Summer Perfection

What is summer perfection? For food it is those exceptionally delicious items that can only found (or found decent) when it is so sunny and warm. Namely, tomatoes, corn, watermelon and peaches. There are more, but that is my list. I love seasonal things, they are so much more special than food that can be found any old day of the year (this is why I only make ginger snaps in the fall, even though I technically could make them any time, but more on that in October). I will admit the corn that I have had so far this year has been fairly disappointing, but the other three have more than made up for it. Especially the tomatoes, the wonderful, juicy tasty, perfect tomatoes, and I am growing them, which makes it even more satisfying. For this recipe I used a combination of some from my garden and some wonderful colorful heirloom tomatoes from the store. The resulting concoction was absolutely amazing, summer in a bite. I am not sure exactly how to classify or call it, but here it is...


Warm Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad:
1 Tbsp of olive oil (I used a Chipotle infused olive oil)
6-8 oz of your favorite French or Italian bread (something hearty will do best)
1 1/2 lbs of delicious tomatoes (I used a mix from my garden and heirlooms from the store)
1 medium shallot
2 oz of soft goat cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread into large bite size chunks. Heat the oil in a large pan and toss in bread to toast lightly and coat with oil. Chop tomatoes into roughly the same size pieces as the bread. Dice the shallot. Add shallot and tomatoes to the pan and toss to combine. Crumble in goat cheese and toss to combine, pour everything into a glass bake dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes are bubbling. Serve and enjoy.

I served these wonderful tomatoes along with an Chipotle marinated pork tenderloin (although the tomatoes stole the show, the pork was also delicious, and spicy) and some corn on the cob.


Chipotle Pork Tenderloin:
1 small can chipotles in adobo
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt, pepper
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl to taste. Put pork in a plastic freezer bag and coat with marinade. Let marinate at least an hour and up to overnight. Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes then 400 for about 10 minutes, or until pork is cooked to desired level. Serve and enjoy.

Happy Eating.