A big batch of beef piroshki so I have some in the freezer for months!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole from Homesick Texan. We have a softball tournament all weekend and need something we can just reheat for dinner when we come home exhausted! Also some brownies to keep us fueled at the tournament. :-)

Tonight we're having a dinner party and we're doing a taco bar! So excited to try this out. Most excited about the corn, tomato, black bean salsa that I'm making since the corn and tomatoes came from the farmers market.

Tomorrow we're making caprese salad with everything fresh from our garden (minus the cheese) along with some grilled chicken and for dessert will be fresh grilled peaches from the market. I love August!

I'm finally making sauce out of the seconds tomatoes I bought last Sunday... oops. But then it's going on top of some tortellini with basil. Yum!

I've also got plans to bake some pignoli cookies and do something with the nectarines I've failed to eat fresh.

salad salad and salad. Also some cold pad thai.

I have about 8 chinese eggplants hanging out on one plant at the moment. I think I'm going to take advantage of the bounty this weekend and make some green curry with eggplant and some ratatouille. Yum!

Broccoli Slaw w/ Miso Dressing, Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies, Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing, and Cold Sesame Noodles!

Raspberry and chocolate truffle ice cream, ham and cheese frittata, zucchini bread. And still thinking of something amazing for Sunday dinner. Probably something grilled...

We're getting geared up for a party next weekend. I've dubbed it a Champagne Jam: an excuse to serve a lot of cheap bubbly with an all-day brunch. There are a few things I can make ahead:
- bacon jam, tomato jam with smoked paprika, and my own recipe for onion-garlic jam.
- pita bread, biscuits, and pie crust for quiches (all of which I'll freeze to bake off before the party).
- simple syrup and fruit syrups for the mimosa bar.

For the past couple of nights, dinner has been pan-fried chickpeas (dredged in highly seasoned cornstarch and fried in just a splash of olive oil) tossed with oricchiette and broccoli. Delicious --- especially with a glass of Lambrusco left over from cooking!

And because I'm clearing space in our tiny freezer, I'll probably have dessert tonight: grapefruit granita with macerated blueberries.

This morning I made whole wheat zit with pesto, tomatoes, and zucchini (basil and tomatoes from my containers), gyros and tzatziki, and 2 loaves of zucchini bread. I think I may make a foccaccia tomorrow--just got bread on the brain these days.

This weekend is the end of the county fair for our family and I haven't cooked a single thing except water for iced tea. We ate pork chop sandwiches, ribeyes, one order of fried dill pickles (quite odd), and the kids had corn dogs and ice cream. At home we had fresh fruits, cheese, bread, peanut butter, cereal, and opened some of the jars of jam that they didn't enter in the fair. Oh, and someone took care of the fudge remnants of the candymaking entry.

Will be glad to get back to home food. I've got the makings for lasagne all ready to go.

I seem to be completely ignoring the idea of not turning on the oven or stove to keep the kitchen cool, then I regret it in the middle of cooking. At least I have a lot of food in my fridge -- I've made fried chicken, corn casserole, Asian pasta salad, blueberry pancakes, roasted sweet potatoes, oatmeal-craisin cookies, and a big garden salad so far this weekend. I currently have a whole chicken in the crockpot and I might make some chana masala for lunches for the week later.