I find myself craving the simplest of meals during the summer. Many of them require three main components: bread, cheese and produce. The combination of ingredients is inspired by whatever I can find at the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays. This week I scored some fairy tale eggplant, watermelon and cantaloupe. But there are a few staples I find myself buying week after week: cherry tomatoes, peaches and basil. I go straight to my favorite vendors as soon as I arrive in the morning to make sure I get what I need. Then I immediately head home and throw together the most fresh, delicious lunch.

This idea for toast came together when I found myself staring down two large containers of ricotta cheese, which I had leftover from making this amazing ricotta ice cream for a cookbook club meeting. I was craving something savory and sweet, so I decided I would make both. Why choose when you don’t have to?

A few slices of this toast can be a meal in itself, but it’s also wonderful served alongside a big salad or as an appetizer while you wait for the main course to finish up on the grill. To kick it up a notch, top each toast with a balsamic reduction.

Farmers’ Market Ricotta Toasts

serves 4-6

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1/2 french or whole-grain baguette
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup basil, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 1 peach, cut into 12 slices

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Cut baguette into 12 thin slices, slicing at a slight diagonal. Place bread slices on a medium-sized cookie sheet. Pour 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a small bowl and brush over the tops of each bread slice. Place cookie sheet on the top rack of your oven and set it to broil. Watch the bread closely to make sure it doesn’t burn. Broil for 2 to 4 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove bread from oven and set aside.
2. While bread cools, gently stir together 1 Tbsp. olive oil, tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside to let the flavors marry.
3. In a separate small bowl, whisk together ricotta and remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Spread a generous amount of ricotta on top of each piece of bread. Top half of the toasts with the tomato mixture. With the remaining pieces of toast, place two slices of peach on top and sprinkle with the remaining fresh basil.

[/directions]

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I know I’ve been a bit MIA lately — summer somehow got crazy busy for us! Between weddings, road trips and family commitments our weekends are all packed. It’s so much fun, but it leaves me feeling a bit drained every Monday morning. So, I’m making it my mission to slow down a bit for the rest of the summer and soak up all the season has to offer. Here’s my bucket list for the rest of summer.

Swim In Lake Michigan

When James and I lived in northern Indiana, we spent many summer weekends driving across the Michigan border to visit the beaches at New Buffalo and St. Joseph. I’m so happy we have a lake in Bloomington, but it’s just not the same! We’re headed up to southwest Michigan next weekend and I plan to spend at least one afternoon at the beach. Michigan summers are magical.

Read More

I’m still working toward my goal of reading 20 books this year and I’m just a bit behind schedule. I just finished up Devil In The White City, which several friends recommended. The book was phenomenal, but it definitely took me longer to read than most books. I’m guessing it’s because it’s nonfiction and I’m typically a fiction reader. I just got The Marriage Lie from the library after reading a few good reviews and I’m hoping to get through it quickly. If you’ve stumbled across any good summer reads, I always love hearing recommendations!

Spend An Afternoon At Oliver

Oliver Winery is one of my favorite places in Bloomington. The grounds are beautiful, the wine is delicious and there’s nothing more relaxing than enjoying a picnic on a summer afternoon. I’ve made it out to the winery a couple of times this summer, but James hasn’t yet. Luckily, that gives me an excuse to go back!

Participate In An Organized Bike Ride

James and I are avid cyclists, but it’s been a long time since we’ve participated in an organized ride. I’ve been eyeing the Moonlight Loop ride in Columbus, which sounds like it would be a more leisurely outing. We aren’t as familiar with the annual rides in south-central Indiana as we are with those in the South Bend area, so if you’ve participated in one that you’ve enjoyed, let me know!

Host An End-of-Summer Party

We absolutely love entertaining and it’s been a few months since we’ve thrown a big gathering at our house. I’ve always wanted to do a craft beer bottle share, so we just need to pick a weekend and go for it! You can’t beat sitting around the fire pit at night while laughing and drinking with friends.

Attend An Outdoor Concert

Between Bloomington and Indy, there are so many outdoor concerts throughout the summer. It’s so fun to pack a giant blanket and some snacks and enjoy local music in the parks.

