Panzanella Salad

My summer goal this year is to cook one new dish a week. Last week I made a really awesome home-made polenta dish with sauteed mushrooms and spinach. I wish that I took pictures because it was an awesome dish. . .

This week: Panzanella Salad (bread salad)

The ingredients are simple and can change a bit from person to person depending on what they like to eat. Mine consisted of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, blue cheese, mix green lettuce and bread. The dressing is a simple olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. The bread is supposed to be day-old, but I didn't plan that far ahead, so I just baked mine a bit longer. I also added the blue cheese and the cherry tomatoes to the bread in the oven.



The food was delicious. The wine I chose to go with it. . .bleh. ..

I chose an Old Vine Zin made by a vintner I'd never heard of before - Haraszth. Its from Lodi and is a 2008. I tried to get some information about this wine/vintner, but I didn't find a whole lot of info. . . The wine itself has no real flavor. Part of it might be due to my allergies and not being able to smell properly, but I don't think that is all of it. The one good thing I can say about that wine was that it didn't detract anything from my meal. . .

Why Would You Do That?

I love my roommate. However, there are certain things that one has to put up with when living with another person. One of the things that I have to put up with are the random "I hurt myself" calls. These range from "I broke the wall" (I'm not joking) to "I cut my hand on a can, again". Being the wonderful and loving person that I am, I usually respond with "I'm sorry".
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Today I decided to make some meatballs for the dogs. I wanted to do this mainly so that Abby would have extra-special treats for class tomorrow. I went out of my way to find a meatball recipe (I don't cook meat) and buy the ingredients. I laid everything out and went to work. The first thing I need to do was grate the carrots.

Can you see where this is going???


I am generally a very safe person in the kitchen, but I still managed to grate my knuckle. I'm blaming it on being 5pm on a "Friday". I called Lb to tell her what I did. . . and her response???

Why did you do that?

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After calling boss lady, who was quite considerate of my feelings (ahem!) I was able to finish the meatballs. The kids seem to love the raw version, and they keep checking the stove wondering when they are going to be done.