Delicious, Healthy, Low-Waste: Summer Recipes that I love!

Greetings Friends!

One of the things I love most about summer (and I love a LOT of things about summer) is all the fresh produce! As I've mentioned before, I enjoy getting my fresh veggies from the local Farmer's Market. I've learned this summer that I can make a wide variety of delicious dishes just by keeping a small variety of staple ingredients on hand. Below are some recipes I've loved making this summer. But summer's not over yet! If you try any of these recipes please let me know in the comments below what you thought & if you needed to make any alterations to fit your situation. I'd love to hear from you!

But first: THE KEY INGREDIENTS are onions (red & yellow), zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers (also called sweet peppers), and celery. Not every recipe uses all of these ingredients, and certainly not exclusively, but it is amazing how many different cuisines use these same ingredients as the base for their recipes.

GAZPACHO

This lovely vegetarian dish is so refreshing! I love eating it with a slice of homemade whole wheat bread and a slice of white cheese (farmers', mozzarella, Munster, etc.). While this dish is often described as a "cold tomato soup" it is located in the Salads section of the More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris JANZEN LONGACRE. I prefer to think of it more as a salad because unlike most soups which are hot and less appealing when cold, this dish is as cool as a cucumber.  This recipe can easily become vegan by omitting or substituting the Worcestershire sauce (possibly using a soy sauce instead). Serves 4.

Combine in a large bowl, then chill & enjoy:

• 1 Cup peeled tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 Cup chopped celery
• 1/2 Cup chopped cucumber
• 1/4 Cup chopped onion
• 2 tsp snipped parsley
• 1 tsp snipped chives
• 1 small clove garlic, minced (I often use more)
• 3 Tbsp wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp salad oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 3 Cups tomato juice

ROAST VEGETABLE RATATOUILLE

This recipe is what taught me to like both eggplant and zucchini. A vegan dish, except it is traditionally served with pasta and Parmesan cheese. It also serves a lot, probably 10 servings, so it's great for larger families, sharing with friends, and left overs! Plus if you're sharing the meal then you have more hands to help clean up the dishes ;) I haven't tried freezing or preserving it so if you are concerned about it going bad before you can eat it all I'd recommend reducing the recipe. Keep in mind that all of these veggies can vary in size and many come in miniature, so you could try using small versions too. I got this recipe from my college roommate who in turn got it from her summer working in the kitchens of the Iona Community in Scotland.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

• 1/3 of a bunch of celery, sliced
• roughly the same amount of carrots, sliced
• olive oil

While oven is heating up, in a large pot on stove sauté carrots & celery for 5 minutes.

• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• enough water to barely cover the veggies
• 2/3 tsp minced garlic (or more)
• 2/3 tsp dried rosemary
• 2/3 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper

Add above list to the pot. Cover pot with a lid & bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat, & leave to simmer for 1 hour.

• 1 eggplant, chopped
• 1 red onion, thickly sliced
• plenty of olive oil (the eggplant will soak up the oil, then burn to the pan if there's not enough)

Meanwhile, as the pot simmers, toss eggplant, onion, & oil together in a baking dish. Roast eggplant & onions in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the eggplant is very soft.

• 2 green peppers, cored & sliced
• 1.5 zucchini, sliced
• olive oil

In another tray toss peppers, zucchini, & oil together and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until soft. About 10 minutes before veggies are done roasting put a pot of water on to boil for pasta. Cook pasta as desired. When carrots & celery are soft, puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pot. Add the roasted veggies and gently stir together. Serve with the pasta and Parmesan cheese.

JAMBALAYA

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. The original recipe, which I got from my dad, serves 27! He only makes it for more festive occasions, like on summer holidays or while camping with church friends. He even made a few batches for my high school graduation party. So I associate this delicious Cajun rice dish with summer, family, and fun. The recipe below is slightly altered from Dad's (goodness knows I'm not going to make 27 servings of rice & meat on a regular basis!), but in general it's very close to his recipe. This version serves 9. Also, a bit of warning: for white Midwestern culture, my family enjoys an uncommon amount of heat. You may need to alter the spices depending on your culture & primary cuisine preferences.

