Food-Blog-A-Round: Is it Summer Yet?

Strawberry Brown Bettys from Smitten Kitchen

I’ve been obsessed with berries this season, mostly eating them straight or maybe drizzled with lemon juice or coated in some vanilla yogurt or perhaps with a swirl of balsamic and a little sugar. But maybe it’s time to get baking. I’m dying to eat Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Brown Bettys… maybe made with some nice Pain de Mie from Acme down the hill. Or maybe the luscious Peach Crumble from over at Local Lemons who is flaunting the beautiful peaches she picked up at the Berkeley farmers’ market… I need to get back to that farmers market ASAP I see. We’ve been slacking on the cooking but we’re getting back to it and some amazing stone fruit is definitely high high high on my list of must-eats.

Before the dessert (or maybe after?) a nice salad like Macheesmo’s Asian Chicken Noodle Salad would really hit the spot. Mango sesame dressing? Yum. The only drawback is that it feels like it has a lot of different components to cook separately… I might be more inclined to do it with some leftover chicken so it felt that little bit easier… The Farro and Shrimp Salad from over at Serious Eats has a lot of components too but seems like a breeze to just boil up the farro and maybe get either some pre-cooked cocktail shrimp or just flash-cook fresh shrip in the pan… either looks like a super refreshing dish to eat out in the sun on the deck. Ahhh, sunshine!

And in other news… I am dying to eat at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen just opened in South Park. If you’ve been please let me know what sandwich I should scarf down first. Also, Revival Bar & Restaurant has opened in Berkeley in the old Downtown space. We’ve already been there. I loved it, Gus was a lukewarm. Review coming probably after we eat there again and actually remember to take some pictures.