Hello,
I love summer produce. I’ve been eating a case of nectarines a week recently and our raspberry vines have little treasures for us to discover daily. And the greatest delight: zucchini, tomatoes, basil, green beans and cucumbers being graciously given to us by our neighbors. It’s such a delicious time of year. Hope you’re on the receiving end of some garden grown produce this summer.
Honestly though, when it’s hot I lose most motivation to cook. My vision for this week is just eating a juicy peach over the sink. Or having snacks for dinner. But here are some ideas nonetheless that got us through this week and let us indulge in some prime season produce.
Quick links
zucchini sauté // mezze dinner // grilled teriyaki pork // date shake
Weeknight Meals
There are so many ways to cook this beloved veggie and this is one of the easiest and really lets it shine. I love the minimal seasoning, no onion or garlic even to overcomplicate it but the almonds are so delicious here.
This is a great side with whatever else you have going on and it really is as quick as advertised.
I love this when it’s super hot because it’s mostly just pulling things already made out of the fridge. There are unlimited options: greek/israeli salad or tabbouleh; pita and hummus, baba ganoush, or muhammara; feta or halloumi; falafel (frozen falafel reheats really well, no deep frying in this weather. I found good ones at Trader Joe’s) or crispy chickpeas; olives, artichoke hearts and other pickled or briny things; every vegetable you have in your fridge cut so it’s ready to dip.
Nancy’s Chicken Pasta Salad
This is my mother-in-law’s recipe and it’s beloved in our house, we make it a few times every summer. It’s great for scaling up to feed a crowd and pretty much everyone likes it. We use grilled chicken thighs or you can shred a rotisserie chicken. I always reduce the sugar in the dressing a bit, add a little more lemon juice or vinegar and a diced shallot in place of the dried onion.
Weekend Meal
Grilled Teriyaki Pork with Pineapple
Grilled pineapple is so delicious alongside pork, we also like cabbage wedges straight on the grill and a mix of bell peppers and onions in a grill basket. Broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini or summer squash or green beans would also be great. I like to grill them plain or with just a little oil and salt and then season with the teriyaki sauce or more salt later.
Teriyaki tofu for the vegetarians!
Treat of the Week
We definitely go the chocolate peanut butter route in our house, but the original date shake is pretty delicious as well.
Something to Listen to
In honor of the Barbie/Oppenheimer standoff, they get into other cultural mashups and it’s a delight.
Have a great week!
Emily
Wow. An honor to see the old family favorite pasta and spinach salad appear. We had it this week at your suggestion. I agree with getting a bit more acid and flavor into the dressing! Thanks for the suggestions.