After a few weeks off, we were eager to grill up another wonderful chicken from the folks at Pat’s Pastured, and to go with it, I decided to whip up a tomato-studded summer vegetable panzanella:

Mike grilled up a few slices of Seven Stars French Rye, and I halved a pint of little red and yellow tomatoes from Wishing Stone Farm to go into the salad. We had a few petite summer squash left in the crisper drawer, so I added them as well, along with sliced scallions, a generous amount of chopped fresh herbs (basil/garlic chives/summer savory), and my standard sherry vinaigrette.

In addition to what I was putting together for dinner, I made another batch of salsa, taking advantage of extra space on the grill to char my tomatoes and peppers. I love the layer of smoky flavor the hardwood gives.

Finally, I prepped a couple of lovely heirlooms for Wednesday night, coring and wedging them and running them through our food mill to make a puree. If all goes according to plan, the heirloom tomato puree will feature in both pre-dinner cocktails as well as our supper. Stay tuned…

Also, again with the (gasp!) desserts – here’s a little teaser for you (because I can’t resist):

Do I love my husband? You bet I do.