Grilled Shrimp Salad with Feta, Tomato, and Melon
Vegetables
Spicy Quinoa, Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Adapted from a recipe by Martha Rose Shulman who writes the “Recipes for Health” series for the New York Times.
This refreshing summer salad can sit in the refrigerator for a few hours without deteriorating, so it makes a great choice for bringing to work or to a summer picnic. There was a hot pepper in my box which I will use for this recipe, or you can substitute one of the other sweeter peppers. Since the cucumbers in my garden are coming in like crazy, I’ve got everything I need for this salad. And of course you could substitute bulgur or some other grain for the quinoa.
Herbed Crumb-Cheese Filling
The crumb-cheese filling recipe below would be just as good stuffing the tomatoes or peppers.
If you think your squash might be a little mature and need some tenderizing, scoop them out and then boil for about 2 minutes in a mixture of water, garlic and whatever herbs you have on hand or that go with your filling. Drain upside down while you prepare the filling.
Fresh Tomato Soup
And this recipe for tomato soup was a fabulous surprise. No cooking at all, and absolutely delicious. I served it to Marcia, MellowBellies’ intrepid photographer, this evening and she kept saying, “It’s so sweet!” That was just because of the fabulous MellowBelly tomatoes. You’d only want to make this when you have really wonderful summer tomatoes. But it couldn’t be easier and I think it will keep for several days in the refrigerator. It does separate when it settles, so just shake it up before serving. The recipe came from the August 2010 issue of Woman’s Day magazine.
Watermelon Gazpacho
I’ve been experimenting with cold soups this week, and I’m really enjoying these two options which use a number of items from this week’s box.
I‘ve been a huge fan of gazpacho since my first taste at the Peasant Uptown at Phipps Plaza (which means I’m really dating myself since they’ve been closed for years). Spicy, flavorful tomato gazpacho, topped with shrimp … and served with their cheese toast …. it opened my eyes to the pleasures of cold soup. Now most summers I keep a half gallon jar of gazpacho in the refrigerator as soon as the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers come in.
Recently I’ve been seeing recipes for watermelon gazpacho, and this week I finally tried it out. Delicious! Here’s one way to make it, but I’ve seen it demonstrated by chefs at local farmers’ markets using many variations including adding tomatoes, using more hot peppers, or varying herbs like using dill. I liked this recipe because it used what I have in my garden and box right now. You could leave out the crab, or substitute shrimp. The sweet seafood is a nice foil for the spicy fruitiness of the soup.
Field Pea Hummus
Also at the Morningside market this summer, Robert Gerstenecker of Park 75 made this yummy hummus with pink-eye peas. Yes, those any of those field peas will make delicious hummus, and it’s just too easy. If you’ve run out of ideas for your weekly bag of crowder peas, give this a try.
Summer Pepper Salad with Bulgur
This first recipe is an adaptation of one from Ian Winslade, formerly of many Atlanta restaurants including Bluepointe, Shout and Spice market. He just opened Buckhead Bottle Bar in June and he demonstrated this pepper salad at the Morningside Farmers Market last week.
Winslade suggests using different colored peppers, but the salad will, of course, be just as delicious with the exclusively red peppers that were in my box today. I haven’t cut into them yet, so I don’t know if they’re all sweet peppers, or if some hot ones are lurking in the bunch. Be sure to taste your peppers as you’re using them in any recipe to be sure the final result is what you expect!
Oh – and a note. There was some conversation several weeks ago about sherry vinegar. Almost every chef I’m working with these days is using it, and I was reminded that I bought mine at the DeKalb Farmers Market – I think it’s less than $2 for the bottle.
Sautéed Summer Squash with Chili, Mint and Toasted Almonds
And I was glad to see that squash is back. How about trying this recipe adapted from the blog Food52?
Skillet Roasted Okra with Eastern Spices and Lime
If you want your okra cooked, here’s a recipe from Gerry Klaskala of Aria, demonstrated at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market in July. You can skip the mango powder, or find it at an Indian grocery. Leftover spice mix will work on all kinds of other vegetables or meats.
Chocolate-Nut Zucchini Bread
Zucchini bread is the time honored way to deal with end-of-the-season zucchini. Here’s a chocolate version from Fine Cooking magazine.