Here we go folks, another Fabulous Farmer’s Market recipe! This is really fun and challenging. Stay with me because I still have two more meals to show you - still from out FIRST Farmer’s Market Adventure! This weekend my Dad and Stepmom are coming to visit and guess where we are going Saturday AM - you guessed it! I will try to get some better pictures of the market itself…this was the best I could find from our maiden voyage.

Anyway, I digress…

I am a die hard beet fan. I just love them. Maybe it is their beautiful color, maybe it is their sweet taste, maybe it is the fact that they just SCREAM health. Whatever it is, when I see good looking beets, I am all over them, I can’t resist.
My favorite way to prepare them, is to roast them. It just really brings out their sweetness – it is like making vegetable candy. I could eat em by the bowl full. But me, I love the entire beet, I love the sweet purple root and I also adore the bitter greens. Nothing goes to waste – just the root if it is still attached.

I got gorgeous beets at the Farmer’s Market. In fact this dish is the dish I made the night we went to the Farmer’s Market. I just could not wait to dig in! I paired the roasted beets with goat cheese and pine nuts and served it on a bed of baby greens and wilted beet greens. It doesn’t get fresher than this guys. We just loved this salad. We ate along side crusty country bread also purchased at the Farmer’s Market dipped in reserve Greek olive oil from Kalamata. It was heaven.

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I am so pleased to be able to end this fabulous event we have been doing for the last 2 weeks! Thank you so much to Gina for writing this amazing cookbook, to Shelley for organizing the event and to Sara, Ilva and Michelle for participating and putting your culinary genius to work! This has just been so much fun and I am so happy I was able to participate!

Now on to the final recipe.

Fresh bay leaf also known as laurel, has a long history in the cuisine and culture of the Mediterranean. Crowns of bay leaves were used by the ancient Romans to award heroes in battle and the winners of sporting contests. It is used so much in Mediterranean cuisine and adapted so well to the Mediterranean climate that many think it is native to that land although it originates in Asia.

I am very interested in the history of food and especially how culinary influences from other cultures can change the cuisine of another country through the trade and communication between the two places. Food is an amazing tool that brings people together, teaches about other cultures and places and warms the soul. Bay leaf is just one of those ingredients – you see it in the cooking all over the Mediterranean – from Greece to Italy to North Africa you can taste its influence and see how it traveled as trade increased between those continents and empires.

I had never thought of using bay leaf in a sweet dish, so when I saw this recipe in Gina’s cookbook: Dolce Italiano, for Vanilla Bean and Bay Leaf Custard, I knew I had to try it. It would be a new flavor combination and something different from what I was used to. These are the kinds of recipes I am always drawn to. Some people are chocoholics, I on the other hand am a “vanilla-o-holic”. I love all things custard and cream. So the fact that this was a custard recipe, just put me over the edge! Roberto got his Chocolate Salami, this one was all about me!

Now if you are new to this Dolce Italiano contest that is going on, here are the quick details. You can win a signed copy of Dolce Italiano, by visiting these blogs below and commenting on the posts about the Dolce Italiano Recipes. Since I am ending this event – what a great honor I might add, I will make it easy for you. Here is where you have to go and comment:

Sara – Ms. Adventures in Italy made:Mosaic Biscotti & Sicilian Pistachio Cookies

Ilva – Lucullian Delights made: Chocolate Kisses & Cassata alla Siciliana

Michelle – Bleeding Espresso made: Ricotta Pound Cake & Sweet Apple Omlette

Shelley – At Home in Rome made: Chestnut Brownies & Chocolate & Tangerine SemiFreddo

Jenn – The Lefotver Queen made: Chocolate Salami & Bay Leaf Vanilla Custards - See it right here!

Please visit these sites and comment on those entries listed above for your chance to win the signed cookbook!

On to the recipe:

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Roberto and I had a date at home this past week. We didn’t feel like going out, but it was date night, so we planned a nice dinner at home. You can create a wonderful atmosphere at home, especially during the summer when you can dine al fresco! When dining al fresco you usually want to eat something fresh as well!

I have really been craving summer tomato sauce. Not that wonderful hearty, deep slow-cooked for 3 days and it still takes a few days in the fridge until it is at its peak kind sauce, but a quick, light summer tomato sauce that is fresh rather than complex. This is what we prepared together for our romantic at home date. This is a marinara recipe that you will keep forever as it is simple and so easy to make; you barely even have to be in the kitchen with it until the very end. This is the ultimate Summer Marinara and it is also my entry for Ruth’s
Presto Pasta Nights over at Once Upon a Feast.

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Okay guys, this is the second to last installment of my recipes for my Mediterranean Medley class, which will be held this Thurday night! What a way to kick off summer, eh? But do not fear, I have been signed on to teach 3 more classes - 2 in July and 1 already in August, with more to come. So I will be posting some of those recipes as I go along.

This is the recipe for my version of stuffed grape leaves. I think this is the 2nd recipe that I ever created myself. Almost every country in the Mediterranean (minus Italy, Spain, France and Portugal - I think, correct me if I am wrong) have their own version of stuffed grape leaves. Some are served hot, some cold. Some are meat, some vegetarian. Some contain sweet elements like raisins or currants, some are mostly savory. So I created my own version based on what I enjoyed about the various kinds I had tried over the years. These grape leaves have had many incarnations, but this has been my tried and true version of them for the past several years. They are fresh and full of crunch! Some of you purists who are used to mushy grape leaves may not approve, but I trust if you try them, you may change your mind! I served them with Fattoush Salad and Baklava Ice Cream Bites recipes for which I will be posting very soon! Enjoy!

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