Food on Friday ~ Easy Summer Dishes
All I’ve got’s this lazy summer afternoon, food, and wine, and you…..
Face it, on a nice warm summer’s day, the last thing we want to do is spend ages in the kitchen. These dishes are perfect for summer, and they’re all amazingly easy; the kind of recipes where you can do much of the prep work in your yard, in the sunshine…..
It seems a while since I did a Food on Friday, so let’s see if I can still pull together a good menu. There are a lot of peaches involved this week.
First for this Friday we have summer spaghetti with tomatoes and burrata from Chungah at Damn Delicious. (I guess if you can’t get burrata then a mozzarella would work pretty well too.) This really is a 25 minute meal which would be perfect for lunch, a light dinner, or to take to work and zap in the microwave.
Summer Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Burrata
Next this week we have a fabulous 30 minute recipe from Sabrina Modelle; grilled salmon with peach salsa. This dish has so much going for it; you can cook the salmon on the BBQ, which means you can make the whole recipe in your yard. Anything with grilled salmon looks really special, so this is something you can serve to guests. And, best of all, it’s a 30 minute recipe that will make a great lunch, dinner, or something to take to work the following day. (This recipe was found for us by Elise at Simply Recipes).
Grilled Salmon with Peach Salsa
Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest has posted a lot of great recipes recently, but for this Food on Friday I’ve chosen to feature this 25 minute recipe for pesto zucchini and peach pizza with burrata. This really is a taste of high summer, and so very easy to make. Again you could serve this dish at lunch, dinner, as a snack, or take some to work the following day ~ maybe.
Pesto Zucchini and Peach Pizza with Burrata
From San Diego girl Averie Sunshine at Averie Cooks, we have this very, very easy recipe for sheet pan summer vegetables and chicken. I love sheet pan recipes, they are just so simple and there is so little clean-up afterwards. Averie says this easy, healthy, one pan meal should be ready in half-an-hour or so.
Sheet Pan Summer Vegetables and Chicken
The Minimalist Baker concentrates on vegetarian recipes of 10 ingredients or less that take less than a half-hour to prepare. This cheesy spaghetti squash pasta will actually need about an hour and a half , including cook time, but the prep is dead easy. This 9 ingredient dish looks fabulous
Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Pasta
Jessica Merchant at How Sweet Eats says this following recipe is THE SALAD OF THE SUMMER; or less shouty, the best summer panzanella salad. You know what? Jessica may just be right, this easy dish looks delicious.
The Best Summer Panzanella Salad
For something to drink that isn’t sucking down beer from a bottle, Jessica also has this delicious pinot peach sangria ~ another sangria recipe, and more peaches…… You can’t have too much of a good thing.
Pinot Peach Sangria
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
A little while ago Food on Friday was about summer vegetables and salads.
Some perfect side dishes to go with this week’s recipes.
Food on Friday ~ Winter Soups
The most beautiful foods for this cold winter season.
We have just had the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. When winter comes howling in like a wolf perhaps only a hot, nourishing bowl of soup will do.
These days we don’t have to rely on ‘seasonal’ vegetables, our stores hold a wide range throughout the year, so these recipes include things that my mom couldn’t have made in winter when I was are kid.
So everyone, here are some totally smashing recipes for winter soups.
I know that in Southern California you can still get squash at the store. So perhaps my friend in Orange County will like this recipe for butternut squash soup with toasted seeds and crispy sage leaves from Yvette’s Gourmet Kitchen. I’m pretty certain this dish is vegan.
Butternut Squash Soup with Toasted Seeds & Crispy Sage Leaves
This is a real ‘stick to your ribs’ recipe from Heather Christo; roasted sweet potato and butternut squash soup with cilantro sauce. Just the job for this freezing cold weather. You could make this as a vegetarian dish if you used vegetable stock rather than chicken stock. Just how colourful is this!?
Roasted Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup with Cilantro Sauce.
Another sweet potato soup. This time Cookie + kate have a sweet potato, kale, and chickpea soup. Kate says this is a hearty and delicious one-pot meal, and I like one-pot recipes. As far as I can tell this recipe is vegan and gluten-free, and will only take you 45 minutes to make.
Sweet Potato, Kale and Chickpea Soup.
For a healthy, colourful, and easy to make soup, you could try this creamy roasted red pepper tomato soup from Dana, the Minimalist Baker. This 30 minute recipe is vegan, (it uses coconut milk), full of antioxidants, and looks delicious. If you check out this recipe there are also links to a half-dozen more soup recipes from Dana.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
I absolutely love the look of this french onion and potato soup from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest. And, you have just got to do the cheesy bread topping. What a great lunch, or maybe you could have it as a starter, (without the cheesy bread topping).
French Onion and Potato Soup
If you want a filling soup that really is a meal all by itself then you couldn’t do much better than this creamy tortellini soup from In Dianes Kitchen. Seems that this is version #2 of this soup ~ maybe you should check out version #1 too. Diane also has a recipe for a delicious creamy potato soup, and a really rich loaded potato soup.
Creamy Tortellini Soup
This week’s collection is from delicious magazine. Their winter soup recipes include this fabulous looking and great sounding smoked bacon, leek, and butter bean chowder from Debbie Major. I have to try this recipe.
Smoked Bacon, Leek, and Butter Bean Chowder
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Marmaduke and I
Wish You A Merry Christmas
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Food on Friday~ Mediterranean
Good food begins and ends with good talk.
Some say that a Mediterranean diet is good for you. And, that if you eat a mostly Mediterranean diet you’ll be healthier and live longer. All I know is that you should always have a really good extra virgin olive oil.
