Simple Summer Cooking

Here comes the sun? I hope? While summer unofficially began on Memorial Day weekend, I am not quite believing it. Instead of summer whites, I’m still cozying up in wool pants for work and hoping a post on some summery cooking will help Mother Nature get the hint.

Fish in a packet – This is nothing new or too exciting, but it’s healthy and delicious and easily done on the stove or on a grill. Last weekend when we had a bit of sun, we fired up the grill and stuffed foil packets with filets of cod, lemons, garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil. The person watching the grill just needs to keep an eye on the fish, checking until it’s perfectly flaky This grilled dinner felt so decadent, but it was pretty health overall.

On the same night we grilled, I also had a huge craving for one of my favorite New England summer foods, steamers dipped in butter. The key to making steamers is making sure they are clean. There’s nothing worse than a bit of grit! I soak them in cold water, which I change two or three times, and I also scrub the shells. Steaming is easy; just make sure the shells are open and you have plenty of melted butter (and napkins)!

One day, it actually is going to get hot (please. . . ), and we’ll be craving cool, light meals. I whipped up the below “Cool as a Cucumber” soup using six baby English cucumbers, an avocado, two cups buttermilk, two cloves garlic, a couple of spoons of light sour cream, a large jalapeno, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Blended together, the ingredients made for a cool, creamy soup with a slight hint of spice. I would add more jalapenos next time to give it more of a kick.

Finally, we have a most excellent summer side dish, designed to use up all of those vegetables from your garden, farm stand, or CSA. This slaw is cabbage, carrots, finely chopped broccoli, cilantro, and thinly sliced jalapenos all doused in rice vinegar and mixed with a teaspoon of honey. It could not be simpler, and since it has no heavy mayo dressing, it all stays crunchy. I could see doing this with summer squashes, kale and other greens, radishes, etc. We joined our first CSA this year, Red Fire Farm, and I can’t wait to see what new recipes we can dream up with what will likely be an overload of produce.

Have you started cooking up summer recipes yet? Do you have a garden or belong to a farm share?