Melon Summer Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

So, P.J. (my lovely husband) loves cantaloupe, and I love prosciutto. You’d think that would mean we’d share a mutual love for the Italian classic of prosciutto-wrapped melon, right?  Well, we have a small challenge – P.J. is vegetarian, and I wouldn’t say that I love cantaloupe.  That said, I recently saw a recipe in Cooking Light for a cantaloupe-based chilled gazpacho with crispy prosciutto, and I thought I might give it a try.  I’ll say up front that, while we both liked the dish, it was perhaps not our very favorite.  Not because it’s not good, but more because the prosciutto really is a key element (which P.J. couldn’t eat), and as it turns out, I really just don’t care that much for cantaloupe.

I realize the above is not the best sales job for this recipe… 😉  That said, I believe that if you’re a fan of cantaloupe and you’re up for adding the prosciutto, you’ll probably really like this one. You’ll find my adaptation after the jump.

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Fresh Summer Salad: Peaches, Lump Crab, and Mixed Greens with Orange Juice Reduction

At the fish counter in Central Market, they carry these little tubs of gorgeous, fresh crab claw meat… Every time I go in, I stare longingly at them, wishing I knew how to make something other than crab cakes.  Well, the day has finally come… I ran across a Martha Stewart recipe for a salad with peaches and crab meat, so I adapted it last night to be Paleo-friendly (and to my liking!). The only downside was that it took a little longer than I planned, so I was on the ravenous side when I finally gobbled it up. I also had to stop myself from just eating the crab meat straight out of the tub. Don’t tell.

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Watermelon and Arugula Salad... Perfect for Summer!

My husband P.J. is a HUGE fan of watermelon and arugula, so I’d been meaning to adapt and serve this recipe for a while. I actually stumbled across it in my pre-Paleo days and had it earmarked for summer. At the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, we stumbled across some seedless yellow watermelon (crazy!) – that was all the prompting I needed to make this salad.

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The Table Setting: Fun Linens, Tealights, and White Hydrangea Blooms in Short Water Glasses

I LOVE a good dinner party.  Seriously.  I honestly can’t imagine what I enjoy more on a weekend night than having friends in our home, eating food we’ve prepared, drinking good wine, and having a great time. Pre-Paleo, this was a pretty regular occurrence: whether it was hors d’oeuvres for 30 for my husband’s birthday or an intimate multi-course meal, I reveled in cooking for others. (We’ll just ignore the fact that my typical menus included bread-and-cheese trays, fried risotto balls, Italian pasta with cream sauce, and loads of gluten-rich baked goods. No one needs to know… it’s our little secret.)

In fact, one of my original reasons for resisting the change to a Paleo lifestyle was that I wasn’t sure I could still create delicious, gourmet food that was both Paleo and appetizing to our guests.  I couldn’t have been more off-base!  The Paleo lifestyle has such an incredible range of possibilities for creating incredible food, and I’m beyond excited to keep experimenting.

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Since switching to a Paleo diet in April of 2011 (about 3 months ago), I have quite literally eaten more salad than the entirety of my life leading up to this point. Seriously.  I was not a salad eater, and I would pretty much only eat them when it would be socially awkward/unacceptable to avoid it (i.e. weddings and business dinners).

That said, when my coach told me I needed to eat a full serving of veg with every meal (of five) of the day, I figured salad would be a good place to start (no cooking, quick to prepare in the morning, etc.).  I tried a bunch of different greens, and I’ll admit, I’m still working my way into some of the more serious greens (kale, spinach, etc.). That said, I’ve learned that I LOVE Romaine lettuce.  Never thought I’d say that.

I keep my salad pretty simple for every day, but I’ll periodically dress it up with whatever fun veggies we pick up at the fantastic Austin Farmer’s Market (downtown, Saturday mornings).  Here’s what I do every day…

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