Rosemary Croutons
Meanwhile I took the heal of an olive loaf I got at the market last weekend. It was old and dry so yesterday I put it in a plastic bag with a few drops of water to soften it. Today it was soft enough to work with, so I diced it. Meanwhile I sweated rosemary, herbes de provence, and finely-diced onion in butter. Heated some olive oil in a different pan (enough to cover the bread), added it to the onions, and then threw in the bread. Sprinkled salt over top. After cooking off the liquid, I put the mixture in the toaster oven for a toasty finish. Man those were good croutons. Unfortunately they were gone by the time I remembered to photograph them. This shot is the making of.
Tomato Vegetable SoupFor tonight's soup I used vegetable stock with ground herbes de provence, and threw in half an onion, some celery and the last of our bbq'd corn. After letting it combine over medium-low heat for a while, I added eighth'ed beefsteak tomatoes. We garnished with cilantro.
Some people ate the croutons in their soup, and some with the tomato salad. I used grape tomatoes, sliced diagonally in thirds. Tossed them with salt, truffle oil, white balsamic, and fresh-picked basil (one of my favourite summer flavours). Those tomatoes are so sweet that you'd swear someone added sugar. They went perfectly with the rosemary croutons.
I cooked our baby carrots in fresh-picked rosemary, which has loved this summer's dry heat. I sweated the rosemary along with some oregano and lavender (also just-picked) in butter, which was the only non-vegan part of the meal, then threw in the carrots for a slow steam.
Dessert was strawberries, just plain.
My daughter and I reflected as we ate. We're so grateful for the fresh goodness of our dinner, and so lucky to be living in a relatively stable and safe part of the world. Gratitude makes everything taste sweeter.
