Calamari

Seared Sea Scallops, Zucchini, Corn and Fresh Red Currants on a FoamyCream Sauce

Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Fresh Ricotta on a Light and Simple TomatoSauce

Summa-summa-summa-time. Summertime!

That Time of Year Again

The time during the Summer when clients get flowers in their salads...

Cold Organic Red Beet Soup with Floating Golden Beet Slices, SourCream, Cucumber, Egg and Dill

This soup is so easy to make.  Just peel and cut up a few beets, chop up an onion, peel one clove of garlic, and put it all together in a pot with vegetable stock and boil for around an hour.  When cooked, puree the soup (I love my immersion blender for this stuff).  Adjust the liquid, seasoning and add a tablespoon or two of red wine vinegar to give it some acid.  You may need to add a touch of sugar too. (This mainly helps the other flavors come out and to balance it)  Add sour cream to taste, but not too much.  It doesn't take a lot to make it creamy. Chill until very cold.

For garnishes I just sliced thinly a gold beet I had already cooked (this was really just for looks so you could easily skip it without changing the taste.)  Chopped cucumber, hard boiled egg and dill sprigs.  I kept the sour cream level in the soup very low so to preserve the super bright color and so that I could float more on the surface, but that's another step you can skip.  Serving the soup in a chilled dish is an extra nice touch.

Broiled Halibut with Basil and Heirloom Tomato Salsa and Steamed Haricot Vert with Shallot and Red Wine Vinaigrette