Summer Standards

In a follow up to yesterday's post about book sales I wanted to share this site. It lists many book sales across the US. The sale I went to is listed on there, though that's not how I found about it. I know I read about the site somewhere in blogland, but unfortunately don't remember who to credit.

I'd like to share another site, bookcloseouts.com. I read about this site on bookgirl's nightstand. I found a bunch of books I was looking for that have not been published in the US, and probably won't be- a few UK authors that I know about from finding their books at used book shops. I will definitely be going back there often to see what's new. Oh, did I mention the prices? $3.99- $5.99 for most fiction. $14.99 for a new hardcover copy of Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries (list price is $40)

And on to the title of this post, Summer Standards. The weather here is beautiful today, really perfect, and so I've made my summer dishes. The ones I make all summer, for us and guests alike.

My standard grilled chicken recipe. I use boneless, skinless breasts and white wine vinegar instead of wine.

Green beans and tomatoes in vinaigrette. Make your favorite vinaigrette, slice some cherry or grape tomatoes in half, place in vinaigrette. Put green beans in boiling water until just tender, usually 4 minutes for me. Drain beans, shake off water, let cool a minute then dump on top of tomato mixture and combine. The warm beans cause the tomato juices to run into the dressing. My vinaigrette usually has some kind of vinegar, a tiny bit of Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Grilled bread. Slice a baguette lenthwise. Brush with olive oil, rub a cut clove of garlic over and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Grill. This is great with a day old baguette.

So this is what we had for dinner. Add some fruit (strawberries tonight) and chilled white white, maybe a Vouvray, and you have a perfect meal for a warm evening.