Visit The IMA’s Beer Garden

We already did this once this summer and had so much fun that I’m dying to go back again. The IMA’s beer garden is one of the most beautiful, serene places I’ve ever gotten a drink. And going back will give us a chance to check out some of the exhibits we missed last time!

Make Ice Cream

I was an ice cream making machine last summer, but I haven’t gotten around to making any this year. Luckily, the cookbook club I’m in selected Food52 Ice Cream And Friends as one of the books for this month, so I have some extra motivation to break out our ice cream maker.

What’s on your summer bucket list? Tell me by leaving a comment below!

The post Soaking Up Summer appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Summer is heaven for food lovers. The wide variety of in-season produce available makes meals this time of year simple and absolutely delicious. There are so many uniquely summer dishes I look forward to: grilled sweet corn, caprese salad, melon and prosciutto, rhubarb crisp — the list seems never-ending.

Among my favorite treats of the season are sweet cherries. They taste like candy and I take them everywhere with me in the summer. They’re the perfect, portable fruit for camping, boating, hiking, road trips and just about everything else you may have on your agenda. I haven’t cooked with them much because they’re so damn delicious on their own. But then this galette came to me in a dream. Yes, I’m serious.

Last summer I made a baked brie that I topped with cherries, brown sugar and rosemary. And it was ridiculously good. The funkiness of the brie and rosemary helped balance the sweetness of the cherries and sugar. I kept thinking I wanted to recreate the recipe in scone form, but I dreamt last week about making a galette with the same flavors. I’ve been salivating over the idea ever since.

Here’s what I love about galettes: they’re not supposed to be perfect. Which is a relief because pies can be so fussy. I love pie, but I definitely haven’t mastered the art of the perfect crust. Galettes are supposed to look rustic and thrown together and I’m definitely on board with that. If a little bit of your filling leaks or your folds aren’t uniform, don’t fret. Embrace this more laid back version of pie!

Galettes are one of my favorite desserts to make when we host people for dinner over the summer. I bake it ahead of time and bring it out on a cookie sheet with a few forks. We eat it right from the pan, often paired with a glass of wine, relishing in the season’s bounty.

Rosemary Sweet Cherry Galette With Whipped Honey Goat Cheese

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 pie crust, rolled out to 12 inches (I used this all-butter recipe from Salt Fat Acid Heat)
• 3 1/2 cups sweet cherries, pitted and halved
• 1/3 cup plus 1/2 Tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 Tbsp.)
• 2 tsp. fresh rosemary
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp. fresh rosemary
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbsp. half and half, divided
• 4 oz. goat cheese
• 2 Tbsp. honey

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine cherries and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Let mixture stand at room temperature for ten minutes. After cherry mixture is done resting, stir in lemon juice, salt and rosemary. Set aside.
3. Carefully place pie crust on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour cherry mixture into the middle of the crust, leaving about two inches of crust around the perimeter. Use your hands to gently shift the cherry mixture to ensure it’s evenly distributed.
4. Carefully fold the crust over the filling in large sections, allowing each fold to overlap.
5. Whisk together egg and 1 Tbsp. half and half to create an egg wash. Carefully brush the egg wash all over the top of the crust. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar all over the top of the galette.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cherry filling is bubbling. Allow galette to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.
7. While galette cools, make the goat cheese topping. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat goat cheese, honey and remaining 1 Tbsp. of half and half in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Top each piece of warm or room temperature galette with a dollop of whipped goat cheese.

[/directions]

The post Rosemary Sweet Cherry Galette With Whipped Honey Goat Cheese appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Every evening when I go outside to water our plants and garden, I close my eyes and take in the amazing, natural smells they all emit. While I’m a big fan of flowers, the potted herbs lining our back deck produce my favorite smells. My parents have always been gardeners, so the smell of fresh herbs has always signaled summer to me. It reminds me of running around the backyard as a kid looking for caterpillars on the dill plants and summers filled with my mom’s homemade pesto.

Fresh herbs help elevate everyday meals with their strong fragrances and flavors. I plant a wide variety of herbs in pots on our back porch every summer to use in everything from drinks to desserts. Basil and mint are the two I find myself using most often.

