Summer Salad of Shrimp, Grapes, Toasted Almonds, Lemon Vinaigrette

It’s hot. It’s bloody hot, but at least it’s dry. After lots of rain this week, it’s now really hot outside, just in time for a holiday weekend. Better yet, I feel as though my apartment traps heat so there’s no real escape.

This is the time of year when it is just excruciating to cook. Anything that causes the temperature to rise inside is to be avoided. Greens wilt. Appetites dwindle. Nothing seems appealing.

On the other hand, this is also the time of year when really great produce is available and loads of wonderful fresh fruit is coming into season. I took advantage of the nice weather to check out the newest edition to the farmers’ markets in town.

Peperonata for Bruschetta

Bruschetta tipica
Peperonata con mozzarella e pesto
Gorgonzola con miele

However, for the past few weeks, I feel as though we've been at a standoff, the toaster and me. It is now playing games with me. The plastic level has done summersaults only once. The latest thing is that it isn't really toasting. It comes out that pale shade that others favor.

So, for the moment, I've decided to go off toast, at least with the toaster. I'm going to use the broiler instead. It's a bit trickier to get it to just the right shade of golden brown, but I'm up for the challenge. Besides, that way, I don't have to face my reflexes being assaulted every morning by that wayward lever.

As I was on my toast kick, it made me pull out a few recipes that I had tucked away. With the weather getting warmer, a dinner of various small things, complemented by toasted bread, would make a great entertaining idea (as when a friend of mine and I took some of these things to visit another friend of ours who had just had her first child) or just a wonderful meal al fresco.

A New Toaster

Today’s topic: Shopping for a new toaster. You know how it is, appliances start to die, they don’t work as well, the handle flies off every time it pops up when the toast is done. O.K., maybe that last one hasn’t happened to you, but it’s been going on in my kitchen for a few months.

 

After the first time it happened, I jammed the plastic part onto the metal lever and that seemed to work for a while (sort of like taping things together), but the flying plastic aerobatic act started again this past week. It’s not the most appealing thing to face in the early morning. Dealing with random, unexpected, airborne objects at 6:30 a.m., when I’m trying to fix my breakfast, sort of puts a taint on the whole day.

 

It is possible for me to live without this kitchen accessory. I didn’t have one when I lived in Italy and fared pretty well, but I have to make a confession: I love toast. I love to bite into that crisp, crunchy (usually buttery w/ a hit of sweet jam slathered on it) interior, saving the dark brown, super crunchy exterior for the next taste.