Summer Wine, Summer Food and ThankYewVeryMuch

While recuperating from even relatively minor surgery is, by design, ridiculously boring, it’s necessary so that one can do stuff afterward. And because there’s a lot of stuff that I want to do, I’m following doctor’s orders to the “T.” Mostly.

These long hot summer days have spurred my creativity in the kitchen. I’ve been living on fruits and veggies and other summer foods almost exclusively. Because there’s such a (cheap) abundance, I’ve gotten a little creative with some of the foods, and searched for and made up some recipes to enjoy that are Vegas-heat friendly.

On Wednesday, for example, to celebrate the one week anniversary of my knee surgery, I braised a small brisket with caramelized onions, garlic, celery, allspice, carrots, and red wine. For my summer veggie dish, I made an amazing kale salad of fresh kale (of course), chopped white onion, parsley, diced fresh tomatoes, fresh lemon juice, EVOO, fresh pressed garlic, and toasted pine nuts. Thanks to Whole Foods for the recipe inspiration.  As an aside, when I pan toasted the pine nuts, I toasted them just a little too much which added a slight bacon-y flavor! Summer fresh and filling, the salad was the perfect accompaniment to the brisket and pasta dinner. Accompanying this meal was a generous glass of 2003 Parker Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Perfect for a summer evening.

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