Visiting the Farmer's Markets

With the economy as it is now, more and more people are encouraging to by local products and services, rather than mass produced. Support your local businesses by heading out to your nearest farmer's market! It's a great activity on the weekends, and you're sure to find some of the freshest produce around!

I picked up some peaches, sugarplums, and blueberries at this farmer's market!

Barefoot Blogging: Bonus Recipe Scones!

I was so thrilled when Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef chose Ina’s Cranberry Orange Scones for this month's Barefoot Blogging Bonus Recipe Challenge. I know that my house is a huge fan of scones, so this was a great treat to share with my mom and grandmother for breakfast.

I wanted to change the recipe by substituting the dried cranberries for dried strawberries. I kept the orange zest in and WOW that gave such a wonderful flavor to these yummy scones!

My only issue was how sticky the dough was to work with. Living in Florida in June with a 300% humidity and 100 degree temperatures outside makes it hard to make these scones. I know I must have put the dough back in the fridge a few times to keep it cool.

I finally got them looking like real scones and the final result was a flaky pastry that had bursts of orange and sweet bites of strawberries. A great choice!

Barefoot Backtracking: Pesto, Peas, and Pasta!

Since I seemed to be lacking the ingredients for the Curried Cous Cous chosen by Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester, I decided to utilize the "Barefoot Backtracking" option and go for a recipe that I wasn't able to particapte in since I just joined in March! I scanned the past recipes page and I heard the "DING!" go off in my head when I saw the Pesto and Peas Pasta salad.

Being that I live in Florida, I enjoy going to the beach on my days off. I normally go with a group of friends, and we take turns making lunch. I made this recipe so that it can withstand being in a cooler all day at the beach or outside at a summer picnic. Since I was making this for an entree, I roasted some chicken in the oven Ina style, with rib-in chicken breasts. It really does give the chicken great flavor and keeps the moisture in!

Making this dish was very simple, and easy enough for kids to assist with! You can make it with the pasta of your choice. I went for the swirly noodles because they are so whimisical and fun to look at. Cook and drain the pasta and toss in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Set aside until cool.

I had some frozen peas stashed in the freezer, so I took them and boiled them in salted water for 2 minutes, and drained and shocked in an ice bath to retain the vivid green color. Put your cooled pasta and peas into a mixing bowl and add 5-6 tablespoons of prepared pesto (I find it in a jar in the refridgerated pasta section!), and about 1/2 cup of grated parmesean, and 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts. Toss until combined, add more pesto as needed! This would also be the time to add the chopped chicken breasts. Serve and enjoy!

Barefoot on a Budget: Bruschetta with Sautéed Sweet Pepper and Creamy Gorgonzola

So one of our newer challenges at Barefoot Bloggers is the "Barefoot on a Budget" challenge. We take a Barefoot Contessa recipe that has some ingredients that are on the more expensive side, and make them affordable to make.

This month's recipe was Bruschetta with Sautéed Sweet Pepper and Creamy Gorgonzola


I was working against the daylight so I didn't get a chance to make a step-by step post about it but it's a very easy appetizer!

For a shortcut I found a bag of grilled peppers in the frozen veggie section at Super Target. I sauteed them in a pan with a bit of olive oil and leftover roasted garlic. After about 7 minutes, I sprinkled in a teaspoon of sugar to help them caramelize them even more. I also added a teaspoon of drained capers and a sprinkle of chopped basil. Cook this for another 3-5 minutes.

While your peppers are cooking, now is the time to prep your bread. I just thinly sliced a baguette, brushed the slices with olive oil, and put them in the toaster oven for 2 minutes, or until light brown. Once the bread is done, top each slice with a bit of the peppers,and add a few sprinkles of crumbled Gorgonzola. Put this back in the toaster oven for another 1 or 2 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Enjoy!

