Grilled Peach and Roasted Tomato Bruschetta with Ricotta

Bread and cheese may possibly be the best combination of comfort food in all time. I never thought I would like fruit in my meals but I decided this summer that I would try grilled peaches with a cheese and baguette. I started with the bakery and picked up a round loaf of Tuscan rustic bread. Next I chose some peaches, tomatoes from my garden, along with some fresh oregano and parsley. Next, I decided on whole milk ricotta. I chose Maplebrook brand, made in Vermont. I have purchased a few of their other cheeses while at the Farmer's Market in Rutland, VT.

First, peaches or nectarines, both will work. Slice on the thinner side and toast or grill plain.

Turn oven or toaster oven on to 400 degrees for the tomato's or  put tomato's on aluminum foil and place on grill until soft. Add olive oil to saturate tomato's.

Next, drizzle olive oil on the sliced baguette and toast or grill until light or medium crispy.

Spread ricotta cheese onto baguette and arrange herbs on the cheese.

Peaches should grill or toast for about 5 to 8 minutes depending on thickness. When ready take off grill and arrange on top of cheese baguette and savor.

INGREDIENTS

Two peaches or nectarines
Half lb. tomato's
Olive oil
Whole milk ricotta cheese
Bread loaf or baguette or any type
Fresh herbs

Tri-Colored Israeli Couscous with Fennel and Roasted Tomatoes

I have always made dishes with small grain couscous until I recently had the opportunity to try Israeli couscous. Being that I have never cooked with fennel either, I decided I would mix up the two!

Couscous is very easy to make. Sometimes to add the flavor of the couscous or most grains, you can either toast the grain before cooking it or in this case, saute it in one tablespoon of olive oil.

Meanwhile, chop the tomato's and garlic cloves in preparation for roasting. Drizzle olive oil over the mix and add sea salt and ground pepper. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and when ready, roast for 15 minutes.

Fennel, cut all of the stalks off and save for a broth or other flavoring if you like. The bulb is the part you want to deal with. Cut off the very bottom and from here you can peel off the layers and then dice of sliver them. After 15 minutes of the tomato, garlic roast, add the fennel to the mix for another 15 minutes. Add olive oil if you think it doesn't look saturated.

After 30 minutes, remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and let cool. When ready, mix the couscous and mixture together.

Now comes the final touches. Drizzle some more olive oil over this until you see the kernels shine. This should be a small amount. Add some sea salt and pepper. Next, the most important ingredient, honey. Add two to three tablespoons of honey or enough that a spoonful tastes sweet.  Mix all together.

This dish can be served hot or cold. I prefer it cold and it it absolutely delish!

INGREDIENTS
One cup Israeli couscous
1/2 lb tomatoes, any kind
One fennel bulb
Four tbsp olive oil, separated
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp honey

Green Beans with Artichoke Olive Relish

I decided to throw together this side dish for a quick dinner for myself. I paired it with a salmon fillet. It was a matter of throwing together whatever I had available to use.

I started by chopping off the ends of the green beans, not all needed it but sometimes the ends just get in the way!

I then sauteed them in some olive oil, enough to coat all the strings and added salt and pepper. Sometimes I also like to add a sprinkle of chili powder for a little something wholesome tasting.

For the relish, I used kalamata olives and marinated jarred artichoke hearts. I normally like to mix plain artichoke hearts with marinated for the flavor that I feel I may never bring to them! The olives I use are pitted which makes for much easier dicing. I chopped and diced both the olives and artichokes.

With this, I added some garlic powder although some minced garlic would have been more appropriate. being that this relish already has such wonderful flavor, I simply added it to the saute pan to quickly heat it up.

Final product, deliciousness! You may want to add some feta cheese to top this side dish off. Although it doesn't need it, Cheese makes everything better.

INGREDIENTS

One jar pitted kalamata olives
One small jar marinated artichoke hearts
3/4 pounds of green beans or haricot verts
1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper
Garlic to taste
Dash of chili powder

Farmer's Market Delight

I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend down to the Union Square Farmer's Market in June. Put myself anywhere food is readily available and I am a like a kid in a candy store. I ended up with kale, a baguette and 2 different cheeses, one being a cheese called Nettlesome Gouda from the Valley Shepherd Creamery in Long Island.

http://njcheese.com/cheese/by-animal/item/nettlesome

When I got home, I rummaged through my refrigerator for some tomatoes, red onion, zucchini and an eggplant. I decided that roasting all of them would be best as I toasted the baguette slices with the nettle cheese on them.

I added some parsley and oregano from the garden. It made a wonderful dish for an appetizer or a lunch. Super tasty!