Bruschetta and a new kitchen
Just a quickie to let you know I'm still alive. We're in our new house! The kitchen is teeny, but the house is lovely and feels like a homey oasis in the midst of the sprawling city. The kitchen is small enough that it's going to be a challenge, though. Good thing I like challenges.
One of the best things about the new house is that it's back in our old neighborhood. My friend Judith brought over a loaf of homemade ciabatta bread yesterday.
This is the perfect snack to make in a not yet fully unpacked kitchen. I don't even have baking sheets...foil will do for toasting the bread slices under the broiler. Of course I do have my essential mini food processor set up, I practically carried it in my lap the whole way across the country. I mixed up a batch of pesto my favorite new way, just the basil, olive oil, garlic, lemon and salt.
I really like the bright green pesto with the pinkish-yellow heirloom tomatoes. Dice them and toss with a splash of olive oil and your favorite vinegar.
The bread was amazing, I will pry the recipe out of Judith and make it for you soon.
You've moved!! Back to the West coast! I've missed this... How far are you from Oregon? The wine country is really pretty. And the coastline is just so dramatic. I can't believe you've moved! Good luck with getting settled.
ReplyDeleteI could eat this for a whole meal! Forget about eveythig else! Your kitchen may be little but it is producing deliciousness for sure!
ReplyDeleteSue I must confess that I have been here every day but I have been so time challenged that I have not been leaving comments.
ReplyDeletePlease know I follow and love your blog!
Hostess
XO
this just screams summer to me. i make my pesto the same way. so glad you are in your own place again sue. it must feel good. xo janet
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you'll be making in your new kitchen! Good luck getting situated. What a nice friend to bring over bread! When we moved into our house, we had a neighbor bring us homemade cookies. I never forgot that.
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you that you can now begin to settle and enjoy your own new space. Love the color in this! Nothing like homemade bread and heirloom tomatoes. Thank you
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new house! And no worries, I work daily in a tiny kitchen - I know you'll make fabulous things! This bruschetta is completely mouthwatering :D
ReplyDeleteSarah---Thanks, it all happened kind of suddenly, and I'm just 'going with the flow'. Enjoy the rest of your Oregon adventure!
ReplyDeleteI imagine it must be nice to finally be settled again! For various reasons I have always ended up living in homes with tiny kitchens.. most of the time, I don't even think about it. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Cafe S.F.---I have a feeling I will be eating this for several meals to come, and anyway, a little wine makes almost anything into a meal as far as I'm concerned ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hostess---commenting can be so time consuming, I sometimes consider giving it up all together. I have to say, though, the blogging and the connections through comments has been a nice way for me to stay grounded during all the moving upheaval.
ReplyDeleteThanks Janet---the whole time I was in New England your posts made me nostalgic for the California lifestyle...I have to tell you, though, the thrift stores here don't hold a candle to the one's back east!
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephanie---I'm so frustrated to have to start from scratch restocking the kitchen. The only thing I did bring along with me was my spice collection---leaving that behind would have been like throwing money down the drain!
ReplyDeleteHey Heather---I thought of you as we passed through a tiny bit of Indiana! It's going to be a fun challenge to make the small space work. The best part will be playing with the new light.
ReplyDeletelinda---the color is what really inspired me to make it. I can already tell that I'll be photographing lots of heirloom tomatoes, I just love the way they're a complete surprise when you cut into them.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what you can do in a small kitchen. I have a very small kitchen and somehow it all works out. I have had Easter for 24 people and the only thing we can't do is hang around the kitchen. I love the look of those delicious tomatoes and pesto. Home made bread makes it all the better.
ReplyDeleteGerlinde---I've almost always lived in old homes and apartments, too, and older kitchens do have their charms, but counter space isn't one of them!
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your blog a few months ago and I come back regularly. Your recipes and your outlook on life are so refreshing. Congratulations on this new "chapter" and Happy Mothers Day to hardest working people on the planet: the chefs, chauffeurs, social workers, event planners, house cleaners, animal tenders, food shoppers, laundresses, librarians, therapists, personal shoppers, life coaches, soothers, teachers, sounding boards, worriers, comediennes, and all around exemplary role models known as mothers. It's an honor to be in the trenches with you -- and thanks for making the job a little easier with your humor and wisdom. Here's to you!
ReplyDeleteYum, you have an awesome way of dealing with a halfway unpacked tiny kitchen! I'd nosh on those all day. :)
ReplyDeleteLook at the beautiful colors in that food. Are you in California?
ReplyDeleteI can and sometimes do live on bruschetta. And this is the season of fresh. Every photo welcomes me.
ReplyDeleteah, heirloom tomatoes. even better, YELLOW heirloom tomatoes. supreme bruschetta, sue!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me that I need to make bruschetta very soon!
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed that you are making beautiful meals so quickly in your new kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll get used to it quickly, both my kitchens here and in France are tiny, and I now keep lots of baking tins/ lobster pots and store cupboard foods in the garage in both houses.
Wishing you much happiness in your new home, and how lovely that you have friends nearby. Jude x
Congratulations on the new house. You guys move fast! How interesting it would be to move back into a previously lived-in neighborhood. Built-in friends and everything. Can't wait to see what else you make in your new "little" kitchen.
ReplyDeleteA perfect, colorful, and delicious snack--and on homemade bread, no less. Lucky you! welcome back to the west coast.
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