2 Seasons in one post...

OK...so I have 2 dinners to show you today that are TOTALLY different from the other, but they both have one thing in common:  They use some of the great fresh produce we found this weekend!!  But that's about where the similarities end...one dish is perfectly summer appropriate while the other is super warm & cozy Fall food...

The first dish was the super cozy one from Sunday night where the main stars were some roasted tomatoes (made like last time) and a beautiful bushel of red swiss chard.  Just check out the ruby color of those stems.  So prettyJ

I boiled the swiss chard for a few minutes before adding it to a saucepan to saute for a few minutes in a little olive oil and garlic.  Because, I mean really, what doesn't taste better sauteed in garlic?? J

While the tomatoes & kale were roasting and boiling away, I got to work on the polenta.  Now the grocery store I went to was completely sold out of the dry polenta, so we had to do a little improvising with the tubes of polenta (also garlic flavored...see what I'm talkin about??J)

Now you could just slice the polenta and add any toppings to it, but I wanted a more creamy base.  So I ended up dicing it up and adding about a cup of vegetable broth to the pot and stirred while it was warming up...

Much like the magical Trader Joe's "Frozen Polenta Kisses," the slices slowly broke down and formed the creamy polenta I was hoping for!  Lemons into lemonade, folksJ

Oh yeah...and we also toasted up some while beans.  That's one crowded stove top!

So when everything was done, I layered up my dish with a little polenta, the swiss chard, the roasted tomatoes, white beans and oneeeeeee extra little surprise from the market....

YUM!!!!!

The feta added just enough creaminess & decadence to make this dish come together.  This was some goooood warm & cozy comfort food.  It felt like we were eating on the Amalfi coast in mid October.  Which, as you can imagine, made me very happy!  So good!

It also helped my Fall dreams by the fact that it was an absolutely GLORIOUS cool & sunny Sunday.  Penny loved lounging away with us and enjoyed the weather while we ateJ

And the other dish of fresh, summer proportions was our typical Monday night salad:

In the mix:

• Red leaf lettuce
• Grilled Chicken
• Scallions
• Diced strawberries
• Pesto Feta Cheese
• Craisins
• Carrots

A lovely "no dressing needed" kinda deal.  I always enjoy those!

Anyways...hope you guys are havin a good day.  The mercury is on the rise again in Jersey and I hear it's suppose to be 96 degrees tomorrow.  UGH!!!  Time to hide in the air conditioning again!!!

And speaking of Jersey but is it ME or does anyone else think the "Real Housewives of NJ" are reading this blog??  Friendsgiving??  We invented that, ladies!  I got my eye on you!J hahahahhahahahahaha.....just thought that was funny & randomJ

Alright, have a great Tuesday everyone...see ya tomorrowJ