Cool Summer Meals
Independence
Day this year slipped away quietly without bands, parades and fireworks as
social distancing has become a norm in the past months. We had our traditional
red-white and blue potato salad, grilled sausages, corn and of course
watermelon, but it was easy to be nostalgic for the 4th of July
celebrations from past years. Still, summer is here and the few recent hot
days, make us turn to cooler fare.
A wire fence around the sorrel pot on my patio kept the
woodchuck family finally at bay, and my sorrel regrew. Sorrel is not a green
familiar to most in the US, but it is favored in Northern Europe and in France
for it’s tangy tart flavor for soups and sauces. It is similar in appearance to
spinach tempting to be included as flavoring in green salads. I have always
liked it as a basis for a light summer soup.
Sorrel and Barley Soup
Wash and trim stems of a large
bunch of sorrel. If leaves are very large, cut in half.
1) Rinse a 2/3 cup of pearled barley in several changes
of water until water is no longer cloudy.
Place in a pot with water to cover 2 inches, add ½ tsp. salt and cook
for 30 minutes with occasional stirring and drain.
2) In another pot place 4 cups water, 1 finely chopped
onion or 2 tblsp. dried chopped onion, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. celery seed, 1 tsp.
dried oregano, small pinch of red pepper flakes and cook on medium heat for 20
minutes. Add washed sorrel and cook for 2 minutes. Then stir in coked barley.
3) Serve warm with chopped hard boiled egg in each bowl,
or cold with a tablespoon of sour cream.
4) For a gluten free soup omit the barley but add a
peeled and diced large potato to the onion and flavorings at the beginning of
the cooking period.
Mediterranean
Pasta Salad
Cooking summer pasta, whether to be served hot or
cold, is best with medium sized pasta that allows the sauce or dressing to
adhere to the cooked pasta
1) Vinaigrette: 6 tblsp. wine vinegar, 3 tblsp.
olive oil, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. Worcestershire
sauce, ½ tsp. celery seed, salt and pepper to taste.
2) Cook 8 oz fusilli or
rotelle in salted boiling water to al
dente. Drain pasta and in a large
bowl toss with the vinaigrette while hot. Allow to cool.
3) When cool, add diced: ½ red and ½ green peppers,
¼ cup red onion, 1/3 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives, ½ cup crumbled Feta
cheese and 4 oz grape tomatoes cut in halves. Toss all ingredients together and
chill 2 hours before serving.
4) If you wish for a more colorful effect, toss with
a drained and rinsed a can of black beans. Serve garnished with chopped parsley
and hard-boiled egg slices.
Summer fruit delights in July are
peaches and plums. Plums sometime seem like the underappreciated cousin in this
pair. We all love peach pie and peach crumble, but plum cake or clafoutis are
not among most cook’s favorite recipes. This year the stores have been
featuring bagged plums, which are excellent for either or those deserts. Here
is a recipe for a plum desert that is very easy to prepare and is moist and
delicious.
Plum Brown
Betty.
1) Preheat the oven to 450
degrees. Butter heavily a 2 ½ quart casserole with lid
2) Toast and cube 3-4 slices
white bread. You should have 3 cups of bread cubes.
3) Halve 5-6 small plums and
toss with 1 tlsp. lemon juice
4) Layer 1/3 crumbs, 1/2 plums,
¼ cup sugar, 2 tblsp. walnut pieces
5) Repeat the layer
6) Finish with the last layer
of bread cubes and sugar
7) Dot with ¼ cup butter and
cover with the lid or tightly with aluminum foil
8) Bake 20 minutes, uncover the
casserole and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the top layer starts to
brown.
9) Cool slightly and serve warm
or cold, with or without whipped cream.
“Roll out those lazy, hazy,
carazy days of summer” sang Nat King Cole long ago. That’s one good idea that
hasn’t changed with the times.
(I. Winicov
Harrington lives in coastal Maine 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)
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