Lazy Sunday Lunch: Mushroom & Pesto Paninis

Saying that it has been a crazy year is perhaps the understatement of the decade around my house. Since I have been gone, life has completely changed. We moved from a city apartment to a country house, changed jobs, and most significantly, had a baby. In the midst of all that we dealt with hurricanes, blizzards, lay-offs, among other things related to relocating and having kids. This past weekend was the first time in a long time that Aaron and I were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy a few serene and peaceful days. This meant that rather than quickly reheating leftovers for lunch between errands on Sunday, we actually had the time and energy to make something.  

One of our favorite things about living in the Hudson River Valley is that we are really able to indulge in true farm-to-table cooking. We shop almost exclusively at our local farmers market, when we are not visiting the farms themselves. While we do enjoy taking locavor-ism to an extreme, it isn't without challenges during northeastern winters, as the selection becomes, well, pretty limited. After weeks and weeks of all variety of squash, Aaron couldn't take it anymore and demanded a change. So...

We moved on to mushrooms! Not very exciting, but at least something a bit of a deviation from the endless kabocha and butternut we had been eating through the dark days of winter. Fortunately I did have a container of homemade pesto tucked away in the back of the freezer waiting for that moment that comes towards the end of every winter when you are desperate for even the smallest taste of summer.

In 2011, this blog wasn't the only thing to go on hiatus. I also took an unfortunate break from bread making and am only slowly starting to get back into my former loaf-a-weekend groove. I have an enormous lack of trust in my oven - somehow I seem to burn everything - and fear of failure has made me apprehensive about getting started again. Though I dreamed of ciabatta for the panini, a simple white sandwich loaf was about all I could muster.

Add some creamy fresh mozzarella from the Italian dude at the market, and lunch is ready!

Back to reality... *le sigh*: Heirloom Tomato Tart

Well, we have been back for a little more than a week now. It is amazing how quickly you fall back into your old routine; it is almost like our trip didn't even happen. Seeing how little things changed over the six weeks we were gone just makes our trip seem even shorter. Aaron and I are already trying to dream up ways to take another extended vacation sooner rather than later.

As a summer loving foodie, returning home at the start of the fall season has particularly punishing. Sure, I should be excited about the abundance of colorful produce at the market and the ability to grill outdoors without melting from the heat. I am just not finding anything particularly inspiring. Aaron and I often look at our weekend grocery shopping as an adventure - what kinds of surprises will greet us at the store... will we find that impossible to find chili pepper that we have been searching for since last spring... are there any new types of bread in the bakery that I should try to copy? **Sure, I can admit it, we are super geeky about food. Some people find it annoying - others just try to get on the barbecue invite list :).** I'm sorry to say, after all of the exotic things we tried during our travels, even the ripe heirloom tomatoes aren't doing it for me.

Running errands on Friday, I decided I needed to snap out of it and stop whining. After all, one of the things that made our great adventure so precious was that it had to end some time. Moreover, I get about two or three (at the absolute most) more weeks of summer produce and if I don't take advantage I know I will regret it when I am on month two of eating parsnips and celery root with many more to go before warm weather arrives again. 

With that I ran to Union Square to explore what seasonal goodies were being hawked at the farmers market. We missed Hoboken's annual heirloom tomato festival, so I settled on a mixed bag of tomatoes at the very reasonable price of $3 a pound. 

Aaron's only menu request was that I used at least most of the basil growing in the back yard; we have two flower boxes full that need to be emptied before it starts to get too cold. After some searching, I came across this Epicurious recipe for Heirloom Tomato Tart and thought I would give it a whirl. The recipe seemed a bit suspicious at first (a tart with RAW tomatoes???), but it called for heirloom tomatoes, basil and other ingredients I had on hand. 

Surprisingly the uncooked tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella paired nicely with the parmesan crust. I assembled the tart just before eating it, as I worried any sitting would result in a soggy tart. I might have worried too much about sogginess because the leftovers kept beautifully in the fridge over night. 

It was a nice meal for our first real meal back at home. Farm fresh produce, western flavors... a last taste of summer... a return to reality.