Summertime and the Livin' Is Easy

The first blueberries showed up this week at La Grange Farmer’s Market and they are good!

I bought some along with some raspberries—both a deep color and so sweet. It was also hard to resist the Michigan tomatoes, as they get brighter and bigger each week. I bought a large tarragon plant this past week as well, as I had missed that when I first bought my herbs.

Zucchini and summer squash are available in abundance. At  J.W. Morlock, you can jam-pack a bag for only $5 of their miscellaneous squashes. The squash stays for a week in the fridge and even cut up as a veggie plate with a dip, they are great.

With temperatures predicted to be in the 90s, I was thinking of something cool to eat for dinner and I wanted to use those tomatoes. So, here is the dinner of chicken-salad stuffed tomatoes and a fruit pizza for dessert, utilizing those berries.

Everyone has his or her own version of chicken salad, but here is mine.

Tomato stuffed with Tarragon Chicken Salad

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (on sale this week at Jewel)
• Celery; about 5 or 6 stalks, diced
• Red grapes; one bunch, halved
• ½ c mayonnaise
• 3 generous teaspoons of grainy mustard
• Juice of one lemon
• Tarragon; 3 or 4 stems then minced
• 5 or 6 large tomatoes, a ‘well’ cut down into each one. 

Method:

Bring a pot of water to boil. Boil, or poach chicken 10 minutes, making sure it is no longer pink in the middle.

Let chicken cool.

While chicken is cooling, mix together the mayo and the mustard and add the celery, grapes, lemon juice and tarragon.

After chicken is cooled, either cube or shred and mix in with the mayo-mustard dressing.

Dollop chicken salad into tomato.

Fruit Pizza

The cookie can be baked ahead of time, making preparation easy and cooler!

Base:

There are many variations on this delightful dessert. I used Pillsbury sugar cookie dough. 

• 1 pkg sugar cookie dough

Filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (one package)
• 8 oz Cool Whip (one tub)

Glaze:

• ½ c sugar
• 2 t lemon juice
• 1 T corn starch
• ½ c orange juice
• ¼ c water

Shape cookie dough in a pizza shape. I spread it on a pizza pan and baked it for 30 minutes at 350°F till slightly browned.

Mix cream cheese and Cool Whip with a hand mixer till smooth.

Stir all ingredients for the glaze together in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the glaze is slightly thickened. Let cool.

Spread filling on cooled cookie.

You can use any fruit, but I opted for the blueberries and raspberries in honor of the 4^th of July. This also looks beautiful with kiwi, bananas, peaches, or any other fruit for the look that you want.

Brush on glaze.

I paired the dinner with Goose Island Summertime: a crisp and frosty brew that's perfect for a hot night’s light dinner.

Until our next trip to the market.... bon vivant! (Enjoy the good life!)