Simplicity is sometimes the best thing you can offer food. Truffling this and foaming that doesn’t guarantee a better meal (and can sometimes result in a seriously missed opportunity). But a few simple ingredients, along with a simple process and yield a simply delicious result.

Take this dish for instance. It started out in my head. I had all of these extra tomatoes to use and a plethora of basil in the garden. But rather than throw together a salad, I wanted something that could be used in many different ways – a more versatile dish. Now I have to admit, I think this was inspired by a dish I read about elsewhere but I cannot for the life of me remember where or what it was. I will update if I can figure it out.

Oh, and it’s not the prettiest of finished results (see below) but it is rather tasty. Beware though, if you don’t like the taste of tomatoes, you shouldn’t try this. The taste is complemented, but not overridden by the other flavors.

kosher salt, generous amount

Preheat the oven to 425.

Cook in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and stir well. Let sit for 10 minutes and sprinkle with sea salt just before serving.

Once you’ve picked hoards of the beautiful blue, sweet balls of wonder, what do you do with them? Besides cooking and eating, you can also freeze blueberries so that they can be enjoyed all year.

Frozen berries can be used the same as fresh berries once thawed. And it’s a super treat to have fantastic quality blueberries in the dead of winter.

1) Wash the blueberries and let them drain well. Get them as dry as you can.
2) Spread the blueberries in a single layer in a freezer safe container. Leave them their until they are completely frozen.
3) Transfer blueberries to a freezer bag, such as a Zip-loc or a FoodSaver. Remove air and place back in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Blueberries. Mmm. Fresh picked blueberries. Double mmm.

After picking blueberries yesterday, I knew I had to do something with them immediately for breakfast. So early this morning, I whipped up a batch of blueberry streusel muffins. I’ve made these tasty muffins before, but this time I amped up the flavor with a bit more blueberries and a touch more brown sugar in the streusel. It totally upped the yum factor of these muffins.

Making 12 muffins is a nice idea, but we won’t eat them all before they go stale or worse. I’m sure I am not the only one with this problem. So what I did, and I am trying to do more often, is to freeze a portion of the batch for some other time. Muffins make a great grab and go breakfast, so this will come in handy later. For the meantime, they are in a container, but if you have a limited amount of containers, once frozen, they could be transplanted to a Food Saverbag (and individually wrapped for added convenience.

Much to my surprise, these muffins only used a fraction of my pickings. There are a ton left for other uses. Yay!

A bit about blueberries:
Blueberries are loaded with antioxidants. But, in fact, antioxidants in blueberries vary. Wild blueberries contain more about 50 percent more antioxidants then cultivated blueberries, but both are tops among antioxidant sources. Wild blueberries are smaller and tangier. For this recipe, I used the cultivated ones we picked.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
yields 12 muffins

Streusel
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, firm

Muffin
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl, prepare the streusel topping. Sift in the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon and then stir to combine well. Next, use two knives crisscrossing to cut the butter into the dry mixture (a pastry blender could alternatively be used as well). Continue combining until mixture is crumbly. Set bowl aside.

In a large bowl, prepare the muffin batter. Whisk together the milk, oil and egg. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Batter should be moistened and will still be lumpy, but it’s supposed to be.

Stir in blueberries.

Use a tablespoon to drop batter into the 12 lined muffin cups, dividing equally. Top with about 1 tbsp of the streusel topping each.

Place the pan into the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack immediately.

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This post is for Weekend Herb Blogging (I know, no herbs in this one! But fruits and veggies count too.), a weekly event started by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. It’s being hosted this week by Melissa of Cooking Diva. Check that site for a roundup of great recipes on Monday.

The heat wave in New England has subsided. After day after day of intolerable heat, it was cool yesterday (while it rained) and warm today. Thank goodness. The stifling heat is just too much for this pregnant woman to take.

Fortunately, today also happened to be the day that Virtual Frolic and I had planned to go blueberry picking with Will. It wasn’t overwhelmingly hot. And while we did get quite toasty in the sun, we lasted about an hour before wanting to head back. Actually, the heat wave probably worked to our advantage in that respect – there were tons, and I mean TONS, of beautiful, big ripe blueberries on the bushes at Jones Family Farms in Shelton. It’s definitely a good time to go blueberry picking. Be aware that they are closed on Sundays and Mondays though. The season is also coming to a close soon, so call before you go to verify hours and that they are open.

