salad

Light Summer Recipes: Beat the Heat

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So, who wants to cook in this heat? I work in the garden in the cool of the morning and bring in my daily harvest. But when I look at the lovelies on the kitchen counter, I find I have no energy left to cook an evening meal. So, I’ve put together some of my favorite ways to avoid heating the kitchen, meals that are quick to fix, use those exquisite fresh ingredients that are abundant right now, and taste refreshing on a hot summer day.

Pasta with tuna and tomatoes

Boil some of your favorite pasta and let it cool. Dress with store-bought or homemade pesto or your favorite vinaigrette. Toss with a can of albacore tuna, quartered cherry tomatoes and fresh Parmesan.

Roasted vegetable salad

Don’t be shy to heat the grill. Any vegetables you have on hand, like bell peppers, zucchini, and eggplant, take only a few minutes to carmelize a bit in a grill basket. Toss them with fresh herbs, olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve over crisp greens or cooked quinoa.

Cold noodle salad

Prepare rice, soba or spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Let cool and toss with carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers and snow peas. Toss with a sesame-ginger dressing or peanut sauce.

Cold soups

Gazpacho and cucumber soup are perfect for hot days. Blend fresh tomatoes or cucumbers with onions, garlic, herbs, a splash of olive oil, and a splash of your favorite hot sauce (mine is sriracha). Serve with crusty bread or sprinkle with crisp croutons.

Caprese salad

Layer slices of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Seafood Tacos

Grill fish or shrimp, add to a taco shell, and top with crunchy slaw, avocado, and a squeeze of lime.

Simple summer meals

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cucumber tomato onion salad

Nothing says summer like a tomato, cucumber and onion salad, a staple in our house. After a day in the sun or in the hammock, why cook? We have a pile of tomatoes fresh from the garden sitting on the counter, so this salad paired with fresh sweet corn makes a perfect summer meal. 

Summer’s bounty

Summer, by nature, brings on lazy days when you want only cool, simple things to eat. And quick and easy preparation.

Open the crisper drawer and lo! Zucchini, yellow squash, snap beans, fresh dill. What can I make? Blanch the beans until crisp-tender and chill, shave the squashes into ribbons, and dress with chopped dill, feta cheese and a simple vinaigrette.

Here are a few simple meals to make your summer evenings easy. And they make good use of garden and market-fresh produce. For salads, simple olive oil and vinegar dressings are easy. But even though I love to make homemade dressings, I cave to simplicity in the summer and purchase dressings. This is a great time to use fresh herbs like basil, dill and mint.

Grilled baby carrots
  1. Fork canned albacore tuna over cooked pasta. Top with fresh tomatoes, and fresh grated Parmesan
  1. Grilled vegetable salad: Grill colorful vegetables like bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, eggplant. Toss them with fresh herbs, olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
  1. Caprese salad: Layer slices of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  1. Gazpacho or cucumber soup is perfect for hot days. Blend fresh tomatoes and/or cucumbers with onions, garlic, herbs, and a splash of olive oil.
  1. Seafood tacos: Grill fish or shrimp, top with crunchy slaw, avocado, and a squeeze of lime and roll in soft tortillas.
  1. Fruit salad: Combine seasonal fruits like watermelon, berries, and peaches. Add a hint of mint and a squeeze of lime or orange juice for extra freshness.
  1. Pasta salad: Mix cooked pasta with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and feta cheese. Dress with a light vinaigrette and fresh herbs.
  1. Stuffed bell peppers: Fill sweet red bell peppers with quinoa, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and spices. Bake until tender.
  1. Cold noodle salad: Toss cooked whole wheat spaghetti or soba noodles with carrots, bell peppers, snow peas or whatever other vegetables sound good. Toss with a sesame-ginger dressing.
  1. Grilled chicken Caesar salad: Grill chicken breasts and serve over crisp romaine lettuce with Caesar dressing, croutons, and Parmesan cheese.

Clean eating

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Red Ursa kale

I just had a note from my sister commenting on the burden of having all those leftovers in the fridge after Thanksgiving. We were brought up by a mother who would never let any food go to waste so guilt is definitely in our DNA.

And we’re coming up again on the Christmas holidays with their overabundance of food and myriad leftovers. Mind you I love leftovers, but I, like so many, am tired of trying to put them into edible dishes that are different but tasty. So, the turkey’s in the freezer for soup in three months, guiltily I ate some of the last of the mashed potatoes instead of putting them in potato cakes. And, yes, I composted the rest. 

Broccoli and broccoli rabe

I am ready for clean eating again. Like a palate cleanse after a heavy meal. I want salad. Not fresh tomato salad from the garden because that’s only a disappointment with grocery store tomatoes. But a salad of massaged kale (sorry, Robin Lester), bok choi, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. 

Cauliflowers

A friend brought a brussels sprout salad for our Friendsgiving, and it was simply refreshing. I absconded with the leftover salad, had it for breakfast the next morning, and have done my best to duplicate it here. I will give a nod to Vivian Howard of A Chef’s Life, because I think this is where the original recipe came from. But I’ve duplicated it from memory and added a few riffs to it.

Radishes

Feel free to add whatever you have in the fridge – massaged kale, chopped broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, beets or even roasted sweet potatoes. Don’t leave out the apples, though, because they add a delightful sweet burst. My friend’s salad was dressed with a bleu cheese vinaigrette, but you can dress it however it suits you. 

2 cups slivered Brussels sprouts

1 cup chopped apples (finely chopped)

½ c. toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

½ c. slivered sweet onion

¼ c. crumbled feta cheese

Mix and chill. Dress with your favorite vinaigrette.