Whole grains lightened up with raw or lightly cooked vegetables and chopped herbs make a great centerpiece to summer meals. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve made two, with very different results. The first was quinoa tossed with tiny cubes of raw yellow zucchini (you could lightly steam it instead). It was dressed with [...]
Archive for July, 2011
Summer Salads with Whole Grains
Posted in Grains, Salad, tagged Summer whole grain salad on July 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Summer Bread Pudding with Berries
Posted in Apple, Berries, Bread pudding, tagged Summer Bread Pudding on July 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I found a bowlful of cubed bread on the kitchen counter this morning, a not-so-subtle hint about Sunday breakfast. So I whipped up a summer bread pudding with the first apples of the season and organic blackberries that I picked at our CSA farm. As I’ve said before, I make bread pudding based on proportions [...]
Pickle Projects: Garlic Scapes, Sliced Dills and Sweet-Hots
Posted in Cucumbers, Pickle, Preserving, Uncategorized, tagged Pickled garlic scapes on July 30, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Every week for the past 6 weeks, I’ve put up a small batch of pickles and now I have enough for a crowd. Which is perfect since about 150 people or so will show up for a picnic next week and while I’ll still be sweating the rest of the dishes, the pickles are ready. [...]
Blueberry Basil Sorbet
Posted in Berries, Herbs, Sorbet, tagged Blueberry basil sorbet on July 30, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
We wandered into our amazing local ice cream parlor the other day and sampled delicious and perfectly seasonal blueberry basil sorbet. This particular shop, known for unusual combinations of ingredients, always has something so completely right for the moment in addition to its usual fare, which is anything but standard. I’ve been planning on making [...]
Cooking with Color: Tomato-Calendula Salad and Blue Potatoes with Beets
Posted in Beets, Flowers, Potatoes, Salad, Tomato, tagged Calendula salad, Edible flowers, Potato and beet salad on July 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Okay, I admit that I play with my food. I love compositions and juxtapositions on multiple levels — color, taste, texture, size, cut and so on – with intuitive, spontaneous, of-the-moment combinations of ingredients on hand. Summer’s bounty provides a wide palette, a basketful of opportunities to compose. There are amazing chefs throughout the world [...]
Summer Squash, Chard and Leek Tian
Posted in Gluten-free dairy-free, Greens, Vegetable gratin, Zucchini, tagged Simple summer casseroles, Summer squash and chard tian on July 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The hot, humid, seemingly unbearable cloud of oppressive summer weather makes us seek simple and light vegetarian dishes that use seasonal produce and minimize effort. Mostly, there are fruits, salads and chilled foods on our table these days but other than grilling, an occasional simple baked dish seems just right. I have a penchant for [...]
Thai Basil Chicken
Posted in Chicken, Herbs, Spice Rack Challenge, tagged Cooking with Thai basil on July 15, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Basil of all varieties epitomizes summer for me. It’s persnickety about cold, so I start growing it in June when the weather warms, and between my garden and our CSA, we are harvesting it from June 21 to September 21, quite literally the summer season. I freeze basil pesto in little tubes to add to [...]
Zucchini and Noodles in Green Curry Sauce with Thai Basil
Posted in Herbs, Pasta, Spice Rack Challenge, Zucchini, tagged Using Thai basil, Zucchini Noodles on July 14, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Long strands of yellow and green zucchini lighten up a pasta dish, whether combined with spaghetti seasoned with lemon juice and zest, or here, served in a delicious, spicy and creamy Thai–inspired coconut milk sauce with green curry and Thai basil. The strands are also good as a salad lightly dressed with olive oil and [...]
Peach and Raspberry Sorbet
Posted in Berries, Sorbet, Stone fruit, tagged Peach melba sorbet on July 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This is like the famous dessert Peach Melba but without the ice cream. “Peach Melba” was invented by Auguste Escoffier in Paris and named after a singer named Nellie Melba. It typically consists of a peach and raspberry sauce served over vanilla ice cream. The first white peaches of the summer and the first red [...]
Paper Chef 59: Barbecued Quail with Cabbage Cucumber Slaw
Posted in Cabbage, Chicken, Paper Chef, Potatoes, tagged cabbage with miso dressing, Cooking quail on July 12, 2011 | 1 Comment »
July here on the East Coast U.S. means hot days with long lasting light, when we often cook outdoors for informal gatherings of friends and family, with meals served in our garden. As the sun goes down, the oil lamps and candles are lit, and we watch fireflies flitting across the flowers and grass. These [...]
