Summertime Salads and Veggies

It’s summer time at the F&P, and if you’ve been reading Grenville’s posts you already know that means HOT and HUMID weather – not good for indoor cooking and especially using the oven. Sadly, we won’t be baking bread for awhile, but donations always welcome (hint, hint, Lois).

On Sunday, Grenville picked our first fresh produce of the season – green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers and cukes. Dinner will be grilled this week and served with salads.
This morning, I made a couple of our favorites – pasta salad and green bean and kidney salad. Ingredient measurements are subject to personal choice. My method was to check the fridge for whatever we had + use veggies Grenville picked. Use as many or as few veggies as you like (or have available). But, of course, fresh ones work and taste best. As with lots of recipes, some measurements are to your taste as in “some of this” and “more of that” so the rule here is what I’m calling the S&S rule – (keep it) simple and sample (often) especially when adding herbs and spices. (Grenville came up with this shortened name cause he liked my simple and sample statement.)

Tri-Color Pasta Salad

2 C tri-color rotini, cooked al dente 
Italian dressing 

3-4 tbsp McCormick Salad Supreme® or your own mix
Toss with assorted cut up vegetables, your choice – as many as desired or available. Here’s some of what went into my pasta salad:

• broccoli, cut up florets
• carrots
• zucchini and yellow squash
• cucumber
• celery
• green pepper
• scallions (green tops)
• cherry tomatoes or cut up larger tomatoes

Serve cold. It’s best to stir a couple of times and you may have to add more Italian dressing or substitute olive oil. 

F&P NOTE: There’s usually a bottle of Salad Supreme® in the F&P pantry, but I use less and add fresh or dried herbs like oregano, basil and parsley plus grated cheese.  FYI - Salad Supreme® Ingredients include grated Romano cheese, salt, sesame and poppy seed, paprika, celery seed, garlic, black and red pepper, NO MSG (but stuff like silicon dioxide, which is best left out).



Green Bean and Kidney Bean Salad
If you have lots of green beans, canned kidney beans, mustard, olive oil and herbs you can mix together this salad. Substitutions always encouraged. This is NOT a traditional 3-bean salad. Happily, there’s no vinegar involved and it doesn’t even have 3 types of beans.

• 1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 lb (or more) of fresh green beans
• 1/4 C Dijon mustard
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh chopped parsley and basil (if available; dry herbs if not)

Trim and parboil green beans. Rinse and cool and half if too large. Mix with kidney beans, herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk together mustard and olive oil and add to beans. Delicious served cold, just toss before eating.

Our friend, Possum, joined us for dinner last night and we enjoyed these salads, grilled Santa Fe Chicken, and some freshly brewed iced tea. Later on, Grenville and I shared chocolate ice cream (don’t tell Possum she missed out on that).

Summertime and the cooking is SO easy