I wanted to throw together an easy dinner last night with what we had on hand, so I plucked some herbs from their pots and made this healthy meal come to life. I always cut chicken breasts in half because they’re so large they can easily be split. It’s very important to make sure you don’t marinate this chicken for more than one hour because there’s vinegar in the marinade, which will give the chicken an odd texture if it sits too long before cooking.

You can easily swap out other herbs you have on hand for the ones I use in this recipe. I served our chicken alongside kale I sautéed in a small amount of butter, but it would also taste great with my everyday salad. To make this meal a bit fancier, you can cut a slit in the middle of the chicken breasts and stuff them with goat cheese. Because everything’s better with cheese, right?

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 large chicken breasts, weighing about 1 lb. total
• 1/4 cup high-quality olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
• Salt

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Take each chicken breast and cut it in half vertically in order to get four, thinner chicken breasts. Season chicken generously with salt, place in a gallon-sized freezer bag and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, herbs and red pepper. Carefully pour marinade over the chicken in the plastic bag. Squeeze all of the air out of the plastic bag before sealing it and tossing the chicken to coat. Refrigerate chicken for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. About 15 minutes before your chicken is done marinating, preheat your grill over medium-high heat. Once it’s preheated, place chicken on grill and cook for three to four minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from grill and serve immediately. Season with more salt to suit your taste.

[/directions]

The post Herb Garden Grilled Chicken appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

We’ll check quite a few things off our summer bucket list over the next few days. We’re road tripping south with my family to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins for a week. They live in Arkansas and own an amazing houseboat business on Lake Ouachita. We’ll spend a few nights on the boat and almost all of our time on the water. After a crazy summer, it’s just what we need!

Here some other things I want to do before the summer’s over:

1. Take advantage of Tiki Tuesday. 

Every Tuesday during the summer the amazing bartenders at Cardinal Spirits serve up some impressive beach-themed drinks. Just sipping them makes you feel like you’re on vacation. We went to Tiki Tuesday a lot last summer, but somehow we haven’t made it once this year. That needs to change!

2. SUP at Lake Monroe.

I haven’t been standup paddle boarding in a while and I’m dying to rent a board for an afternoon out at Lake Monroe.

3. Attend Cork & Fork.

I’ve only made it out to Oliver Winery once this summer and I want to make a return trip to hear some live music during their Cork & Fork series. The event is actually at their Creekbend Vineyard in Ellettsville, which I’ve never visited.

4. Hike at McCormick’s Creek. 

I absolutely love McCormick’s Creek State Park. It’s a short drive from Bloomington and offers great hiking trails and camping. We rented a cabin there with some friends last summer and had a blast.

5. Go camping. 

I have no idea how we’ve gone so long without doing this, but we have to take advantage of all the amazing camping spots near us! In addition to McCormick’s Creek and Lake Monroe, we’re a short drive from the beautiful Brown County State Park.

6. Participate in Tour de Upland.

We’ve talked about signing up for this event ever since we moved to Bloomington but have always had other plans. This year we’re free! Tour de Upland is a weekend of cycling, beer and camping. Does it get much better? There are several different routes to choose from based on your cycling level. If we’re going up and down Brown County hills, I think we’ll go for one of the shorter rides!

7. Plan a picnic. 

We’re lucky enough to live within walking distance of several great city parks at our new place. I’d love to throw together an easy picnic and walk down to one of them for dinner one night. There’s something about eating outside that’s just so relaxing and enjoyable — at least when there isn’t 90 percent humidity.

8. Bike to the Scenic View.

The Scenic View is a great restaurant that overlooks Lake Monroe. I’ve been wanting to bike out there forever and a summer evening is the perfect time to do so. You can’t beat the view or the food!

9. See a drive-in movie. 

When I was a kid my parents would take us to a drive-in movie theater about 30 minutes away from my hometown and it’s an experience I still absolutely love. We have yet to go to the Starlite Drive-In in Bloomington, so I’m keeping my eyes on their schedule over the next few weeks.

10. Host a cookout. 

We don’t have a grill, which means we only cookout when we’re at a friend’s house or visiting my parents. But we’re not going to let that stop us! I think it would be a blast to get a group together at a local park that’s equipped with grills and throw an end-of-summer cookout. You can’t beat hot dogs and s’mores.

What’s on your summer bucket list? Chime in by posting a comment below!

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