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A Life From Scratch.

A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Zucchini ribbon salad.

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IMG_9992I love when something so basic elevates something as simple as a summer salad to the next level.

Take zucchini ribbons. Because you’re so fancy.

So easy to make, simply slice with a vegetable peeler, rub with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and cook lightly on either side. I threw mine on a low grill pan to get the pretty char marks. 

Where you go from there is up to you. I wanted to show off the ribbons so to speak so I dressed everything up on a large white flat platter. My base was baby arugula because it’s so cute, then the oh so pretty ribbons, dried cherries, feta, and toasted pine nuts. Dressing I went with my go to house vinaigrette, heavy on the fresh basil. It’s the best dressing ever, by the way.

Look at the end result! LOVE. It was delicious. And hey, do you really need anything else for dinner? I could eat the whole platter myself. Yet we had company and the salad could only stretch so far so I paired it with our best ever grilled chicken and Ina’s perfect one pot potatoes, (a staple in our home). An oh so lovely meal which paired perfectly with our oh so lovely company.

Summer isn’t ending, right? Right?!? Hold me. I’m not ready.

 

Salad à la LG.

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And no… that’s not salad a la Logan Glantz.

One last Lake Geneva inspired post, I promise. Trust me, it’s well worth it.

On Saturday night we headed on over to beautiful Pier 290 for dinner with my parents and sister, Allie. It’s a lovely spot right on the water with white sandy beaches for the kids to play in while the adults sip on cocktails. Everyone is happy.

My dad made the smartest order of the night, at least to me. A large and leafy salad dressed up in a tangy dressing and topped with soft goat cheese all wrapped up in fresh summer herbs. Killer. And oh so chic. I was so inspired, I recreated the dish Sunday night for dinner with our super cute friends. It was a major hit all around.

What are you waiting for? Impress some friends – or yourself – today!

Herb Wrapped Goat Cheese Salad

Let’s keep this one summer casual. Grab some fresh herbs – I used chives, basil, and parsley. Finely chop about 2 TBS or so of each and make a little pile. Grab some goat cheese and gently roll into the herbs pressing down so they stick on nicely.

Time to grab some lettuce. I loved the look of the big leafy greens from boston bibb and red lettuce. Wash up and get in a bowl. Toss gently with this dressing and top with the herbed goat cheese.

*Before serving, I sliced up the goat cheese log so that everyone got a nice large chunk.

C
P.S. Thanks to Jeff, Jenny, and Colston for a great night in Lake Geneva. Your home is so beautiful and I’m so glad the kids finally all got to play!

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Just press pause.

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Anyone else have the feeling of summer slipping away from them? The endless array of bbqs and birthdays and travels and events and sun, while fun, is zipping by you so quickly that you can barely take a moment to enjoy them for what they are individually. Suddenly you have the urge to just sit down and yell ‘STOP.’

That’s where I’m at today. STOP.

Or at least can I just press pause?

It feels silly and quite trite to complain about having fun. I tend to get off kilter when I don’t log in enough home time and that time has been missing lately. Even though I’ve been home, I miss my home. It’s an odd feeling to explain. Like when I miss L even though he is right in front of me. He’s just not close enough and if I could crawl inside him I would.

So, that’s my goal for the next few days. Pause things a bit and get back to what makes summer summer. And I want to hold on so tight that I won’t forget, not even on January 19th. I want to catch a firefly and spend more time barefoot in the grass and wander through farmers markets to see what inspires me. Like a fresh summer salad tossed with grilled peaches and purple onions. And cornbread made with honey straight from our South Carolina trip.

I can’t explain the feeling of finally coming home in the 97 degree heat armed with ripe peaches and corn from the farm stand. I ran to put on as little clothing as deemed appropriate, got Jack Johnson’s ‘At or With Me’ (look it up) playing in the kitchen, and began to bake away. I was home and utterly happy. Tonight I will be doing nothing aside from sitting on the patio and enjoying all that summer has to offer me.

Including this:

Grilled Peaches & Purple Onion Summer Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 1 bag mixed greens
  2. 2 peaches, halved, and sliced into large chunks
  3. 1 purple onion, peeled, and sliced into large chunks
  4. handful of freshly crumbled goat cheese
  5. this vinaigrette: a-life-from-scratch.com/happiness-in-a-jar-a-summer-frog
Instructions
  1. Heat grill to medium heat.
  2. Brush the peaches and purple onions lightly with olive oil. Grill roughly 3 minutes per side. You are just looking for nice char marks on both sides.
  3. Toss the peaches and onions with the remaining ingredients.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

The honey corn bread was delicious and can be found here.

OK. Ready to press play, but, in a slower motion.
Courtney

Happiness in a jar + a summer frog.

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Meet your new summer staple. You need to have this in your fridge at all times this summer.

I feel like I’ve been searching my whole life for the perfect summer vinaigrette. And now that I’ve found it I can completely obsess about it. Here we go.

This will be a key ingredient to my summer cooking this year. It’s perfect tossed with mixed greens and grilled chicken or drizzled on top of grilled veggies or mixed with warm roasted yukon gold potatoes. It’s that versatile and more importantly that good. Tangy, sweet, and infused with fresh herbs. Gosh I’m happy. (And obsessive)

Take the 5 minutes to whisk this together on a muggy Sunday night and you’re good to go for the week. I promise you it will make a difference at 6:10 on an idle Thursday.

Happiness in a Jar Vinaigrette
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Ingredients
  1. - 1 heaping TBS dijon mustard
  2. - 4 TBS red wine vinegar
  3. - 1 tsp good honey
  4. - squeeze of 1 lemon
  5. - 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  6. - 1/2 tsp pepper
  7. - chopped up fresh herbs, whatever you have. I used basil and parsley. Chives or thyme are also good options.
  8. - 1/2 cup good olive oil
Instructions
  1. Whisk the above together and drizzle in the olive oil slowly. Chill in your favorite jar in the fridge. Shake vigorously before using.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Seriously, this rocks.
Courtney

First frog of the summer – so happy!

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