Saying Goodbye to Summer

As the days have gotten a bit shorter and the nights a bit chillier, I've frantically been going through "Jamie's Food Revolution" trying to squeeze in all of the "summer" recipes as one hot summer draws to a close. For my final summer recipe I finally settled on Paella (pg. 292). What I love about Jamie's write-up is that he encourages you to be creative and select your own ingredients. The prep on this one was a bit of work and a football game was calling to us in the background so both the husband and I chopped away to get it done…chicken, chorizo sausage, bacon, onions, parsley, TOUCHDOWN! Just another sign that fall is on the horizon. Once this is done, it really was a matter of throwing everything into the pot with some rice and letting it simmer. In the last few minutes I added frozen peas, fresh lemon juice, mussels, shrimp and scallops. My pot was a bit full and the kid gave me some advice on how to distribute the mussels (her favorite part) into the overflowing pot, comparing it to one of her science experiments. School. Summer really is over, isn't it? As I buried the mussels, my mind wandered to a nice summer evening with friends on the patio, this would be a great recipe for a night like that! The dish also had a "throw it together" feel to it, even if I had planned it out the night before.
For our "say goodbye to summer" dessert, I made Strawberries and ginger snaps with vanilla ice cream (pg. 326.) As I assembled them, I thought about what a great treat it would be at a 4th of July party. Thinking back, 4th of July seems like a long time ago. Goodbye Summer 2010.
Recipes cooked: 57
Recipes left: 116
Days left: 167