Friday 31 August 2012

Refreshments Are Now Being Served

For the better part of August, we've had summery days with temperatures reaching up to 37 Celsius (that's about 98-99F), and like most people, I didn't feel like having a cooked meal at all.
Instead, I had something very refreshing:
Cucumber and tomatos cut into slices, and with goat cheese on the cucumber and fresh basil leaves from my window sill on the tomatos. A sprinkle of salt and pepper, et voilà.
No, wait!
The other day, RJ and I went to a large Italian supermarket nearby, and among many other things, bought this bottle of crema di balsamico with white truffle. I sprinkled a bit of that on top of everything, and it turned a very simple and already delicious meal into a gourmet dish :-)

On a day when it wasn't quite so hot, I used some of the fresh produce from my parents' allotment for a cooked meal:
The tortellini are filled with three types of cheese and came from the same Italian supermarket as the crema di balsamico mentioned above. The zucchino, tomato and beans are of course from the allotment.
All combined, my lunch on that day was very nice - and I had enough left to eat more of it on the next day, this time adding some cream to it so that it wouldn't stick to the pan during reheating.

(By the way, I have now been able to upload these pictures without resizing them. Yesterday, when I posted the Fashion Calendar, I had to resize the picture before it would allow me to upload... blogger is rather moody, isn't it!)

14 comments:

  1. Hello Meike:
    These are exactly the kinds of meals which we enjoy during the hot days of summer. Good, fresh, quality ingredients which, combined, taste so very delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True! Today, it being the first day in months that I wore a coat when leaving the house, I had a proper, cooked meal at my Mum's, and it was very welcome.

      Delete
  2. This looks so delicious. I am enjoying tomatoes so much as I always do at this time of year when they are fresh and delicious. I have basil out on the deck and can pick leaves to go with the tomato and have fresh mozzarella with it. I am so lucky because a small farm is at the end of my road and they have a farm stand with fresh produce and fresh eggs. Around here this is also peach weather which is too wonderful. We had those 90 degree days in July, but it is mostly cooler now, although today is supposed to be 91. But it is quite overcast from hurricane Isaac. Perhaps it will not be so hot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, my parents grow plenty and very good tomatoes on their allotment; when I spent my lunch break at their place today, of course I didn't leave without taking a small bagful :-)
      Peaches are among my favourite fruit!
      I also love plums, and normally, this would be the time of the year for plums, but the tree at the allotment has not one single fruit - it was too cold and raining too much in spring when the flowers would have needed the bees.

      Delete
  3. Hi Meike, there's nothing more delicious than garden veggies, your favorite soft cheese and dressing for a hot summer evening! I like to use buffalo mozzarella when I make this meal!

    Have a lovely weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary, I often eat mozzarella with tomatoes and basil, too; RJ and I have that as our favourite starter, and sometimes as a meal before we go dancing (you don't to eat too much before hitting the dance floor). But it was also very nice with goat cheese.

      Delete
  4. Mmm. Now I'm hungry. I'm not a goat's cheese fan though so I'll either use Feta or cream cheese. (I know there can be goat's milk in feta but only about a third and most of the Feta - or feta substitute - we buy in England is all sheep's milk).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For years, I didn't really like goat cheese - or at least I thought I didn't. But then at some stage I started to eat it, and now I quite like it. The best I've had so far was in the Provence two years ago, at the bed & breakfast; the owner told us the cheese came from a farming cooperative for handicapped people who make their living by selling their produce.

      Delete
  5. Yum, I love a little tomato/basil/cheese combo! I have never tried it with cucumber, but that sounds like a great addition! Hope it cools down soon.

    Best,
    e

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's too cold already for my liking, Elizabeth :-(
      I needed my coat today when I went out for lunch, and later for my second job. But the forecast says we can expect 27 Celsius again by Tuesday :-)
      The cucumber gave this plate an extra bit of "freshness", it is the ideal summer food - 98% water!

      Delete
  6. I am suddenly very hungry! It looks delicious! This is all I need for dinner, I would be a very happy lady!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Linda! Good to see you, as always. Well, I do hope (and am quite sure of it) that you are a very happy lady no matter what you are having for dinner :-)

      Delete
  7. I'm starting my catch-up and whilst I may not comment on every post I can't let one with cheese in it go commentless. I would really enjoy these meals and although I love goats cheese (especially baked) I could eat most cheeses with your tomatoes and cucumber (except, possibly one particular cheese I bought in Bavaria (was it Limburger?) that stunk the car out despite all the wrapping and it rather put me off which was a shame because it tasted ok.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Graham, you really ARE serious about catching up, aren't you :-) Thank you for taking the time to read through what I have been posting while you were travelling, and commenting!
      Yes, Limburger (and some other kinds of cheese) can stink so much it truly puts one off of what otherwise is tasty and nice. I don't think I've bought any really smelly cheese in the last 10 years.

      Delete