Jambalaya in the cast iron on the left. I made this batch to celebrate some birthdays, so pictured on the right are brownies with white chocolate chips & fresh red raspberries.

To do this recipe well, you must prepare all of the ingredients before you cook anything. Read through the whole recipe. Twice. Get everything prepped to go, or you'll ruin the food as you cook. But the true key to Jambalaya (and Cajun cooking in general) is to use a high heat, to add your spices in layers, and scrape the bottom of the pan as you go. Following this technique means the spices really come alive. If you dump all the spices in at once some of your ingredients will be way too hot and others too bland. Don't do it!

Mix together the following dry spices & set aside:

• 4 Bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme

In a large, heavy bottomed pot or skillet (such as cast iron) melt the butter over high heat. Add a little onion and the spices & let cook for a minute or two, using a hefty wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan. You want to lift that char/browning off the pan & get it on the food.

Then add some celery, peppers, more onions & spices. Cook. Then add some meat, let cook. Remember to keep scraping the bottom of the pan. Add a little more veggies & spices, let cook. More meat. Do NOT add spices when adding a hot ingredient like the Tasso or Andouille. Only add spices with the bland ingredients like the veggies or chicken. Keep repeating this layering process until all the veggies & meat are cooking.

• 1/4 Cup (aka 4 Tbsp) butter
• 1+1/2 Cup onions, chopped
• 1+1/2 Cup celery, chopped
• 1 Cup green bell pepper, chopped

• 1+1/2 Cup Tasso (which is a cayenne cured pork), cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 Andouille or other ring sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch discs or semi-discs
• 1 or 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

When all veggies & meat are in the pot cooking, add the garlic. Cook a few minutes longer, careful not to burn the garlic. Keep scraping that pan bottom! Don't let it burn. Stir in your dry rice, let cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock, stirring well until boiling. Cover with a lid, drop heat to a simmer & cook until rice is soft. As a rule white rice usually takes 20 minutes, brown usually takes 40 minutes. You might need to check it & scrape the bottom a few times while the rice cooks. Serve hot.

• 1 tsp garlic (or as much as your heart desires)
• 2 Cups uncooked rice (I use brown, but Dad uses long-grain white)
• 4 Cups chicken stock

The only down-side to Jambalaya is that is is rather hard for me to find Tasso & even Andouille sausage without plastic packaging. Sometimes I just leave them out or substitute another spicy cured meat, but it's just not quite the same. 

CUCUMBER SALAD

I cannot even describe how much I have come to love this salad. My roommate and I literally have to put it away in the fridge to keep ourselves from eating the whole batch all at once. The recipe, which is from Simply In Season by Mary Beth LIND and Cathleen HOCKMAN-WERT, claims it serves 4 and perhaps it does for sensible people, but in the Hen House it's gobbled up quickly.

• 3 Cups cucumbers, very thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)

While slicing the cucumbers, arrange in a medium-large bowl in neat layers. After each layer sprinkle with salt. This ensures that all of the cucumbers are nicely salted and prevents pockets of too much or too little salt.

• 1/2 Cup onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp sugar (optional--I NEVER use it, but it's your salad now, not mine)

 Stir all ingredients together. Enjoy.

Note: I prefer to use chilled cucumbers if serving it fresh. Or, if storing the whole salad in the fridge, I like to either wait to mix in the oil & vinegar or to let the salad with dressing sit at room temperature for a few minutes to help the oil liquefy. It's a texture thing. And a visual thing. It's an important thing.

So friends, what are your favorite summer recipes? What do you enjoy most about summer? Hope you are well and that these summer recipes help you squeeze every last bit of delicious joy out of your summer! Take care!