Summer Love

Nothing says summer
like strawberries and tomatoes.

Kids may still be in school, and the sky may yet be teasing us with overcast days and highs of 70s, but when you find yourself using adjectives like plump and bursting, and dreaming of red juices drizzling down your chin, you know summer's finally here.

The intense bright red of both fruits is the perfect foil for other summertime delights, from vibrant fresh pesto and salad greens to creamy cheeses.



And, as it turns out, both add just the right dot of flavor to liven up an inadvertently large batch of plain polenta I would up with recently. With a little creativity, however, the entire pan of bland, rubbery polenta was transformed into a crispy base ideal for highlighting the stand-out flavors piled on top.

Do It Yourself:

Polenta: You can make polenta, a form of corn meal, fairly easily from scratch by following the directions on the box, or these simple instructions. This is a case of do as I say, not as I do: I added only olive oil and a bit too much water; next time I'll sprinkle some salt in the polenta to give it a bit more flavor and use a little less water than called for to keep it from being so dense.

Alternately, you can buy it pre-made, ready to slice into rounds for toasting up as you need them.

For each of the recipes below, I grilled my polenta in a saucepan for 2-3 minutes on each side as I prepared the remaining ingredients. I tried the oven, but didn't get the crispy crust for which I was aiming. I also tried to grill it dry on a hot pan, but ended up filling my apartment with smoke for several hours. The best method ended up being using a moderate amount of oil, either olive oil or leftover fat from cooking meat in the same pan, and pressing down a bit on each side with a flat metal flipper.

Polenta keeps in the fridge for about a week. In addition to the recipes below, try:

Grilled Polenta with Blood Orange & Basil Relish
Fried Polenta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Quick & Easy Polenta

Faux Strawberry Shortcake:

- Strawberries, approx 3 per person
- Chevre (goat cheese); I used a honey chevre
- Balsamic vinegar (or Rosemary Balsamic Reduction, see below)
- Polenta, cut into triangles

1. While polenta is frying, slice a few strawberries.
2. Remove polenta from pan and place on plates.
3. Spread chevre over polenta and add strawberries.
4. Drizzle with balsamic.


Rosemary Balsamic Reduction: For a more intense sweet flavor with less of a jarring sour note, use this instead any time you'd use plain balsamic vinegar.

1. Pour balsamic (approx 3 times the amount of sauce you hope to make) into a sauce pan on low heat.
2. Add several rosemary wands and approx 2 tbsp sugar per 1/2 cup balsamic.
3. Stir occasionally as vinegar evaporates into a sticky, sweet syrup.
4. Promptly remove from heat when it becomes about the consistency of maple syrup or you'll end up with a batch of sweet tar.
5. Store in fridge and use as needed for a lovely jolt of flavor on almost anything.

Polenta Open Faced Sandwich
- Salami or sausage rounds; I used chorizo
- Cheese; I used brie
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Pesto
- Polenta squares

1. As polenta is toasting in pan, add several slices of salami and a handful of tomatoes. The heat brings out a rich warmth to the meat and provides some additional flavor to the polenta as it cooks in the oil. The tomatoes stay intact, but pop in beautiful bursts in your mouth.


2. After turning polenta over once, spread pesto over toasted side and top with slices of cheese.
3. Cover and continue to cook in pan while bottom side toasts.
4. Place polenta on plate and top with salami rounds and tomatoes.


Serve with a sweet white wine (I am partial to Gewürztraminer) and a simple salad of mache or spinach leaves topped with, what else, sliced strawberries, slivered almonds, honey chevre or pecorino, and perhaps another little drizzle of balsamic (though mache has a nice peppery flavor that needs no dressing).

Finish with Faux Strawberry Shortcake for dessert, and perhaps a digestivo of a single sweet, perfect strawberry.