Apple & Goat Cheese Pizza

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in the tri-state area it's been like a second summer!  I've been spending this entire week in sleeveless shirts and skirts as the temperatures have been pushing 80 degrees each day.  I'm hoping the warm spell will last through the weekend so that the BF can enjoy a few more beautiful days as well.

Stuffed Chicken & Quinoa Pilaf

I want to eat this meal for the next month.  Simple, flavorful and delicious.  Shallots are magic roots.

This dinner was super simple.  I prepared the stuffed chicken a day ahead of time, giving it some time to meld together and make it easier to cook.  When dinnertime rolled around, all I had to do was prepare the sauce and saute the chicken.  It was so simple and easy!  This shallot sauce would be amazing over pork, fish, it might even make tofu taste good.

The side dish was just as easy to put together.  Nothing is simpler than making quinoa.  Just boil up the grain with some chicken stock and water, saute some red peppers and pistachios.  Poof!  Side dish is ready to go.   Dinner in a snap.  And it will be so good.  Do it.

Strawberry-Bacon Pizza

Say hello to delicious.

During my days of unemployment, I usually wander around Montclair, read books at Starbucks and bake cookies for Boyfriend.  Lunch often falls by the wayside and I wind up having a yogurt around 3:00.  Yesterday I was inspired to actually make lunch after flipping through Fitness magazine.  This strawberry and goat cheese pizza screamed my name.  Top it all off with a hefty load of crumbled bacon and I was tearing this recipe from the magazine and heading to Whole Foods. 

This pizza comes together quickly, which is perfect for someone craving bacon and goat cheese.  Using naan for the pizza crust, this lunch went from ingredients to delicious in only fifteen minutes. 

And it was amazing.  I should make lunch more often.

Simple Arugula Salad

It's officially summer in my book!  While Memorial day is the "unofficial start of summer," June 20th is the official start of the summer season, I consider July 4th to be the real beginning of summer.  Why?  The weather has turned hot.  Weekends are filled with fun events.  The sun sits high in the sky during the day and sticks around until late at night.  Fourth of July was also always a great day as a kid.  School was out, there were fireworks and summer was on!

Most of the country has been in a heat wave, with several consecutive days with temperatures reaching over the hundred degree mark.  Here in the New York Metro area, we've been lucky enough to avoid triple digit temps, but it's still been a warm few weeks!  Personally, it makes me very happy. 

I love it hot!  Hot weather means I get to spend the weekends in cute, summery dresses.  Ninety-degree temps send boyfriend and I outside and up into the hills of New Jersey.  The high sun, coupled with some SPF50, has me sporting a tan, something that I haven't done since I started grad school nine years ago. 

Of course, the high temps mean that I have to take a few showers each day and that we've been doing a lot of laundry.  It also means that I've been avoiding my oven and making lots of salads.  Feeling the heat too?  Head to the farmers market and stock up!

What day do you consider the beginning of summer?

Spring Frittata, Spring Arugula Salad & Basil Panna Cotta with Strawberry gelee

Is there a time of the year that is any better than spring?  Personally, it is my favorite season and there are so many reasons why.

First, spring means that I can break out my cute dresses and strap on some adorable sandels.  I'm saying "see you later" to my winter coat and donning my favorite black satin spring jacket (seriously, it's so adorable, I'm sad I can only wear it in the in between weather times!).  Now that I'm a non-grad student type person and have all this weekend free time, I live in dresses as soon as the weather agrees with it!

Next, tulips.  Tulips are the most awesome flower, ever.  I will carry tulips down the aisle whenever I get around the getting married.  I have a vase of pink and yellow tulips sitting on the table next to me at this very moment.  Tulips are so much more amazing that roses because they have a little personality.  I think it looks like they are sighing.  When I see my first few tulips of spring, I'm a happy banana.

Finally, the farmers market.  I fell in love with the idea of a weekend market during my time in Madison, WI.  The market on the capitol square rivals all other markets I've been to, including all the ones I've stopped by in NYC.  I miss the Dane Country farmers market, you could do all of your grocery shopping there.  While our local one isn't quite so large, the produce is fresh and local.  It's also a ten minutes walk away.  While the pickings are scarce right now, soon natures bounty will start to overflow the farm stands.

To celebrate spring, Frigidaire was kind enough to sponsor a series of spring posts via Foodbuzz. In keeping with the fresh and local theme, I headed to the farmers market and picked up everything that I could from the stands (the rest was filled in by our local Whole Foods). Farm fresh eggs with crisp spring asparagus and herbs. Sweet raspberries and peppery arugula. Local cream, flavored with bright green basil and finished off with sweet-tart strawberries. This meal gets me ready for spring and looking forward to the bounty of the farmers market.

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you check out Suzanne Goin's springtime recipes at www.maketimeforchange.com, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children's U.S. programs. Plus, you'll be entered for a chance to win the new Frigidaire Range with SymmetryTM Double Ovens – featuring two large ovens (that can each fit up to a 28 pound turkey!), providing the flexibility to cook multiple dishes at the same time at different temperatures, so you can get more on the table at the same time.