Best. Lunch. Ever.

I am really learning to appreciate how simple meals really are the best ones. 
No need for 15 different exotic ingredients and an hour in the kitchen.
Focus on the freshest items you can get and you really need little else.

I usually spend Saturday mornings at the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building.  This time the displays of heirloom tomatoes caught my attention.  With names like Brandywine, Green Zebra, and Cherokee Purple, what's not to love?

I don't eat a ton of bread...but I just can't seem to leave the Ferry Building without something from Acme.  Ahhh...bread love...

I have just recently discovered Burrata.  How did I live before it??  It is like fresh mozzarella, but softer and creamier and delicious!  I can always count on Cowgirl Creamery for this.

So here was my simple, but fabulous lunch.
I chopped up my tomatoes, drizzled them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, added some fresh basil, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Stuffed Summer Squash

So it has been a little while since the last post...
I'm still visiting the farmers market and cooking as much as always, just haven't been making the time to write about it...

One of my favorite summer vegetables is zucchini.  Well, really, any variety of summer squash.  Usually I just brush them with a little olive oil and grill them, but I'm also a big fan of the zucchini boat!  I found these great yellow, globe-shaped squash in the market recently and thought they would make a delicious side-dish.

I have never really used a recipe for this before, so here is my attempt at quantifying what I usually do.

Stuffed Squash

2 medium sized squash
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
salt & pepper
2 tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated
4 tbsp. mozzarella cheese, grated

Instructions:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Wash the squash.  Trim off the tops and take a small amount off the bottom if needed so that the squash will sit upright.

Scoop out the flesh of the squash, leaving about a 1/4 inch thick shell.

Place the 2 empty squash shells in a baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the removed flesh so that the pieces are more uniform in size and set aside.
In a fry-pan, cook onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until soft.  Then add garlic and the chopped squash and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and dried oregano and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Turn off the heat.  Add basil and grated parmesan and mix to combine.

Remove squash shells from the oven and stuff with this mixture.
Sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until tender.
Here is the final melty dish!