Will had a blast from the time we arrived. (Did you notice that I color code his clothes to the fruit? Yea, it’s deliberate . . . he’s just a little boy after all and it saves us from unnecessary clothing changes due to fruit stains.) And, being the big two-year-old he is, he carried our basket for quite a bit. But there is nothing as cute as his squeal of “weee!” when we rode on the Berry Ferry out to the field and then back later. He ate quite a few berries and was kind enough to pick a few too. And, miracle of miracles, the ones he picked were mostly ripe.

VF and I have had a ton of fun doing the pick-your-own circuit this summer. Strawberry picking in June, blueberries in August . . . and maybe, just maybe, we’ll head off for peach and other fruit picking in the fall.

But for now, what to do with my 3+ pounds of blueberries . . .

Here’s a quick recap, if you haven’t been keeping up on my refrigerator issues: my not-quite three-year-old fridge went on the fritz over the week of July 4th when I was away. First it stopped freezing and then it stopped refrigerating. We lost more food than I realized, including batch after batch of my homemade experiments for Families Eat Together. I can’t tell you how much that sucks.

So after fighting with the store (who weren’t too helpful), the extended warranty contract company, etc, etc, it was fixed about a week later. Or so we thought (insert dark and dreary music here). A little more than a week after that, it broke again. The repair company came back and got it running. A little more than a week after that, kaput . . . again. Repair company comes back and finally admits that they can’t isolate the problem (which is a leak somewhere in the system) and it cannot be fixed. Contract co. says that if that’s the case then they will cut us a check for the fridge so we can get a new one.

That was two weeks ago. The contact co. has since said that they will do no such thing since no one’s found the actual problem yet. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve gone nearly a month with a touch and go situation with this fridge, and you want to tell me NO?!? Well, I reached my breaking point and decided that they can answer to the Better Business Bureau and the Department of Consumer Protection. This is just asinine.

So we bought a new refrigerator. Hopefully this one will last more than three years. Guess where we didn’t buy this one? There is no way that I am EVER shopping in that store again, after the co-owner was so rude when I asked for the loaner we’d been promised (if it ever broke) when we purchased it. Yes, yes, love the truth in sales.

In the meantime, I have a beautiful new fridge and a broken one in the basement that we hope will either be fixed (so we can eventually sell it with the house and take the new one) or we’ll be given a refund for.

Say hello to my new friend! It’s spacious, and lovely and shocker of shockers: stays cold. Aaahhhh, the simple things in life. I love the style and design (sorry about the lackluster picture, haven’t been home during the day to take a good one).

The best features? Room for full platters of food, a water dispenser INSIDE the fridge, and room for many, many gallons in the doors (leaving the shelves for more important items). I am so in love.

Now, back to cooking.

I know that it’s summertime and I should be cooking only with the freshest ingredients all the time. But the whole refrigerator debacle left me with a need for more sustainable cooking that used shelf-stable ingredients. Since I couldn’t keep much food in the house, whatever I made had to be a) from ingredients on hand, b) able to be eaten all at once or have the leftovers easily frozen and c) not waste anything. It’s a tall order for me during summer when I just love to use the just picked best. But sometimes, you have to make sacrifices. And though this method isn’t my first choice in summer preps, it certainly was a tasty and speedy pasta to toss together.

Now, if you aren’t suffering from kitchen problems, you could easily substitute a bit of fresh herbs and tomatoes for the canned tomatoes and dried herbs.

Pasta such as angel hair, for 4
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (the regular sized can, not the huge one)
1 jar artichoke hearts, drained (I think it’s about a 6.5 oz jar)
1 can sliced black olives, drained (the 2 1/4 oz can)
1 tsp dried Italian herbs (or 1 tbsp fresh – mix rosemary, oregano and basil)
1/2 tsp salt, plus some for finishing
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water to a boil. Take note of the time it takes to cook the pasta. If it’s a pasta that cooks in 3-4 minutes, then begin making the sauce now. If it’s a pasta that required 10 minutes or so of cooking time, then wait until the water boils to make the sauce. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain well.

