Balsamic Vegetable Salsa with Cheese Toasts from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day

The other day I took a simple savory dish to a sweet baptism of a friend of mine. Many wonderful cooks had brought something to share to the bounty of this table and everything was very tasty- from the baked sandwiches, fresh salads, crackers and pepper jelly to the out of this world fabulous homemade Bear Lake raspberry ice cream. It was lovely to be together to celebrate with this family.

I made a simple salsa from some garden veggies served with cheese toast from the basic boule recipe of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. The toast was crunchy and a hit on it’s own, but with the salsa, it was delicious. It all came together very quickly and it’s one of the reasons I so love the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day- fresh, versatile and tasty. I used my balsamic rosemary reduction to flavor the salsa, so it was a quick fix as well.

I plan to do a post on the cheese crackers, and grilled pizza with Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, but if you are interested in the recipe before then, check out this blog, More Than A Mount Full with Chef Dennis for a great write up.

What is your favorite savory appetizer?

Keeping Up Cookbook, Melissa Peck and a Give-A-Way

A while ago a friend of mine looked at the row of cookbooks in my kitchen with some surprise and exclaimed, “Do you really use all of those books?” I informed her that not only did I use those books, but also I had an entire bookcase in another room full of additional cookbooks and magazines that I felt too important to give away or discard. I just love a good cookbook that inspires me to make a wonderful dish where all the bugs are worked out for me. One such book is now 10 years old and was put out by the Make A Wish Foundation of Utah. I’ve used Favorites for salads, main dishes and desserts. It's the cookbook where the scone recipe comes from.

This year the book's author, Grace Ivory Rock introduced a new recipe book, and I fell in love with it before I even opened its pages. Why? Keeping Up Cookbook, the cover and inside flaps artwork are done by Melissa Peck a fresh, wonderful Utah artist whose work can be found in galleries across the United States from Park City, Utah to Greenwich, Connecticut. I’ve been in love with her work for several years, have a small painting of hers that I treasure and now I can have one of her sweet pictures sitting on my counter beaming back at me whenever I get the hankering to sit this delicious book up on my stand.

Melissa lives in my neighborhood and I’ve had the opportunity to get to know her and her darling family. I’ve learned much about life from Melissa as she cares for her daughters, paints beautiful and whimsical figures of women and children and is friends with seemingly the entire world. She says of herself

“I live in a beautiful world and if the viewer has the eyes to see my work as it is intended it can function as a window into my soul. Many of my paintings are a personal reflection of my process and me as I move forward from the understanding of a girl into the wisdom of a woman. “

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Cooking with her children is part of their regular routine. I asked if they had any favorites yet from the new book and two quickly came to the top: Sparkling Punch and Sherry Cake.

Melissa has offered to sign a copy of this new book Keeping Up Cookbook as a give-a-way to my readers. Take a minute to check Melissa's sight or tell me what your favorite cookbook is- or both for twice the chance for the signed copy of this cookbook.