Playing the catch up game...

Gus loves his new backyard, but there has been one problem lately... it has been too hot to romp around and enjoy it! He gets some time early in the morning and late at night, but I think he misses his mid-afternoon run around. There is talk of cooler weather starting to work its way in, which I hope comes forth, as does Gus! Here's a snap of our happy pup just before he started chasing after a squirrel that dared enter "his" play area!

I really need to try and get caught up on recipes we've already made, otherwise I'm never going to get them posted... so, here's my way! A few pictures, recipe links and short blurbs will have to suffice - if you have questions about any of these dishes, please don't hesitate to ask!

Here's a salad we made a few weeks ago, during one of the (very) short cooler stretches of weather we've had over the summer. Crunchy homemade sourdough croutons, fresh peppery arugula, raisins, rich toasted pine nuts and a hearty amount of cooked shredded chicken were all tossed together, then dressed with a roasted lemon and garlic vinaigrette.

We thought this was a brilliant way to prepare and serve salad, especially the way you are directed to coat most of the ingredients with the dressing, toss them briefly into the oven to warm through, then jumble them together with the bright greens before being drizzled with the rest of the tangy vinaigrette.

Warm Sourdough Bread Salad with Chicken and Pine Nuts

When carrots were abundant at the farmers' market, we were drawn to a certain busy vendor that had baskets overflowing with the most beautiful bounty of tri-colored bunched carrots all lined up, practically calling every person's name as they walked by.

We didn't resist, along with everyone else, and ended up coming home with two large bundles. These simple roasted carrots are not only visually stunning and fun, but the addition of intense cumin seeds was a bit unexpected and definitely tasty.

Caramelized Cumin-Roasted Carrots

Speaking of salads, we also had this potato salad recently that Jeff was crazy about, mainly because he has been fascinated with goat cheese lately. Instead of using a mayo-based sauce, the warm potatoes are first tossed with a light extra-virgin olive oil vinaigrette, followed by an avalanche of tangy crumbled goat cheese. The heat from the potatoes melts the cheese, creating a creamy dressing that coats the salad well. With plenty of soft textures about, to give some contrast to the tender potatoes, a finely chopped stalk of celery and a small shallot were stirred in at the end, lending a pleasant textural crunch.

Warm Potato Salad with Goat Cheese