My Madison Bistro

As a kid, my favorite part of summer was playing outside. Well, and of course the long break from school.

As an adult, my favorite part of summer is the abundance of fresh produce. Memories of washing off a carrot just pulled from the garden, and munching on it with the greens attached just like Bugs Bunny. Or going strawberry picking with my mom and worrying that they really were going to weigh me before and after, to charge us for all the berries I ate while picking (can you tell it was a lot?). Large green salads served alongside grilled steaks. Or simply the rainbow of color in a fresh fruit salad.

Continue reading “Peach Raspberry Crisp”

Tags: peaches, raspberries

For me, pasta is more of a delivery vehicle for a favorite sauce, rather than an excitement unto itself. Sure, there are gourmet flavored pastas, which I do enjoy from time to time, but for the most part, I don’t find pasta all that interesting.

A few years back, I discovered spaghetti squash and realized it was an excellent substitute for spaghetti when served with a tomato-meat sauce. I liked the texture, I liked the flavor, and I found it tasted better than noodles. What I didn’t like was the hassle of cooking it, cutting it, and scraping out the strands.

So when I discovered an inexpensive little kitchen gadget that would allow me to turn many vegetables into spirals, I had to get it. I used it for the first time mere days after it arrived, to turn zucchini into curly “pasta”. I tossed the zucchini with some store-bought sauce and served it alongside an easy chicken parmesan.

Continue reading “Zucchini Pasta”

Tags: Vegetables, zucchini

One of the reasons I joined a CSA is to try new things. And though I’d passed chard in the grocery store many times, and appreciated the colorful stalks, I never really knew what to do with it, so I passed it up. Well, there was a bunch of brightly colored chard in this week’s produce box, along with a recipe for chard tacos.

Anytime I’m confronted with new produce, out of curiosity I head over to the World’s Healthiest Foods website to see how it measures up. After reading about chard, I think it’s become a regular player in my diet. Am I shocked it’s so good for us? Well, no. Leafy green vegetables of any kind have a pretty darn good reputation, but I had no idea this one was so instrumental in helping to regulate blood sugar levels. Further, it’s second only to spinach among the healthiest vegetables! For a complete nutritional analysis, please visit this link.

All week I’ve struggled with eating meat (this happens to me now and again), so a vegetarian option for tacos sounded pretty nice to me. But I confess, I did have my doubts as to what these tacos would actually taste like. And you know what? I was more than pleasantly suprised.

If you’re looking for a nice, summery meal that your bank account will thank you for, give these a try.
Continue reading “Chard Tacos”

Tags: chard, Cheese, garlic, Mexican Food, Onions, tacos, Vegetables

After taking an unplanned vacation from baking when my oven died, I quickly got over my withdrawal when my new oven was delivered. You already saw the first baked good to emerge from the new oven when I made these chocolate shortcakes. That wasn’t enough, so then I made a super-secret dessert (super-secret because I haven’t shared it with you yet…in due time), which quickly succumbed to the warm temperature and humidity.

It was enough. I had my fix.

Or so I thought.

Continue reading “Cookies for the 4th of July”

Tags: cookies, royal icing