QUICK SUMMER MEALS

Quick Summer Meals

            School is finished for the summer! The Maine Mother’s Day to Father’s Day black fly season is over!  Our mosquito and tourist season has just begun! It is finally summer and we are likely to cram in as many outdoor activities in our day as work, weather, summer visitors and level of energy permits.

            All of this means reduced time in the kitchen and planning for meals that require little time and fewer trips to the store for necessary ingredients. Cooking outdoors on the grill is a favorite solution, but there are days when the weather refuses to cooperate and you still wish to put an attractive and fresh meal on your table.

            Various stir fries can be attractively supplemented with fresh vegetables and a salad for this purpose. The usual base for such are pasta, rice or potatoes, but a quick and easy alternative is couscous. This is a staple in the Mediterranean and Africa and is made of crushed durum wheat semolina that has been pressed in very small clumps to look like miniature pasta grains. The quick cooking variety is a summer staple at our house and can be served with a variety of toppings. Quick cooking grits make a suitable gluten free alternative.

                                    Couscous

            In a 2 qt. pot bring to boil:  1 cup water, 1 cup chicken broth, 1 tblsp. olive oil, ½ tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 1 cup quick cooking couscous, cover tightly with a lid and set aside for 5 minutes. Stir with a fork and serve. Optional additions could be adding ¼ cup dried currants or slivered almonds to the pot before stirring in the couscous.

            Two of my recent favorite toppings have relied on shrimp and ham combinations with Feta cheese, which tends to be another useful summer staple for dressing up salads as well as stir fries. The following recipes serve 4, but can be scaled up or down depending on the number of people at the table.

                                    Shrimp Scampi with Feta

            Sauté 1 lb. raw peeled and deveined shrimp with 2 minced garlic cloves in 2 tblsp.  olive oil until shrimp are barely pink. Remove to a warm plate. In the same pan sauté ½ green pepper cut in julienne strips, 1 small onion thinly sliced in ½ tblsp. added oil for 3 minutes. Stir in ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. anchovy paste (optional), 1medim tomato cut in narrow wedges and ½ cup white wine. Cook for 2-3 minutes, return shrimp to the pan to warm and stir in 1/3 cup chopped chives and 3 oz. cubed Feta cheese. Cook stirring for 1 minute and serve on top of couscous in shallow bowls.

                        Creamed Ham with mushrooms and Feta

            Cut 3/4 lb. sliced ham in 2 x3 inch pieces. In a large pan sauté:1 medium onion thinly sliced, 1 minced clove garlic and 6 large mushrooms coarsely sliced in 2 Tblsp. butter for 4-5 minutes. Stir in ½ tsp. salt, 1 Tblsp. flour, ¼ tsp. pepper, ½ cup white wine, ½ cup chicken broth and 1 tblsp. balsamic vinegar. Heat stirring to make a sauce. Add the ham pieces and heat through turning several times. Gently stir in ½ cup heavy cream and 2 oz. cubed Feta cheese. When heated through, serve on couscous in shallow bowls topped with chopped parsley.

            These quick and tasty summer meals can serve as a basic template for many variations on the theme. Each could be made with precooked chicken, added red pepper julienne slices or even snow peas depending on ingredients on hand. And best of all, leave more time to enjoy your summer activities.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)