Melon, mint, cucumber and tomato salad

chopped cucumber
chopped canteloupe
chopped tomato
chopped mint

Toss together. Chill before serving. Mmm...

Broccoli, red pepper and goat cheese pasta

Perfect for a quick, flavorful lunch

1 cup linguine, cooked
1 cup broccoli florets, steamed
1 red pepper, sliced
1 small yellow squash, steamed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 round goat cheese

Toss hot pasta with crumbled goat cheese. Stir in vegetables. Serve warm or chilled.

Kendra's plum/cherry cobbler

Last year my friend Kendra made THE most amazing plum cobbler at the end of the season. I've been dreaming of it ever since. So I set out to make some for my parents...who had an excess of cherries, not plums. Trust me - both versions are delicious! My cherries were very juicy, so I made a 1.5 size batch of the topping, but the original Kendrecipe is below.

5 cups fresh plums OR cherries, pitted and quartered
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine fruit and brown sugar, stir well. Poor into a buttered baking dish. (Don't skimp on size - it will bubble as it bakes!)

Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add beaten egg, stirring with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit and then drizzle melted butter on top. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned.

Summer vegetable salad

Inspired by this article on raw vegetable salads and a craving for Greek salad, this is what I wound up with. Big fan. I love vegetables and salads, but am not actually a huge lettuce lover. So the raw vegetable salad is my perfect match. And I ate a lot of it this summer!

The original post I read suggested mixing:

- four different vegetables you’d eat raw (corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, fennel, carrots, radishes, cabbage, radicchio, endive, sweet or green onions)

- cheese (feta, mozzarella, Swiss, cubed parmesan) and / or toasted nut or seed (pecans, almonds, pine nuts)

- simple vinaigrette

- chopped fresh herbs (parsley, marjoram, chives, thyme)


So I went to the fridge and herb garden and here's what I came up with. (I think the mint really made the difference.)

2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/3 English cucumber, chopped
1 ear of sweet corn kernels cut off the cob
mint leaves, snipped
basil leaves, snipped
1-2 tsp vinaigrette
1/2 small round of semi-firm goat cheese, crumbled

Toss all together and dig in. Go light on the vinaigrette. It's just a flavor binder, not an actual dressing - and you can always add more.

Cookie bars with fresh apricots

I had a craving for some sweet, but not too sweet. We had apricots, so I made a thin cookie batter that cooked up almost like a brownie. Not bad! One tip: Let cool completely before eating. The tastes come out more when cool as opposed to fresh from the oven.

8 apricots, cut in half
1/4 cup of butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup flour

Whisk together the melted butter, milk and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg and whisk. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mix it all together.

Pour into an 8x8 pan and spread evenly. Place apricot halves on top, pressing in gently. Bake in preheated oven for 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

BBQ chicken pizza

1 batch favorite pizza crust
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tomato, chopped
mozzarella
5-6 paprika chicken fingers
1 onion, thinly sliced

Make pizza dough according to instructions thru to spreading out on pizza stone or baking tray.

Spread sauce over dough. Top with chopped tomato.

Slice chicken fingers thinly. Place them on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with cheese, then top with onion slices.

Bake in preheated oven at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Rosemary chicken and dumplings with vegetables

I was craving 'real food' and also vegetables. This took care of both cravings.

Chicken and broth
6 pieces chicken
1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)
2-3 carrots, sliced OR 1 lg sweet potato, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 cup cream
fresh rosemary sprigs
freshly ground black pepper

Roux
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour

Dumplings
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

First, make the chicken and broth. In a large pot, cover the chicken pieces with water. Add salt and rosemary and bring to a boil for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken and let cool a few minutes. While waiting, skim any foam off the top of the broth. When you can handle the chicken, remove meat from bone and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Add meat back to broth. Add vegetables and simmer over medium heat.

While the chicken and vegetable simmers, start the roux. Melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in flour. Let cook, stirring often, until the color of peanut butter. Should take about 15 minutes.

To make the dumplings, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add chopped fresh rosemary. Add melted butter and milk to the dry ingredients. Gently mix with a spoon until mixture just comes together. Don't overmix!

Once the roux has darkened, carefully add 1/2 cup broth and stir to mix. Add another 1/2 cup and mix again. Once smooth, pour roux mixture into broth and stir well. Stir in cream.

Drop dumpling batter into the simmering stew by heaping teaspoonfuls, over the surface of the stew. Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Once you have covered the pan, do not uncover while the dumplings are cooking! In order for them to be light and fluffy, they must steam, not boil.

Serve hot in bowls with freshly ground pepper.

Spiced molasses cookies

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt. Pour remaining 1/2 cup into a plate and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms.

Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each about1 tablespoon. Roll balls in sugar to coat.

Arrange balls on baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven at 350°For exactly 11 minutes. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely.

Stone fruit jam

We went plum-picking in the neighborhood (any branches hanging in the street are fair game!) so I decided to make plum jam. But I also had a few ripe apricots and a peach on hand, so... stone fruit jam it is!

stone fruits
sugar
lemons
jars and lids

Pectin is what makes your jam set, so it's pretty vital. This recipe uses lemon pith (the white part), which I liked because it's natural and I usually have some on hand.

Sterilizing jars: Wash jars and lids well. Place in a sink filled with cold water and 4 Tbsps bleach. Soak ten minutes, then air dry on a clean rack.

Making the jam

Cut a circular sliced around each fruit, then place them in a large, heavy saucapen with high sides. Cook on med-high, stirring often, until the liquid cooks out of the fruit.





