Following Bloggers Out of the Box

Summer savory, summer sweet. I saw this on Stacey's blog of Stacey's Snacks and instantly coveted it. I was kicking myself for not thinking "outside the box."

I adore this - sweet, ripe, juices-dripping-down-the-sides-melon paired with salty, savory prosciutto. It's my "go-to," my "classic," my instant transportation to Italy. I never thought of it on skewers. I never thought about it as ka-bobs. As I hunker down into my theatre life, I am proposing: "What about 12th Night by Shakespeare set in the 1960's? A tale of a young girl building a bonfire to beckon the fairies to come to her and help cure her ailing mother?" What if? And while the "what-ifs" rattle my brain theatrically, they have closed off the food portion of my brain. Apparently my brain only permits me think outside the box on one subject at a time.

So, I turn to bloggers for inspiration, recipes and new journeys. Stacey had the grandest dressing - shallots and basil and please do visit her. Her melon-prosciutto- mozzarella/basil skewers are a string quartet of color and taste. A dance in the summer sun. Find the recipe here.

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Having been fortunate enough to have won a giveaway of Saporoso Balsamic Vinegar from Gera at Sweet Foods, I was like a little kid hopping around deciding how I should christen the bottle. The small cherry-tomato size mozzarella balls were rolled in a simple marinade of a touch of olive oil and a touch of my new Saporoso Balsamic with a whole bunch of basil cut into it. This special balsamic was so thickly rich, in deep-hued sweet-purple-red that just a few drops flavored eighteen mozzarella balls. Thank-you, Gera!

I could barely keep them on the plate long enough to photograph them. All right, Kirsten did give her prosciutto to Matthew (we sometimes do wonder where she came from) before she realized I had made her up her own skewers of melon and mozzarella balls without the prosciutto! (Ancient proverb: "do not waste prosciutto!") Gone in sixty seconds.
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And then there was this goat cheese tart from Ciao Chow Linda. Savory, tangy, creamy and offset with tender spring asparagus and sweet baby tomatoes. Her delectable recipe is here.

I browned it too much. I hurried, I rushed as is my design in the busy summer.

But in the end, no one cared. All was eaten. My mother and sister left with the recipe. I intend to do this again when the zucchini is in. And again in the fall with mushrooms....
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In these elfin days of exhaustion, I love going to blogs. I love not having to think of something new when I am dancing as fast as I can with my elves at work - mending, amending, editing and doing this aerobics thing I do when I direct children. (Or so my daughter says - methinks I embarrased her just a a tad in her elfin days).

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My worker-bee elves perform Friday. And then the elf life fades away to teen thespians and lesser-known stories from the Village of the Brothers Grimm. Who knows what cooking avenues will be unleashed when I come home from working with the teens? And if I remain in my box, I know there are bloggers who will drag me out. And between you and me, after Friday - I will miss the elves. All 33 of them.