Recipe : summer baking under the redwoods {apricot crostata}

It's finally summer stone fruit season again! And sun ripened nectarines, apricots, peaches, plums, pluots and/or cherries make the best topping for a summer fruit crostata, my favorite impromptu dessert of late.

I discovered this quick & easy crust recipe last summer {via Elizabeth Minchilli } and it's become the baking staple around here ever since, especially while traveling - e.g. there was a sweet cherry ricotta crostata in Umbria and Indian Summer fig & plum crostate in Anderson Valley. This time we were at the Russian River with a basket of California grown apricots …

Recipe : Sicilian Orange Salad {Insalata di Arance}

orange salad with red onion, black olives & Italian parsley

Last week brought some unseasonably warm days to the West Coast and those sunny spring days along with the tail end of of citrus season were the inspiration for this bright and refreshing Sicilian Orange Salad.

Whipped up in no time, this salad makes for a flavor packed weekday lunch, but just as well as a slightly tart & savory side dish with grilled fish or meats {lamb chops especially!}. It's a classic recipe in the Sicilian and Spanish cuisine that really let's oranges shine in all their glory …

Recipe : fig crostata & plum crostata {straight from the tree}

fig crostata plum recipe

We only spent a few days in Anderson Valley, but an overbearing fig and Santa Rosa plum tree bursting with ripe fruit made for the perfect excuse to bake not one, but two Indian summer fruit tarts. The crust for both tarts was based on Elizabeth Minchilli's infallible shortcrust {no long kneading, no chilling, no rolling pin!}, a recipe that has become a dessert staple around our kitchen since the first cherry crostata earlier this summer - so here's to sharing it again ...

Recipe : Oven Roasted Plum Rosemary Jam

It was the peak of plum season in Anderson Valley last month and I don't think I have ever seen fruit trees laden with more ripe fruit: there were two plum trees in the fruit orchard {a yellow Mirabelle and a purple Santa Rosa variety} and each tree's branches were covered in heavy clusters of sweet plums. While picking a small basket for lunchtime plum crostata, ripe plums literally started raining down from the heavy branches - so, two full baskets later we decided to make jam with the sudden harvest bounty!

Recipe : Cherry Ricotta Crostata {made in Umbria}

... the taste of summer! An amazing house in Umbria, bowls of sweet local cherries and a travel companion who loves to bake - this is how we ended up baking three cakes in just one week, each variation {cherry/ricotta, apricot/apple & cherry/almond} based on the perfect crostata crust recipe by our gracious host Elizabeth Minchilli.

Recipe: Insalata Caprese alla Cathrin {mozzarella, fresh peaches and basil}

Recipe: Insalata Caprese Salad with peaches { mozzarella, fresh peaches and basil }

The credit for this easy & quick summer appetizer goes to my sister Cathrin in Hamburg :)
A fresh summer twist on the classic Insalata Caprese, she replaces the tomatoes with ripe yellow peaches - although nectarines, strawberries or even figs might make for other tempting combinations.

It's become one of my favorite summer appetizers, quick to prep - and just getting better when prepped ahead of time for an extra mingling of sweet and savory flavors.  

dinners with friends: an Italian mercato's produce bounty

the bounty.

san marzano tomotoes ... fennel ...radicchio ... piemonte figs ... apricots ... peaches ... pane siciliano  ... grissini ... veal chop ... prosciutto ... salumi ... parmigiano ... fontina ... olives ...vino bianco ... carpano antica

Recipe : Blood oranges and pomegranates with orange flower water

The perfect dessert to brighten a grey winter night: fragrant blood oranges and slightly sour pomegranate seeds get an extra flavor boost from a drizzle of orange blossom water ...