Summer Cooking

Thought I would share a few new recipes I've tried recently that we've liked. Many contain ingredients that I'm just experimenting with for the first time, but we've enjoyed them and most all are healthy! With our CSA box I've been introduced to many new vegetables that have been surprisingly tasty, when prepared well.

Pasta Primavera. I made this for a dinner party we hosted a few weeks ago and while it's a bit time intensive for a regular weeknight meal, it was really delicious and a good meal to cook with friends in the kitchen.

Asian Coleslaw. This makes great leftovers for lunch. I don't usually use both purple and green cabbage, just whatever I have. I've also subbed in parsley for cilantro and it was fine. And instead of vegetable oil, use toasted sesame oil (I get it at Trader Joe's)--it makes such a difference!

Roasted Beets. No real recipe for these, just remove beet greens, scrub the beets, wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour, until fork tender. Peel the skins and eat like a potato. Or slice up and put in a green salad. I'll do a batch of these and then eat a beet for lunch the next day.

Eggplant, Zucchini and Tomato Tian.  Put this together earlier in the day and then it just bakes like a casserole so no work before dinnertime! And don't peel the tomatoes--waste of time!

Sesame-glazed bok choy.  I didn't have peanut oil, so just used toasted sesame oil and it was great. Also subbed toasted cashews for the sesame seeds. We ate this with rice and frozen wontons from costco. Potstickers or teriyaki chicken would be good, also.

Swiss Chard with pine nuts and currants.  Toasting the pine nuts makes all the difference in this recipe. Even Paul, who usually turns up his nose at cooked greens liked this. And Kate was excited about the raisins. I think we ate this with baked salmon.

Quinoa Salad.  I adapted this from another recipe and here's what I came up with. This also made great lunch leftovers. And don't be afraid of the quinoa! It's just like cous cous or rice, a whole grain with a lot of protein. I get mine in the bulk section of Sprouts, but TJ's sells it also.
1 1/5 c quinoa, cook it like rice with 3 cups liquid. I used 1 1/2 c water and 1 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c or so jarred salsa
fresh chopped cilantro, maybe 1/3 cup
frozen sweet corn, 1/2 cup
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
chopped cherry tomatoes
chopped mango
chopped avacado
1/4 lb chopped cooked shrimp

Mix cooked quinoa with all the ingredients. Serve warm or at room temp. Add or take out whatever ingredients you can think of. Season with salt and pepper.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers. We LOVED these. All of us. Don't have a grill so I cooked it on a cast iron grill pan. Ate it with parsley aioli (mayo mixed with a little chopped parsley), burger fixins and homemade sweet potato fries (just peel and cut up a sweet potato, drizzle with oil, s&p and roast 450 for 30 mins or so. TJ's also makes good frozen sweet potato fries)

Spinach and Orzo pasta. Made this for a lunch potluck. I followed the recipe exactly, but next time I'll try adding a little balsalmic vinegar.

Refried Beans. (Thanks, Maria!) Really easy way to cook dried beans. And a recipe I haven't tried yet, but want to. It sounds delicious with some beans and tortilla chips. Shrimp Ceviche

Finally, last night we went to dinner at Cafe Rio--now just 20 minutes from our house! It brought back good college memories. I have to use some serious will power to not eat the entire salad and tortilla.

What have you been cooking this summer? Any suggestions?