blue and sunny in Philadelphia

Last night I made Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes and Kalamata Tapenade from VwaV, primarily because I knew it was useless to try hide the Kalamatas from Mister for very long.  I bought the oil-cured black olives to distract him, but I'm pretty sure it was only a temporary fix.  Imagine my surprise, then, when he came to visit me in the kitchen and when his eyes widened and his mouth formed an O, he reached past the olives and stole a cherry tomato.  Granted, I had already hidden all of the olives that I needed under a layer of parsley and garlic in the food processor...

In completely unrelated news, I've recently rediscovered how nicely those colors (deep green and dark purple) complement one another and bring out the blue in my eyes when worn as eye shadow.

Anyway, dinner was absolutely delicious, and there was just enough left for a work-lunch.  I was conservative in my helping, though, because I really wanted to leave a little room for these sweeties:

Sunny Blueberry-Corn Muffins, also from VwaV and sparked into the front of my mind by Dynise's recent attempts to use up her own surplus of perfectly plump, ripe blueberries.

I think these are the most attractive muffins I have ever made.  They are little and tart and a little crunchy from the cornmeal.  I think I'm blueberry-muffined out, but I still have my bookmark in Isa's recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake (New York-style, baby!) and they're only getting better (and closer!).

I had only two recipes left on my menu from which to choose tonight.  This actually resulted in a lot more thought than you would think necessary, but I have a bag of beluga lentils burning a hole in my cupboard, a few stalks of asparagus that desperately need to be used or thrown away in the next 24 hours...and I have mentioned before my reticence to waste food.  My mind started putting some pieces together when I saw the asparagus and then my eyes settled on the salsa also begging to be put to use before drifting back to my treasured lentils.  I thought of making tonight my improv night, but two things stopped me:

First, I wasn't quite ready to expend the mental energy necessary to put together an edible and fascinating recipe.  Tomorrow, most likely, so stay tuned!

Second, I want a date.  I want to try to convince Mister to take me out to dinner later this week.  It's as simple as that.

So I made Cajun Red Beans and Rice from The Accidental Vegan.  It's so tasty and very easy.  I supplemented the wimpy green pepper I had with a beautiful but beginning-to-shrivel yellow pepper, saving some to slice and add to our salads.

I used up more than half of what remained of the "spicy" mixed greens from the FarMar, topping them with sliced yellow bell pepper and quartered (and pitted) cherries.  I can't believe how wonderful those little cherries are and you can bet your bottom dollar Saturday morning will find me back in the Italian Market buying more.  I turned my fingertips a charming shade of crimson (my favorite color) while pitting and slicing them.

Coincidentally, my hair color (well, the part that isn't black) is called "Cherry Bomb."

Happy July! Let's bake!

It's safe to say that most people in the Northern Hemisphere anticipate sweating to be involved in welcoming July.  The only sweating in my house was the condensation on the water glass I left beside the oven while I baked last night.

Despite at least one week of 90+ degree days wishing June a fond farewell, July swept in quietly on the gentle breeze of a 60ish degree Midnight.  It was approximately then that Mister and I greeted the new month with Blueberry Ginger Spelt Muffins from Vegan Brunch.

If you live in Philadelphia, you may have recently observed that blueberries are taking over the world.  I might have mentioned in passing that I got a great deal on some blueberries last week when I was shopping: 2 lbs for $5.  That is a serious bargain when you consider that only one short month ago, you could pay $5 for a pint.  Blueberries are serious business when you live this close to New Jersey (so are tomatoes and corn, but those are more successful...a month from now).  I was so excited about the bargain I was getting, as well as enthralled by how perfectly ripe, sweet, and huge the berries are right now, it didn't even occur to me how much I would have to increase my blueberry consumption in order to eat my bounty before it spoiled.

Enter Baking With Blueberries.

I'm not the only one doing it, either - even though she must know, in her heart of hearts, that baking in July makes very little sense, Dynise was also bewildered by the blueberry monster and whipped up a batch of muffins from VwaV.  I had just about flipped a coin to decide which recipe to make, so I'll be following her lead as soon as I get my hands on a lemon and some more vanilla soygurt.