Combine tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, Italian herbs and 1/2 tsp salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until just boiling. Stir frequently. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Toss together pasta, sauce and Parmesan cheese. Plate and sprinkle with sea salt just before serving.
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Other great pasta recipes from Cucina Bella

• Lighter Pasta Fresca – tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella
• Tomato Basil Marinara – roasted tomatoes and a hearty dose of basil
• Homemade Manicotti – fresh and delicious with lots of cheese
• Aglio e Olio – the classic combination of olive oil and garlic
• Kale and Red Pepper Sauce – the name speaks for itself
• Swiss Chard and Kielbasa Pasta – I love the salty richness of this one.

Yummy sounding pasta recipes on other people’s blogs

• Whole Wheat Linguine with Roasted Vegetables and Pesto Sauce at A Mingling of Tastes
• Penne Alla Vodka at Amanda’s Recipe Box
• Fresh Summer Pasta at Lick Your Own Bowl

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This post is for Presto Pasta Night, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast. It’s my third time participating in this fun weekly event, after a few weeks off.

Unfortunately, the transformation isn’t complete yet, but you can certainly get the idea . . .

Before:

After:

The backsplash will be installed later this week. And in the meantime, we still have to hook up the faucet and drain (which needs to be moved, eeek!). I love the way this granite pulls the room together (not sure the picture does it justice though.

There usually isn’t this much stuff concentrated on my counters, but the glue is still drying in places so it’s a work in progress.

As for the fridge . . . more on that tomorrow.

Remember the headaches I’ve been having with my three-year-old fridge? I found a solution. And have I ever told you why I don’t picture my kitchen often? (Hint: the countertop is … abysmal and a pain to keep unstained since it’s white and everything from beets to tea likes to try to leave behind a reminder . . . ) That too has been fixed.

Check back tonight for details (and photos).

When I was reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (in less than 24 hours) right after it came out, I had a hankering for a hot cocoa. Call me crazy, but despite the soaring temperatures and stifling humidity, curling up with a good book (oh my, was it ever good!) and a hot chocolate just screams relaxing reading to me (air conditioning helps too).

Let me harp on Harry Potter for a moment though . . . I love, love, love the book. In fact, I think Deathly Hallows is the best of them all. And in a few months, I will begin reading the series one more time – from start to finish. At least it won’t keep me up until all hours this time . . .

Anyway, back to the hot cocoa. My favorite method of making hot chocolate is to melt chocolate into milk. I love the richness that it creates . . . far superior to powdered mixes (though those have their place too). And I like using good chocolate – dark preferably. Sometimes a dash of peppermint extract is a nice touch too. This particular version is organic because by coincidence, I had a bar of Green & Black Organic 70% Dark Chocolate and a quart of organic skim milk on hand. (The whipped cream wasn’t organic though, I must confess.)

I definitely recommend making this whenever you want to curl up with a good book (or warm up on a cold day).

To make:

Combine 8 oz of organic skim milk with 1/2 bar organic chocolate and heat over medium until fully combined. Pour into a mug and let cool before serving. (You may want to add a little touch of sugar to sweeten it up, though I chose not to.)

Alright, it took me a little longer than I anticipated, but here it is – the recipe for sweet onions. Don’t be scared off by the lengthy cooking time – they are so worth it.

Sweet Onions

5 medium red onions
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

Peel and chop the onions. The book says to cut them in half, then quarter the halfs and then cut all the pieces once more horizontally. It’s an exacting method, but it does result in uniform cuts.

Now, place the onions into a large bowl and pour the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and pepper over. Mix together well.

Pour the mixture into an oven safe 10 inch skillet. You want them to be mounded in the pan. I wasn’t sure whether to pour the sauce in with the onions, so I cooked them for half the time with the onions strained and the other half of the time with the juice. Next time I will pour the mixture in its entirity for the entire time.

The onions will cook in the oven for a total of three hours (yes, 3 hours!). Remove them every half hour, pour back into the bowl and mix thoroughly.

When they are done, store them in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

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Possible uses:

• on grilled chicken
• over a baked potato
• in a simple relish with chopped roasted red peppers
• with the recipes in Simple Italian Sandwiches such as Prosciutto, Bell Paese and Sweet Onion Panini (page 35), Sweet Onion and Cacio Bruschetta (page 72), Cacciatorini, Sweet Onion and Tomato Tramezzini (page 96), etc