Summer Eats

Happy Summer! Some would argue that fall is right around the corner, but I’m lucky to be able to ignore that for a few more days.

Between camping trips, visits with family, and vacation we’ve been quite busy – but never too busy to eat well!

Here are some highlights from our kitchen this summer, hopefully they give you some fresh ideas and inspiration:

Zucchini Enchiladas – a very intriguing idea I saw in Cuisine at Home magazine. You halve garden or farm fresh zucchini, then carve out the middles to create little boats! Fill the boats up with any Mex-y filling you like or would normally fill enchiladas with. I used store-bought fresh-ground beef chorizo, pintos, corn, enchilada sauce, and plenty of cheese. Tasty!

Grilled Pizza – We have our own style and technique but Martha has some good tutorials and there are good getting-started tips here from the kitchn.

Peach, Tomato, and Spinach Salad with 34° Crisps Pan-“Fried” Chicken Strips (recipe forthcoming!)

Jerk Shrimp Tacos – Cantaloupe is one of the few things I cannot stand, so I subbed in mango instead.

White Chicken Chilli – I used store-bought rotisserie chicken, and store-bought salsa verde. Super easy.

Ribs using Penzey’s 33rd & Galena as a rub and following this basic Emeril Oven-Baked BBQ Ribs recipe, then tossing them on the grill later for a few minutes to finish.

Red Beans & Rice – so satisfying. In my book, any day you get to buy ham hocks is a good day. I made this ahead and took it camping – we grilled a big andouille sausage, and served both over rice (that I had cooked ahead at home). Reheating the rice was a bit tricky over a camp stove, but it all came out phenomenally. I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day.

Then there were those 3 days we lived (almost exclusively) on Chinese take-out while my husband was out of town…

Gumbo from A Mouthful of Stars: A Constellation of Favorite Recipes from My World Travels – I added rice and a can of kidney beans.

Thai Red Curry with Tofu and Snap Peas (I just follow the directions on the spice packet) 😉

Falafel with veg and hummus etc.

Enchiladas Verde – I found some Enchiladas Suizas sauce packed away in the back of my freezer. I blended it up with a bunch of spinach and some frozen green chiles I found in there too. Chopped up some frozen leftover rotisserie chicken, rolled the chicken and some pinto beans up in flour tortillas, sauced and cheesed the whole thing, and set it to bake. YUM.

Chiles Rellenos (more of a casserole version, much easier on the home cook) from A Southerly Course: Recipes and Stories from Close to Home. I broiled and skinned chiles from our own garden, and couldn’t resist adding a mandoline-d home-grown zucchini plus some leftover sweet corn kernels.

Chicken Korma Masala with Peas (and a less-than-glamorous time-pressed attempt at home/hand made grilled naan bread) – got the spice mix from Kalustyan’s in NYC years ago, part of my trying to clear out the backlog (i.e. hoard) of spices (see Balance Through Depletion).

Crispy Grilled Kale with (store-bought) Rotisserie Chicken

Breakfast?: Zucchini Spice Bread

Dessert?: Blueberry Hand Pies

What’s been your favorite or most- requested meal this summer? Please share in the comments below!