Let cool a few minutes, then pour the fruit into a large colander sitting in a larger bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stirring in a circular motion, work the fruit throught he colander - leaving just the peels, pits and fibers behind.



Pour the fruit pulp back into the saucepan.

Making the jam: Dump all ingredients in a large, thick-bottomed pot (each too much jam and you'll become thick-bottomed!). Over medium-high heat, stir the mixture until it begins to boil. As it cooks, more liquid will come out, so don't worry if it doesn't look like jam yet. Boil gently, stirring and scraping the bottom well.

To test the jam to see if it's ready, take a teaspoon of the jam from the pot and put it on a saucer. Blow on it for a few seconds and if it began to gel on the saucer, it's ready!

When the jam is ready to pour into the jar, remove the jar from the water with tongs, allowing the hot water to drain back into the pot. Fill the jar with jam, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe the rim with a clean towel. Twist the lid on, then turn the jar upside-down for five minutes to sterilize the lid. Flip the jars back over to cool completely. Once cooled, the lid should be tight and flat, which means it is properly sealed.

Store in refrigerator.

Chickpea falafel with cucumber yogurt sauce

I need to come clean up front and say that I'd never had falafel before making these, so had no idea what I was aiming to copy. I've since had falafel at an amazing Lebanese restaurant and would say that mine were close, but the shape was flatter, the consistency was smoother and more moist (less hush-puppy-ish), and the taste was more flavorful than those at the restaurant. Both were very good, but I think I'll stick with this version!

Falafel
1 large can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1/2 tsp dried garlic)
2-4 Tbsp tahini (opt)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup flour

Purée all ingredients with stick blender/blender/food processor. Shape into balls and flatten slightly with palms.

Pour just enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. Heat to med-high and cook falafel 'patties', flipping once browned. This method is much healthier than the traditional deep fried version, but the taste is still wonderful because of the garlic, lemon juice and tahini.

Serve falafel hot with:
bunch of parsley, rinsed and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
lemon slices
bunch of mint leaves
lettuce leaves
pita bread or Turkish bread

Taziki sauce
1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped finely
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Honey, fig and mint pizza

1 batch favorite pizza crust
1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsps honey
5-6 figs, cut into wedges
thin slices of dried sausage
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
mozzarella

Make pizza dough according to instructions thru to spreading out on pizza stone or baking tray. Brush crust with milk and bake in hot oven at 425° until just golden.

Carmelize the onions in a frying pan with a few drops of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Cook over low heat until soft and translucent.

Remove crust from oven and brush with honey. Top with figs, carmelized onions, sausage and then mozzarella.

Bake for another 15 minutes. Sprinkle freshly cut mint over top. Salt lightly and serve hot.

Vegetable tarte with red pepper pesto

The richness of the red pepper pesto with the Gouda makes this an excellent vegetarian lunch or dinner.

1 prepared pastry crust, rolled out
3-4 Tbsp red pepper pesto
1/2 cup shredded Gouda cheese, divided
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1-2 zucchini, chopped
olive oil
Italian seasoning

Using a spatula, spread the red pepper pesto over the crust, going within 1/2 inch of the edges. Sprinkle 1/2 of the Gouda on top. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes while working on the next step.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over med-high heat in a frying pan. Add zucchini and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes and sprinkle Italian seasoning over top. Cover and cook 5 minutes.

Gently spoon the tomato and zucchini mixture over the baked crust. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and a bit more Italian seasoning, then bake another 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Spicy carrot and potato salad with mint

I based this recipe off one from North Africa for spicy carrots. I added potatoes and swapped cumin and curry for the paprika. The result tasted very Indian, which I love.

3-4 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes
3-4 carrots, sliced into rounds

Boil until just tender, but not soft.

While the potatoes and carrots are cooking, mix together the dressing. Make it to your tastes - just use the ingredients as a guide. Pick one or two spices as the main ones, then use smaller amounts of the others to highlight them. In this case, I used cinnamon and curry as the main flavors.

Start by mixing:
Juice of one lemon
2-3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar (or more)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp curry
pinch salt

Mix and taste. Depending on how fresh your spices are, you may find one dominates the other. Add more of the weaker taste until the balance seems right.

Now highlight the taste by adding:
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of cloves
more salt if needed

Once the marinade tastes good, toss with the drained carrots and potatoes right away. Let marinate at room temperature a few hours, or refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature. Snip mint leaves over top, then serve.

Yellow plum jam

These little yellow plums grow like crazy in France during the summer. Perfect for foraging and jamming!

yellow plums
sugar with pectin added
jars and lids

Sterilizing jars: Wash jars and lids well. Place in a sink filled with cold water and 4 Tbsps bleach. Soak ten minutes, then air dry on a clean rack.

Making the jam



Cut a circular sliced around each plum, then place them in a large, heavy saucapen with high sides. Cook on med-high, stirring often, until the liquid cooks out of the fruit.



Let cool a few minutes, then pour the plums into a large colander sitting in a larger bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stirring in a circular motion, work the plums throught he colander - leaving just the peels, pits and fibers behind.



Pour the plum pulp back into the saucepan. Add 1/2 cup sugar with pectin for each 1 cup plum pulp. Over medium-high heat, stir the mixture until it begins to boil. Boil, stirring and scraping the bottom well, for seven minutes.

Pour jam into jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. If needed, wipe the rim with a clean towel. Twist the lid on, then turn the jar upside-down for five minutes to sterilize the lid. Flip the jars back over to cool completely. Once cooled, the lid should be tight and flat, which means it is properly sealed.



Store in refrigerator.