.  You can follow Kate's recipe to the letter or do what I did. I used double the spinach, added lemon zest, and slivers of basil in my version.

It was a delicious way of using the first picking of our spinach greens and the basil that I topped out of my plants so that they'd fill out a bit and not bolt to blossoms and seeds. This salad was perfect sitting on the plate beside a pan-seared salmon filet. Add a glass of super chilled Sauvignon blanc and it was a super summery supper. Say THAT three times fast !

The recipe makes a large amount of quinoa mixture - enough for two hungry people to have the salad as a side dish and enough for bowls of the quinoa/tomato/almond mix the next day for easy lunch. An easy way to serve is to plate the amount of spinach you would like and add a serving of quinoa mix over top each serving. Save the rest of the fresh greens for leftover lunch or second servings.

An Easy Little Coffeecake and Comment on 'The Yankee Way'

Housekeeping - On Comments

Spamming bloggers is such a disrespectful tactic for attempting to get your message or advertisement, or scam attached to a blog address.  I have been inundated with 'Anonymous ' comments over the last year or so on The Spice Garden. I responded long ago by placing a policy statement that appears at the end of each post. It clearly says that I don't print comments made by folks who are unwilling to identify themselves.  This saves me from being the target of folks who want to sell, attach themselves to my followers, poke a virus into my posts, etc etc etc.

So, if you are one of my anonymous spammers, please re-think your tactics. And if you are someone poking around the food blogs and wish to make an honest point about something you've read in one of the posts, suck it up and enter your name and the required information in the comment form. I edit my 'comments awaiting moderation'. You stand a better chance of entering the conversation on the blog by identifying yourself. If you don't, your comments are relegated to the spam folder. Sorry, but that's my policy.

Now ... back to cooking and posting.

Cazuela Cauliflower with Tomatoes, Raisins, and Pinenuts

An easy vegetarian offering for dinner last evening - our Meatless Monday routine. I haven't used my cazuela in a good long time and when I thought about trying to get perfectly browned cauliflower slices, the large surface area of my cazuela came to mind. It's slow to heat up, but when it gets hot it holds the heat and browns anything perfectly without sticking. While the dish finished in the oven, I made steamed rice with lemon zest and parsley to have with ... easy and delish.

Chicken, Castelvetranos, and Capers

The week after Easter is always about the ham leftovers and the ham bone, and believe you me, SB and I have had our fair share of ham on Sunday and Monday. It's Tuesday now and we have need of a change on the plate! We departed the leftover menu and headed to Italy for a change of pace.