From Greece, tzatziki is basically a mixture of yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, garlic, and mint, and you can buy it from your local store, or you can even make your own. The Bojon Gourmet has this nice little farro and cucumber salad with feta, dill, and mint that not only would be nice with some tzatziki, but also combines its flavours. Both would go nicely with some grilled goat.
Farro and Cucumber Salad with Feta, Dill, and Mint
And now, from Heidi at foodiecrush we have this outrageous herbacious Mediterranean chickpea salad. (I had to include this just for the name of the dish.)
Outrageous Herbacious Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
From Heather Christo this week we have Mediterranean pasta with grilled swordfish, lemons and gremolata. Gremolata is also dead easy to make for yourself. (I love grilled swordfish, but some say we shouldn’t buy swordfish ~ I will go on eating it, because whatever I do won’t affect how much fish the Japanese rape from the sea.) This 25 minute dish is perfect for a barbecue with the kind of friend who doesn’t expect a burned burger in a cheap bun.
Mediterranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish, Lemons, and Gremolata
Sardines are a quintessentially Mediterranean dish, and Petra from Food Eat Love has some super taste combinations in this dish of fresh sardines, roast baby beets with whipped avocado and feta. As you’d expect it’s the beetroot that going to take the longest to cook here.
Fresh Sardines, Roast baby Beets with Whipped Avocado and Feta
This is another Mediterranean dish I love, grilled lamb kebabs, this time from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest. (Do you want to know my own secret ingredient for grilling Mediterranean style? 7Up ~ when the charcoal gets too hot and the meat looks like it might burn, I sprinkle 7Up over the grill.) Tieghan’s is a half-hour dish, but one should really marinade the lamb overnight.
Mediterranean Grilled Lamb Kebabs
Dana at The Minimalist Baker has the ultimate Mediterranean bowl, looks fabulous, and it’s easy, healthy, and gluten-free. However, I would definitely add a little more extra virgin olive oil.
The Ultimate Mediterranean Bowl
For hose of us who like recipe collections, Olive magazine has 19 of the best Mediterranean recipes, including this cod, cherry tomato, and green olive tray roast. Looks smashing doesn’t it.
Cod Cherry Tomato and Green Olive Tray Roast
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
get yourself a cookery book
Food on Friday ~ Strawberries
Summer, you just have to have strawberries and champagne.
We have just had the tennis circuit here for Wimbledon Fortnight. The glitterati and beautiful people who are lucky enough to get into the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club eat strawberries by the ton and drink champagne by the boat load.
I don’t much like watching sports, but I do like strawberries and cream ~ actually my favourite is strawberries with chocolate ice cream. Some new evidence says strawberries are good for you. Strawberries may prevent age-related mental decline.
We should really only ever buy organic strawberries, as this lovely summer fruit often contains the residue of 20 or more synthetic chemicals, (probably because strawberries are mostly made of water they take up every pesticide that gets anywhere near to the strawberry beds).
Anyway, here are some cool strawberry recipes for a warm summer. And, who knew that strawberries are an aphrodisiac? After all, the pomegranate and strawberries are the fruits of Aphrodite.
First this week we have Petra at Food Eat Love who has some different dishes with strawberries; strawberry bread and butter pudding with dulce de leche, and beef spring rolls with a strawberry and soy dip. Petra says this is a true 10 minute dish which makes a great snack or starter. Hey, you could take this to work with some salad for a midweek lunch.
Beef Spring Rolls with a Strawberry and Soy Dip
Here’s a fabulously beautiful dish from Heather Christo; saffron strawberry quinoa salad. Great for a summer barbecue because it holds it’s flavour well in the sunshine, vegan and gluten free, and for you Californians, you can now buy saffron at Trader Joes. This brilliant dish should take you about 40 minutes to prepare.
Saffron Strawberry Quinoa Salad
Dana, the Minimalist Baker has this strawberry arugula salad ~ and the sweet strawberries perfectly complement the peppery arugula and toasted pecans. Wonderful on a hot day with a glass of fizz. This is so easy and will take you about 30 minutes. I’m pretty certain it’s vegan and gluten free.
Strawberry Arugula Salad with Toasted Pecans
A really cool recipe from Teighan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest; lemon ricotta cheese stuffed french toast crepes with vanilla stewed strawberries. What a great desert, breakfast, or evening-time snack. OK, this is going to take you an hour to make, but what a great way to pass an hour. Not to mention you can prepare a lot of this in advance.
Lemon Ricotta Cheese Stuffed French Toast Crepes with Vanilla Stewed Strawberries
Now for something to go with just about anything, Cookie + kate have a good-looking strawberry salsa to tempt our palates. You can make this in 10 minutes and it’s definitely vegan and gluten free, (leaving aside any chips or crackers to have with it).
Strawberry Salsa
Lemon Ricotta Cheese Stuffed French Toast Crepes with Vanilla Stewed Strawberries
From San Diego girl Averie Sunshine, something I think you’ll like; strawberry layer cake with strawberry frosting. Averie cheats a little in that she starts with a 15 oz box of white cake mix, but after that this pretty easy recipe is all her own.
Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting
Jessica Merchant at How Sweet It Is has found this really fun and very adult recipe from Joy the Baker; strawberry raspberry rosé slushies. This is definitely a n’awlins recipe because not only does it have a bottle of dry rosé wine, it also contains a good splash of Campari. (You could go totally wild and add brandy too.)
Strawberry Raspberry Rosé Slushies
Finally for this week, from Absolut, makers of Swedish vodka, we have 75 drinks with strawberries including the famous strawberry kick.
Vodka and strawberries are a very dangerous mixture to give to your Lady Friend. You have been warned.
Personally, I liked champagne with strawberries, for preference Lanson Black Label or Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. A good Prosecco is nice with strawberries too, and much cheaper than a good champagne. Sometimes it’s a damn shame I don’t drink anymore.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
click to buy Prosscco
