caprese omelet with pesto

every sunday i plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the work week to reduce shopping trips and make it easier to answer the "what's for dinner?" question. as consistent as i am about planning weekday meals, the weekend is another story. saturday and sunday lunch are almost always neglected.

lucky for me - and probably you - my tomatoes are perfectly ripe and my basil is out of control. why not fold some perfectly ripe tomatoes (preferably homegrown from the plant your grandpa grew for you from seed) into eggs and top with pesto? it's the perfect mid-day lunch, quick breakfast, or meatless dinner. this one's a keeper for sure.

cherry almond jam

still drooling over last week's cherry almond snacking cakes? love the combination of cherries and almond as much as my aunt judy & i do? as promised, here is an amazingly delicious way to use up the last of your cherries and enjoy them the rest of the year.

secret recipe club: whole wheat honey pancakes

i don't know what i was thinking when i chose these whole wheat honey pancakes from itzy's kitchen for my secret recipe club selection this month. don't get me wrong, it took me no time to make them and the flavor is great. no matter what i do, cooking pancakes is one thing i have yet to master. (and cooking rice, but that's another story all together. how come i can make ravioli from scratch, endless varieties of risotto, towering layer cakes, and jam with ease, but two simple things always defeat me?!) i thought i had mastered them last winter, and it wasn't until i was elbow deep in wheat flour and honey making these when i realized those carrot pancakes were made on my electric stove, which thankfully was kicked to the curb a couple months ago in exchange for gas. long story short, my heat and timing were all off and the first two batches were either burnt to a crisp or raw in the middle. luckily the last batch came out perfectly brown and cooked through.

cherry brown butter bars

according to my cherry lady at the market, this week is the last of the cherries. bummer. this summer, more than ever, i've come to love perfectly red, ripe cherries. but you wouldn't know that, since cherries haven't really graced the pages of this blog much, have they? i better change that this week...you might want to stock up and get our your cherry pitter, because i have an unbelievable cherry jam coming up...

anyway, back to the bars. couple cherries with a crunchy shortbread crust and creamy brown butter filling and you've got the perfect end to a summer barbecue, or enchilada fest, as i would have it.

black bean stuffed avocados

one of my favorite local restaurants is salenas, in village gate. jason always and i almost always get the flag - one chicken enchilada with white sauce, one pork enchilada with green tomatillo sauce and one beef enchilada with traditional red enchilada sauce - except for the last time, when i got the stuffed avocados. theirs were stuffed with spicy black beans, peppers, and onions, served with a side of beans and rice. i simplified mine a bit (and really, the recipe below isn't even really a recipe, but a suggestion) stuffing them with the same spicy black beans i often put in a taco or serve on the side and a simple pico de gallo. not only was the avocado creamy and delicious, but it got me thinking - what else could be stuffed inside?