Simple Summer Pleasures

Serves 1 to 100

As you may (or may not) have noticed, the blog has been on a bit of a vacation this summer, with the author being preoccupied with, among other things, a whole home energy upgrade, a ‘collateral damage’ reno of the master bedroom due to the former (working on paint and plaster as we speak), massive garage sale, and the usual summer guests & travel.  So I do apologize, dear readers, for the lack of posts.  But do not despair as food is always near the forefront of this gal’s brain, and I have been amassing photos and recipes for a deluge of posts now that things are settling down somewhat... (except for the start of The Grape Harvest, the plethora of which will undoubtedly produce its own deluge of recipes as we try to deal with a bumper crop this year…stay tuned for that one!).

In these last warm days of a beautiful summer, and the chilly march into fall, it is the simple pleasures of life that are most rewarding.  I was fortunate enough to spend two days on the edge of the Hood Canal, west of Olympia, WA, soaking up some of the best the Northwest offers: warm sun, lapping waters, a babbling brook, and the hummus-filled air of lush cedar forests. 

In this environment, one needs little more than le cose essenziali della vita – the essentials of life – the phrase that Italians use to refer to bread and cheese.  For those on a GF journey good bread can be very hard to come by, causing borderline obsession at times (this is especially true for me when seeing the simple act of swirling fresh bread in tangy-sweet balsamic vinegar and luscious olive oil).  And so with the addition of the sublimity of summer wrapped up in a garden-grown tomato (thanks Carol!) and a riff on gremolata, one need only sit back and savor the simple pleasures of life.

Making the gremolata ahead of time makes this simple meal easily portable to any of your favorite late-summer destinations, and a decadent yet easy repas for beach, trail or picnic -- a bonus when there is so much to explore and precious little time to do so.

The ‘Essentials of Summer’ Lunch

With so few ingredients, quality is key to a sublime experience: splurge on (or make!) good bread, good cheese, good olive oil, good aged balsamic and local sunkissed tomatoes.

For each person:

• Cut 2 to 4 pieces of GF bread (depending on size) – New Cascadia’s multigrain boule is my personal favorite, and pictured here
• Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (such as Napa Valley Naturals ‘sweet and fruity’) and aged balsamic vinegar (such as Napa Valley Naturals balsamic grand reserve)
• Spread on a layer of gremolata (recipe follows)
• Add slices of your favorite cheese (Some definite winners include brie, fontina, fresh mozza, creamy chèvre…or a pungent blue for those of you that swing that way).
• Arrange slices from one medium-sized perfectly ripe tomato
• Add coarse salt and fresh-ground pepper
• Top with additional oil and vinegar if desired

(Arguably an equally sublime dish could be made without the cheese, making this vegan if you choose a vegan, GF bread like most available from New Cascadia Traditional http://www.newcascadiatraditional.com/ )