Farmer's Market Pizza ~ Food Unchained

I'm not a food snob when it comes to chain restaurants. I've had some lovely meals and experiences in chains and some of my best friends from my days "on the line" got their start as cooks in chain restaurants. So when the Foodie Stuntman (the writer behind Crazy Foodie Stunts) proposed a challenge to members of the Food Bloggers Network to recreate a chain restaurant meal at home I decided to tackle one of my favorite chain restaurant dishes: Uno's Farmer's Market Pizza.

The Uno's version is loaded with three cheeses and has a thick crust slick with olive oil. The vegetables are piled high and the flavors are heightened by all of that fat. If you learn one thing in culinary school it's that "fat carries flavor" and is one reason why this pizza is so tasty: it's swimming in fat (about three days worth for me - yipes!) I'm neither a nutritionist nor slim, but I am trying to limit my intake of fats and so for this Food Unchained post I made a reduced fat version of the Farmer's Market Pizza using a homemade crust, fresh vegetables and a limited amount of cheese.

Baking Deli Style Rye Bread with Thom ~ A Guest Post for The German Foodie

Ever since I made the Morel Brioche Thom has been asking to bake bread together. Now, I like fresh bread as much as the next person, but I admit I'm a little intimidated by yeast doughs. When I won The German Foodie's giveaway for the cookbook Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day however, it seemed like the universe, as well as Thom, were telling me to get over my fears and bake.

The German Foodie is a fantastic blog written with intelligence and great cooking savvy. As a German living in Ohio Sofie writes about her favorites from home as well as a few Americanized treats. I am in love with her Peach Sour Cream Pie. Seriously. Go look at it and tell me you're not drooling! While you're there check out Thom's and my adventures in bread baking... with the book that Sofie sent! Click here to get the recipe.

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies

Yup, you read that correctly: Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies. What's better than a salty-sweet chocolate chip cookie? One with bacon in it of course! And in summer to beat the heat? Slather it with maple ice cream and add cold and creamy to the heady mix of flavors and textures.

Now, I know some of you are cringing and gagging out, "why?!" but really, it's no weirder than chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon. Bacon lends itself beautifully to sweet foods and to maple in particular. So don't knock it til you try it and you should definitely try it!

Independence (from the oven) Day

Pinterest would have us believe that July 4th is the day when Americans gather together to clink their perfectly styled red, white and blue layered drinks in mason jars, munch on perky fruit tarts served on vintage china, complemented of course by impeccable patriotic crafts displayed on crisp white linen as it flutters ever so delicately in the breeze.

Over here in my little corner of life, I struggle to make sure the berries don't turn moldy immediately after washing them (seriously, am I the only one this happens to?); I'm leery of blue foods (and don't own any mason jars anyway); and crafts? Ha! I'd have to do the craft from inside the air conditioner to make sure the glue doesn't turn into a tacky mess in the heat. I do love vintage china, but since I live in a two room apartment what I have is in storage. No, I'm basically just looking forward to celebrating with Thom, since the last time he had the 4th off was 2009*.

In real life we make messy

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Tomatoes for #tomatolove

Did you hear? Did you know? July is #tomatolove month! After missing June's event I'm so happy to be back to co-hosting the Love Bloghop; a monthly bloghop centered around a specific ingredient or theme. With summer in full swing it's no wonder this month's ingredient is tomatoes.

Blueberry Lemon Teacake

When you live in a two room apartment encased in brick there aren't many reasons to have your oven compete with the AC in summer. This blueberry lemon teacake, however, is definitely one of the better reasons to initiate an appliance show-down. The lemon flavor is light, fresh, and bright. The blueberries retain their juiciness; bursting with each push of the fork and staining the dense crumb with purple flecks. It's a perfect cake to serve with a dollop of sweet whipped cream at the end of a summer meal on the patio.

Duck and Apricot Risotto with Mint ~ Final Round Integrale Risotto Gauntlet

Duck and apricot risotto with mint sounds like one of those, "wait, you put what with what?" kind of meals but in this case, it's just so crazy it works!

For the third and final round of the Marx Foods Integrale Risotto Gauntlet* I wanted to pull out all the stops and create a feast of a dish that encompassed the richness of the Integrale along with the fresh flavors of summer. Although duck is often considered a winter food it pairs beautifully with the apricot and mint for a seasonally appropriate offering. The richness is cut with a sweet and tart balsamic glaze and the seasoning is highlighted by a garnish of ricotta salata - a dry, salty form of ricotta cheese.

Zucchini Recipe Round-Up

Summer is upon us and we all know what that means - more zucchini that you can shake a stick at! In the CSA baskets, at the farmer's markets, at the grocery store - zucchini is everywhere. So much so that my friend Becky sent me a text last night saying, "Post some zucchini recipes on your blog, please! They're coming up in my garden and I need some new ideas!"

A few years ago before she moved away to Ohio Becky and I had made a friendly wager about when her boyfriend would propose - which I lost (but they are happily married!) - and therefore had to cook dinner for her and another friend. She chose my zucchini-cabbage-bean fritter as one of the dishes I made. I should have remembered she loved zucchini! So, I did what any self-respecting blogger would do when faced with a request from a friend. I rallied the troops! Here are some favorite zucchini recipes* from Food Bloggers Network members (in no particular order):