Campanelle and Pesto Pasta Bowl

The other day, a Facebook friend posted a funny comment about this being zucchini season and that everyone should begin locking their cars ... yeah, it's zucchini season all right ! My counter is starting to become cluttered with zucchini and cucumbers. By next week, I'll be threatening SB with death if he brings any zucchini into the house that is larger than a  ... you know! Sorry, but THAT is the perfect size for cooking. What can I say?

Kale Pesto

Okay. You can turn your nose up, if you want to, but we had great pasta (and far too much of it!) last evening! This was the first time that I've made kale pesto ... and I used a recipe from Diana Henry's a change of appetite cook book. It's a 'healthy recipe', so it didn't have nuts of any sort in it. I think that when I make it again, I'll try it with walnuts and a bit more olive oil than the amount that she stipulates. This batch was really yummy ... and bright green. I used the full measure of kale and I subbed spinach leaves in instead of parsley. That worked just fine ... it needed generous salt and black pepper too.

So ... kale pesto over pasta ... next time I'm making it with Udon noodles and slivers of hot chili pepper.

Orzo Salad and Roasted Chicken Breasts in Garlic and Lemon

Oh, man! I love high summer ... it seems that the garden is giving up all sorts of good stuff. It's time for new broccoli and last night's dinner consisted of a warm orzo salad made with broccoli florets, pignoli, slivers of avocado, bits of shallots, and a dressing made with broccoli pesto, a touch of sour cream and lemon zest. A salad like this just cries out for a nicely roasted piece of chicken or grilled salmon or bluefish ... we opted for roasted peppery chicken breasts that were laying in a dozen pieces of roasted garlic cloves and big fat slices of lemon - luscious! Just imagine our plates rounded out with fat, juicy slices of tomatoes and cold, crispy cucumber spears ... Oh, man! I love high summer ... but you already knew that! Right?