After last summer’s successful experiment with Squash Blossom Pesto, I have been thinking all winter of other ways to use the lovely summer blooms, and soup is the perfect choice. This lovely, bright, sunny soup is very simple – I experimented with more complicated versions, using garlic and herbs and other ingredients, but I find too many elements mask the fresh, lightly … [Read more...] about Squash Blossom Bisque
Soup and Salads
Coronation Chicken Salad
This weekend, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee – sixty years on the throne. When she was crowned (she became Queen when her father died in 1952, but the coronation was June 5, 1953), Britain was still recovering from the wartime devastation, and rationing was still in effect for many foods. But it was, of course, necessary to create and elegant meal to serve … [Read more...] about Coronation Chicken Salad
Summertime Mint Dressing
If I could create my own personal fragrance, or have some sort of mechanism that made everywhere I go have a certain happy, peaceful scent, the primary element would be fresh garden mint. It smells like summer to me. And sweet tea. And the South. And all good things. I suppose the variety is technically spearmint, but I think of it as Southern mint. I have always grown … [Read more...] about Summertime Mint Dressing
Meyer Lemon Chiffon Dip for Spring Vegetables
Simple, delicious spring vegetables really just need the simplest of bright accompaniments, and this dip really hits the bill. It is tangy with lemon and perfectly creamy and even has a sunshine-y yellow hue. I love this at room temperature as a dip for lightly steamed asparagus spears or artichoke leaves. Put it can also be spooned over as a sauce. And its uses go far … [Read more...] about Meyer Lemon Chiffon Dip for Spring Vegetables
Sweet Potato and Apple Soup
It is that time of year. I really need a big bowl of sunshine. Fresh, local produce is between growth spurts, and I am generally a little tired of the dark, leafy greens that have dominated the farmers market for a while now. Though we’ve had surprisingly spring-like weather, it is that transitional time. Not still winter, but not yet spring. I’m working my way through the … [Read more...] about Sweet Potato and Apple Soup
