Recipes and Cooking Ideas for Homemakers and Amateur Cooks
 

BLTs, Fresh Strawberries, Marbled Brownies, and Summer!

Posted on May 3, 2008
Filed Under Cookies and bars, Main dishes

Two of my favorite foods in the summer… BLT sandwiches and sliced fresh strawberries with sugar.

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You know those hot days when you still need to eat, but just the thought of sitting down to a cooked meal makes you sweat. BLTs fit the bill like nothing else does… it’s substantial, but not hot. And the fresh strawberries, you can’t get much more summer-y than that. Unless you eat watermelon, out in the yard, with juice dripping off of your elbows. Oh, and don’t forget about fruit pizza… that’s gotta be the ultimate summertime dessert! Makes me hungry for some now.

But, so far, I can only dream of summer… while eating my BLT and fresh sliced sugared strawberries in the house. Looking outside at the lawn that is varigated green and brown, lightly coated with snow from last night. Sighing at the thermometer that has a hard time pushing up past 55. Trying to picture the bare trees with green leaves on them again. Bending over my flower bed, looking for a sign of life from the bare spot where my tulips usually eventually show up. Telling my girls that yes, don’t you remember, it does get warm enough to run outside barefoot and with no jacket.

Here in northern WI, we’re always chompin’ on the bit for Summer to get here, but it pretty much always comes at the same time… that last snow in May (I doubt the one last night was the last), gardens being planted the end of May, several frost scares. But when our summers get here, they are BEAUTIFUL! Just perfect. That’s why we brave the ice and snow and sub-zero weather for months, just so we can get those 3 months of summer. It’s all worth it. And if you ever want to come see for yourself, don’t forget your boat… we’ve got lots of lakes around here!

Back to those BLTs…
Shannon and I were talking about BLTs several days ago and I got such a craving for them and couldn’t get them out of my mind until I made one. Yeah, cravings like that can come when you’re not pg!
So here it is.
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Nothing fancy. And they’re quite easy to make. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato layered between 2 pieces of toast with mayo on them. Now did YOU get a craving for one? 🙂

And the fresh strawberries,
strawberries3.jpg  they’re going on sale pretty often at Marketplace, so I can’t resist keeping them around.

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I wash and cap them (or it it uncap? decap? decapitate? whatever, take the stems and caps off), and then slice them with an egg slicer. Works great!
Then, sprinkle them generously with sugar, stir them, let them sit for at least 5 minutes, stir them again, and eat. Ok, I know you didn’t need those instructions.

Speaking of cravings that you can’t ignore… I saw these on Cookie Madness on Friday and HAD to make them. Here they are.
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Try them! They are SO good! They’re called ‘Marbled Peanut Butter Brownies’ (that’s a link to the recipe). And her pictures are awesome… they make you feel like you could pick the cookies right off the computer screen. These bars taste like a candy bar. Peanut butter and chocolate. Don’t let the multiple steps scare you off. The directions are easy to follow. And they’re well worth the effort! Mmmmmmm!!!  I found Cookie Madness just recently. You will be glad to have the link. It’s a goldmine of all kinds of cookie/brownie/bar recipes, plus some other recipes and tidbits too.

Have a good weekend! And look for a couple Mexican recipes coming up on Monday… Cinco de Mayo.

Comments

11 Responses to “BLTs, Fresh Strawberries, Marbled Brownies, and Summer!”

  1. Denise on May 3rd, 2008 12:52 pm

    Looks so good. I also got so hungry for a BLT that I bought stuff for it too. As far as the strawberries. The local strawberries from Lousianna (hardly anyone grows them around here, apparently they do not grow well) are already over for the year. Was so good a couple of weeks ago to have fresh strawberry pie, shortcake and just simply crushed strawberries with sugar over ice cream. And fresh local tomatoes probably will soon be in although mine in the garden just have 1 or 2 blossoms on. And you say you get hot in the summer. I say you don’t know what hot really is till you live down South :-) I’d love your summers but I like our longer fall and spring. Can’t have it all, so guess I’ll be content where God has me placed.

  2. amy on May 3rd, 2008 12:56 pm

    Those brownies sound wonderful except I made chocolate crinkle cookies today and my stomache aches from all I ate! :( I can’t wait for tomatoes and strawberries. NO snow here,but plenty of wind.

  3. Monica on May 3rd, 2008 1:28 pm

    Mmmmm, I love BLT’s!!! Sadly, tho, I have to eat them by myself because my husband hates tomatoes!! He’s not a big meat eater and I don’t think he’d be too fond of a Bacon and Lettuce sandwich either!! I was trying to come up with some kind of sweet thing to make for this weekend and those Peanut Butter Brownies look like just the thing!! I think I’ll try them!! Can’t wait for those Mexican recipes!!

  4. Mama Bear on May 3rd, 2008 2:54 pm

    Hi! I just had to give a shout out to a fellow Menno! :) I’ve been lurking your blog for some time now and just right now realized you are Mennonite! Me too! :)

  5. Liz on May 3rd, 2008 4:09 pm

    I actually don’t ever remember having a BLT sandwich. Add a hamburger to the mixture and I am pretty sure I had that. I guess I must really be from the back sticks. I am glad you clarified that about the cravings.=) The bars look good too. I’ll have to check them out. Off to wondering how BLT’s do taste…

  6. Anna on May 3rd, 2008 5:45 pm

    My favorite sandwich is a club sandwich, but your blt might make me switch. That’s one good looking sandwich!

    Thanks for trying to brownies. I kept mine in the refrigerator overnight and found they taste even better the next day.

  7. Shari Ellen on May 3rd, 2008 6:21 pm

    My girls would have fun making the fruit pizza with me. It’s so beautiful and colorful. We just had BLTs for lunch on Friday – for the first time since last summer.

  8. Freida on May 4th, 2008 2:30 pm

    Oh wow, that all looks so good. My husband is not a huge fan of BLT’s, so I hardly ever make them. But I do love them. Our strawberries are looking good now, so I’m excited about eating them fresh from our garden in a month or so. :-) I imagine your summers are well-looked forward to and appreciated a lot, but I too am glad we have our spring and fall. Sorry, but I think Ohio is better. :-)

  9. Patsy Clairmont on May 4th, 2008 4:48 pm

    Where did you get such healthy looking tomatoes? Way too early in MI to find yummy tomatoes…but you’ve triggered fond childhood summer memories of these two-fisted sandwiches. And the aroma of bacon frying makes me levitate. Then add a touch of Miracle Whip to the trio and I’m a happy girl (ok ol’ girl).

    You know what? Tomato season or not your pictures have talked me into it–tonight is officially BLT night.

    Thanks for the motivation and the wholesome blog.

  10. Lisa on May 4th, 2008 5:32 pm

    Ok now you have me craving a BLT (hold the T for me please). Those P-Nut Butter brownies are a must make. If I didn’t already have my Mothers Day menu planned for next weekend, I would be making those….oh well there is always the next weekend.

    Oh that fruit pizza is a must make too!

  11. Shannon on May 5th, 2008 11:04 am

    I HAVE to make those brownies. :):) I’m not a tomoatoe eater so the BLT’s are out for me!