more summer love

You'd think, in my current state of "separation from employment", that I would be burning up this blog. Sorry, had to spend a few days feeling sorry for myself..
I guess the only good thing about all my free time is that I can go to Rock Hall, MD and visit my parents more often. I took the kids down this past weekend, and although I didn't eat any crabs, I did have corn and tomatoes.
I'm not kidding when I say that I wait all year for these few precious weeks when the PA, NJ, and MD produce comes in. I can eat tomatoes until my mouth aches. And corn, well, just yum. And, sorry, all you Jersey peeps, nobody grows better corn than they do out on the Eastern Shore. It is so sweet, you don't need butter or anything else. Hell, you don't even need to cook it..All the other garden stuff is beautiful now, too. As much as I love cooking and eating in all four seasons, I have to say that summer is my favorite. The colors and textures and flavors just explode. Plus, it's healthy, and low cal!
If you were coming over my house, or my restaurant, for dinner tonight, this is what I think I'd make:
The first thing we'd have is a salad of roasted baby beets, red and golden, with arugula. I'd add some crumbly goat cheese. For the dressing, I'd take a sweet onion, peel it and cut off one end, wrap it in foil with some olive oil, and roast it til it was just starting to get soft. I'd cool it, chop it up, and make a vinaigrette with olive oil, the chopped onion, sherry vinegar, a little sugar, salt and cracked black pepper. A couple of crostini for garnish (just slice a baguette, brush with oil and toast)  Well, actually, three crostini, because you never use even numbers in food presentation. Trust me.
Next: Sauteed softshell crabs, served over a salad of corn, tomato, cucumber, red onion and parsley sprigs. The corn kernals are cooked slightly, then cooled, and everything else is cut small and added. A little bit of oil and some red wine vinegar finish the day.  The crabs are dredged lightly in a cornmeal/flour mix and sauteed in vegetable oil. The whole shebang is garnished with a drizzle of basil oil, made by just blending together basil and olive oil, a garlic clove and a bit of lemon juice.
Still have room? Dessert: Greek yogurt, topped with peaches, blueberries and toasted almonds, drizzled with Acacia honey.
Wow, I wish that was really what I was making for dinner tonight!
Next time, we'll go down South America way, and cook some meat..
later..