Caprese Salad Bites

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to the summer. Yesterday we attended a holiday potluck party by the bay and these Caprese Salad Bites were easy to assemble at home and then consume in an outdoor setting.  Plus they were fresh and delicious and only add to our Italian food obsession. (I wonder what T and friends would think.)

There are several recipes on Pinterest for this appetizer; I found one here.  This recipe makes 24 bites. 
 
Ingredients: 
24 sugar plum tomatoes, cut in half
12 mini-mozzarella balls, sliced in half and patted dry
24 pieces of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
24 sword picks
a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar 

To assemble:
1. Salt and pepper the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. 

2. Place one piece of tomato, mozzarella, basil, and then another tomato on each sword.

3. Repeat Step 1, twenty-four times.

4. When ready to serve, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  

Buno appetito!

Salted Purple Cabbage

Here's a simple salted cabbage recipe you can add to your fish tacos or have as a side dish. Gwyneth Paltrow has a similar recipe with green cabbage in her cookbook - my father's daughter. 

You'll need:
1/4 small purple cabbage, shredded
juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt, to taste

Combine the three ingredients and chill for at least 20 minutes in the fridge.  The cabbage will wilt slightly, but will stay crunchy.

Note - This was enough cabbage for six fish tacos and we still had extra.   Two days later, we ate the leftover cabbage and it was still firm.

To Boston With Love Flags

On Saturday my Mom and I completed and mailed our flags for the To Boston With Love flag project.  Hundreds of quilters from around the world created flags to shower the Boston community with peace and love.  Thanks to the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild for organizing this amazing project, which will be displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from May 25th through July 7th.

Showering Boston with Love...

Heart - back side of the above flag

My Mom's flag - Patriotic Heart

Biscotti Dipped in Chocolate

M and I are watching "The Sopranos."  We are only on season 2, but we've had a hankering for all foods Italian lately - from sfogliatelle (pronounced shfooyadell - our new favorite Italian word and dessert) to cannoli to homemade biscotti dipped in chocolate for my Mom for Mother's Day. 

I found the biscotti recipe in The Sopranos Family Cookbook I checked out of the library. It was easy to follow and the anise cookies tasted and looked like mini store-bought biscotti.  They were a bit softer than your traditional biscotti and could be eaten without dunking in tea or coffee. I added milk chocolate for my Mom, but will dip them in dark chocolate - my favorite - next time. 

Then I packaged them in a Ziploc bag with scrapbook paper and ribbon - a gift wrapping idea I found on Pinterest. My Mom truly thought I bought them. 

Vrksasana Dot Art Postcard

In Honor of Arbor Day and my yogi friend, I created this Vrksasana - tree pose - postcard for our April postcard project.  I traced my vrksasana cookie cutter and painted the dots with Q-tips; the technique is similar to this heart.

Advice From A Tree

Stand tall and proud

Go out on a limb

Remember your roots

Drink plenty of water

Be content with your natural beauty

Enjoy the view

~Ilan Shamir