A Much Cleaner Stove and an Amuse Bouche

Imagine showing up to your new apartment and finding a kitchen stove that looked like this:

You can just imagine my reaction.

Luckily (perhaps), I had a week without cooking gas to determine the best way to clean thoroughly caked-on grime off a stove. It was Pinterest to the rescue! Weeks back, when I was less than optimistic about what my new apartment would look like, I had noticed a "clean stove/dirty stove" pin and saved it to my apartment board.

It was a simple fix, really. I combined baking soda and peroxide to make a paste, put the paste on an abrasive cooking sponge, and scrubbed. Most of the grime came off quickly. Some required a little more elbow grease.

I've never really considered myself a clean person, but I'm desperate to make myself one. I could submit as evidence the list of "must-have supplies" my friend Megan compiled for me, my multiple Target bills for cleaning supplies that I didn't know existed a few weeks ago and the fact that I googled "what cleaning product do you use to mop floors?" while I was at the store today.

I also think I've swept my new floors more times than I swept my old apartment last year, and I've only been here a bit more than week. 

Here's a little amuse bouche that tastes as clean and refreshing as my apartment feels to me: a one-bite summer salad.

It amused our palates at the start of the dinner party I threw a few weeks back with the help of McCormick Gourmet. It's a light summer salad with cubed, skinless cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced sugar snap peas, a tiny lemon basil leaf, olive oil, salt and just a sprinkling of McCormick Gourmet Collection Tuscan Seasoning Blend.

I served the salad in Chinese soup spoons, of which I now have ten.

It's not fancy, but sometimes it doesn't need to be.

My New Kitchen and a Panzanella Salad

I'm feeling a little delinquent.

Two weeks, no posts, and it's summer vacation after all.

Even worse, and I'm almost embarrassed to confess it, I've barely been in the kitchen. Unlike last summer, where I used the time to try out new recipes and get a head start on some September blog posts, there's been very little activity.

I've got a good excuse though--my new apartment!

My own apartment.

Where I've had no hot water or gas for cooking. For a week.

And no internet. Having no internet makes blogging really hard.

My first cooking project in my kitchen was this super simple panzanella salad, prepared long before my gas was turned on.

It couldn't be easier. It's a bit ridiculous to even post a recipe. But it's light and healthy, and it makes fantastic use of the abundance of produce that's crowding stands at the farmers' market.

Eating my first meal (that wasn't microwaved) in my new apartment felt just like I wanted it to: relaxing. I could take my time in the kitchen. Then, I could linger at the dinner table for just as long as I wanted, podcast on, without feeling a need to rush so I didn't inconvenience anyone. Just perfect.

Note: Kitchen pictures are coming soon, once the kitchen looks a bit cuter! For now, let's just note that there's room for my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer on the counter, my dishes in the cabinets, and my cookbooks!

Panzanella from the Garden

Farmers' markets are incredible. I am a huge self-proclaimed fan. I drag myself out of bed as early as I can manage on Saturday mornings and make the short trek to a farmers' market at the top of Prospect Park. I wander slowly through stands, contemplating all the delicious dishes I could make and marveling at the new fruits and vegetables that pop up each week. I take my time picking the perfect piece of produce, and I carry each one home carefully so there's no bruising.

But, despite the allure of the farmers' market, there's something different about going out into the garden and picking, straight off the vine, the ingredients you need for dinner.

I took the official garden tour while visiting my family this past week. I learned how to train strawberry plants to grow where you want them to and how to trim the leaves off basil and parsley so your plants produce a higher yield. I learned that tiny red and green onions do a lot to ward off predators. I learned how to keep a tomato plant growing. I even learned how to dig out and dry fresh garlic so you can enjoy it all winter long.

Mostly during the tour, I was just in awe at all the fresh vegetables surrounding me. We could just pluck a cherry tomato off the vine and nibble on it while we walked. My mind started spinning immediately, contemplating what we could eat.

My parents' garden was the real inspiration for this panzanella. I used what we had handy and fresh, instead of taking a long shopping list to the grocery store. Cucumbers. Tomatoes. Fresh basil. All fresh from the garden. All raw. All flavorful.

This salad will play a pivotal role in my summer eating experience.