Here comes summer!!

I'm so excited for summer to come - even though it will be crazy busy and hot! 

Things I'm especially excited about:  visiting family in Chicago, new Food Network Star series, early morning runs, late evening light, exploring mindless novels, farmers markets, and unanticipated adventures!  We never know what Carolina summers will bring - but usually they get pretty hot!!

Bruschetta Chicken
(this is obviously not my recipe..but similar to what I did)

Recently I recalled days of yore (last summer I think...) when Mike and I got really into bruschetta - the sweet combination of basil and balsamic vinegar - love it!  I'm a wimp when it comes to raw onions/garlic, so I generally don't put too much garlic in ours...but I love the way it marinades up so nice. 
I gathered inspiration from O'Charley's 'Bruschetta Chicken' I had with some girlfriends shortly before graduation a year ago.  So for dinner recently, I grilled up some chicken sans marinade, though that would have certainly jazzed it up some!  Once off the grill, I sliced my piece in half and put in a pad of goat cheese, closed it up to let it get gooey melty... Layering tomatoes, basil and sauce over it - it was a perfect summer treat.  Paired it with steamed broccoli and bread to sop up the sauce!


LOVE THIS!  Sweet Corn and Mango salad
This is a fun new blogger I've found - Jenna Weber - who is a professional cook/blogger for PBS.  What a fun job :)  Anyways - she posted this recently and it sounded divine.  I love veggies in the summer and this is a fun play with fruit mixed in... I made it once and am making it again for this weekend.  I tweaked just slightly - adding in avocado and some

balsamic vinegar (honey balsamic).  I also leave out the red onion.  Didn't try the jalapeno last time (forgot it was on the list!), but will this go round...pic to follow.  
It is great!  Avocados oxidize fairly quickly - so it doesn't look as fresh after a day.  But still tastes great.  I've gotten into the 'Mango Chunks' from Trader Joe's - let em defrost in the fridge and it saves you from cutting into a mango (which for me are never ripe!)  Adding cilantro also adds another fun layer of freshness...give it a try!