French Chocolate Macarons

There's a reason why Paris is my favorite city in the world. Not for the famous artwork, the Eiffel Tower, or the Champs Elysee. It's because of the food. The wondrous food. Pastries especially. Last summer, as my friends and I were walking through the Jardin de Tuleries on our way to the Louvre, we noticed a pastry shoppe in the park. Its name was Paul. Just glancing in the glass window, my heart stopped and it was love at first sight. I saw a beautiful chocolate confection sitting there looking scrumptious and so tempting. Without thinking twice, I forked over my 4 Euros and they handed me my chocolate goodie. Well this goodie was a chocolate macaron.

Most Americans think of a macaroon as a coconut type cookie dipped in chocolate. French macarons are like a cookie that's crisp on the outside, and chewy on the inside. Many pastry shops in Paris are very well known for their Macarons, including Pierre Herme and Laduree. I believe that Laduree was responsible for making all of the delicious looking pastries in the Marie Antoinette movie!

One of my favorite food bloggers would have to be Tartlette. I could honestly spend hours looking at her perfection in baked goods. She is one of the people that have inspired me to take better food pictures and also inspired me to attempt to make these chocolate macaroons. The recipe I used is here and it made about a dozen filled macarons. Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

Barefoot Blogging: Lemon Cake

One of the bonus recipes for this month's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Lemon Cake chosen by McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen! I ended up making this, and since it made two loaves I kept one at home and left one at the house. It was gone within a day!

The cake was like a cross between a pound cake and a regular cake. Not heavy, but not light and fluffy. The lemon sugar glaze added just the right bit of tarty sweetness on top. This is a great one for summer picnics!

Barefoot Blogging: Seared Tuna Salad

Before you don't read this post because you think it's going to be about a regular ol' Tuna Salad, stay with me. Trust me, you'll need to check it out.

This is anything BUT a tuna salad you've ever had in your life. This is not a soggy pile of canned Bumblebee tuna with chopped celery that never fails to overpower it. This is a combination of flavors that does nothing but leave you wanting more after you've had your last bite.

Here's the printable recipe so you can follow along

Here's the ingredients you'll need..... it may look like a lot, but the sauce uses it all.

First up... the tuna. I'm a big fan of fresh tuna, not canned. It may be more expensive but trust me when I say that it's worth it. Seared tuna is like a great steak. It should be rare, and if you overcook it then it's awful.

Let's take a look at this steak and you'll see why you need to make sure you don't overcook it.

Please don't cook this well done. If you even think about it, I'll come and find you and may slap you.

You can sear your tuna as is, but I enjoying taking it to the next level and I like to crust it. It adds an extra crunch and fantastic flavor. I found this wonderful toasted sesame ginger crust at Whole Foods and I'll be using that. I just patted it down all over the tuna, like this

Go to your stove and get a sautee pan searing hot. And I mean HOT. Drizzle in a few tsp of olive oil so your tuna steak won't stick to it.

Add your tuna steak to your amazingly hot pan and cook for ONE MINUTE on each side. I also like to flip it on the sides and cook for about 20 seconds on each side. Take it off the stove and let it set.

While that's resting, let's turn to the dressing and veggies.

We're going to need the zest of a lime. Grab your handy microplane and get to work.

After you're done zesting, we need the juice of it!

*** for those following the recipe, I'm making a different dressing than what's listed!***

Add in 2 TBS of olive oil, 1 TBS of soy sauce, 5 dashes of Tabasco, 1/2 tsp of toasted Sesame oil, 1 tsp of salt and pepper. I found that to balance the tartness of the lime, that a little squeeze of honey balanced it out perfectly.

Whisk this until it is all combined.

I also wanted to kick up the flavor, so I was a naughty girl and added a few drops of Sriacha for an extra bite. Where would I be without Sriacha in my life?

Next up, slice up an avocado and cut it into chunks. Take 1 stalk of scallions and slice it very thin. Then take 1/4 of a red onion and chop it into very fine pieces. Toss this all in the dressing you've made.

Turning back to the tuna. I've cut a few slices just to present it, but then I chopped the rest into cubes.

Ah, yes. Perfection. This is my kind of Tuna Salad. For those that like sushi, it reminds me of a sushi roll minus the rice!