She's off to college in a matter of days, Ana is already living in an apartment with a roommate and that means that we will officially be "empty nesters" (though with two very active dogs, it hardly feels empty around here). I am working on mastering the art of cooking for two. I like leftovers - but I can't do it too many days in a row. So I need to make some adjustments!
The other night I put together a dinner that turned out really well. Our fig tree has gone crazy this year - we really should have pruned it last year but didn't - so it is wild now. We are sharing nicely with the birds and squirrels - plenty to go around. The figs are just beginning to ripen so it was time to make one of my favorite salads. First I cut up some fresh figs and toss them with pomegranate syrup.
I used to grill these but they make such a mess now I just saute them until they get soft and caramelized. I chopped and tossed them with some lettuce (I prefer butter lettuce for this salad but this time I just had green leaf lettuce), a wonderful Pt. Reyes blue cheese, some spicy pecans and drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Definitely one of our favorite salads.
I also tried duplicating a walnut and cheese patty I had up in Portland recently. I found this recipe and we loved it. I used a very sharp English Farmhouse cheddar - so good.
I made it into several smaller ones and the first batch stuck like crazy. So that turned into a "scramble" of sorts which I set aside and used the next day as a sandwich filling. The next round I used a different pan and a different burner with greater success.