29 July 2017

Weekend Cooking: 2 Easy Summer Recipes

2 Easy Summer RecipesI like eating out as much as the next guy. I mean, who doesn't like to try fancy dishes made with tricky techniques, being waited on, and letting someone else do the cleanup? As lovely as that is, after an entire week of eating out three meals a day, I am always ready to get back to my own kitchen.

All our meals this week were farmers' market inspired. We had a salad of Italian greens with fresh blueberries and a buttermilk-goat cheese dressing, ratatouille, grilled chicken with grilled fresh corn, and more salads. Have I told you lately how much I love summer?

Here are two winning recipes from this week's dinner menus, both featuring the best of the season. I made a couple of changes to the salad, which I mention in the recipe.

Tomato Salad with Feta and Pistachios (from Bon Appetit)
4 servings

  • 2 Easy Summer Recipes3 tablespoons pistachios (I used cashews)
  • 1 pound mixed tomatoes, some sliced, some cut into wedges
  • 2 small cucumbers, sliced (I added this)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup Basic Lemon Vinaigrette (click link)
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley, plus leaves for serving
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta
Preheat oven to 350F. Toast pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet tossing once, until golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Let cool, then chop. (I toasted the cashews in a dry cast-iron skillet on the stovetop.)

Arrange tomatoes and cucumbers on a plate; season lightly with salt and pepper. Mix vinaigrette, 1/4 cup parsley, and two-thirds of the nuts in a small bowl. Drizzle over tomatoes. Top with feta and remaining parsley and nuts. (photo: Bon Appetit)

Tuscan-Style Quinoa (from Vegetarian Today)
4 servings
  • 2 Easy Summer Recipes1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3-4 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
  • 2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb
  • 2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
  • 2 cups diced yellow squash
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
Puree the beans, vinegar, 2 teaspoons of oil, and 2 teaspoons of garlic in a food processor. Drizzle in the water, add the thyme and process until smooth.

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Stir in the basil after the grain has cooked.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, zucchini, and yellow squash, and cook until softened, 8-9 minutes. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in the wine; simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in tomatoes and thyme.

To serve: place the quinoa on a platter, add the vegetable mixture, and scatter the olives over top. Pass the bean sauce at the table. (photo: Vegetarian Times)

NOTE: Mr. Linky sometimes is mean and will give you an error message. He's usually wrong and your link went through just fine the first time. Grrrr.
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Weekend Cooking hosted by www.BethFishReads.comWeekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.
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13 comments:

gluten Free A_Z Blog 7/29/17, 6:26 AM  

Beth,
Both of your salads look delicious. I love the addition of the pistachios to the tomato and feta cheese classic and the Tuscan Style Quinoa looks like a light summer dinner for us..

Tina 7/29/17, 7:00 AM  

Perfect salads for this hot weather. I will be stealing both recipes!

bermudaonion 7/29/17, 7:33 AM  

I could eat salads like that every day.

Mae Travels 7/29/17, 7:41 AM  

Salads have been on the menu here too -- the tomato selection in your bowl looks very good. The quinoa salad must be a lot of work!

Your linky software gives an error message after each attempt to update the list. However, it's only necessary to refresh the page, and then the new link appears and another can be added.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Molly 7/29/17, 8:05 AM  

Both of these sound delicious! I make tomato/cucumber salad all the time this time of year - but I never thought to add pistachios. YUMM!

Jackie McGuinness 7/29/17, 8:30 AM  

I must be one of the rare ones who doesn't love eating out a lot. Lunch I enjoy out in some quirky place but I do like dinner at home.

Claudia 7/29/17, 11:11 AM  

Both recipes look like summer winners! I'm so enjoying the selection of good produce we end up with having almost more than can be used in time.

Deb in Hawaii 7/29/17, 12:14 PM  

Both of these recipes look perfect for summer. I love the pistachios (or cashews!) ;-) added to the salad and all of the veggies in the quinoa. Thanks for sharing!

rhapsodyinbooks 7/29/17, 12:43 PM  

They both look fantastic! I'm stealing them as well!

Carole 7/29/17, 3:53 PM  

Thanks as always I wish it was summer here - a very cold morning - had to break out the thermals! Cheers from Carole's Chatter

Esme 7/30/17, 12:06 PM  

I like the idea of the tomato salad sans the parsley.

Heidenkind 8/3/17, 10:38 PM  

Yum! I tried a summer recipe,from the kitchn tonight and it was awesome. No cook tomato sauce 👍🏻👍🏻

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