Slightly embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve made this meal.
Don’t get me wrong I love to go out for a nice dinner, but between the cost of literally everything, and the abundance of incredibly delicious and fresh produce available, we’ve been doing a lot of dining in this summer. Eating at home has started to feel like a treat. There is no DoorDash or delivery where we live, there’s barely anywhere to get takeout, so it can get tiresome coming up with meals all the time. But summer is the season to enjoy cooking at home because everything is fresh, delicious and easy.
Our garden is overflowing with fresh tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, peas, raspberries and herbs. The process of harvesting and cooking with fresh food at home makes the meal that much more enjoyable. Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your friends, or your family, sometimes the simplest combinations yield the tastiest results.
Today’s newsletter is full of recipes and highlights for eating well at home. Let me know what you’re making this summer!
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Currently a main food group in our household.
Tomatoes!
We grew a ton of tomatoes this year and they have become a part of at least two meals a day. Truly the possibilities are endless, but sometimes the simplest combinations are the most delicious. Here’s a few of my favorite recipes for summer tomatoes:
Toasted Sourdough Bread with Chopped Baby Tomatoes, Avocado and Cholula (pinch of Maldon Sea Salt Flakes)
(Pictured above): Chopped Cucumber, Baby Tomatoes, Avocado, Olives, Snap Peas, and Crumbled Feta with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil
Baby tomatoes, cucumbers, and snap peas with this dressing
Use the good napkins
Pull out cloth napkins if you have them, light some candles, throw on a playlist and create a little ambience. Make dinner at home feel special.
Speaking of playlists
Here’s a few to get you started:
Berries
Breakfast of champions
Berries in the summer just hit different. We have several raspberry bushes in our yard, a wild blackberry bush, and we’ve gone blueberry picking a few times. I like to pick several pounds in the summer and freeze them to use throughout the winter months. Some delicious berry recipes:
(Pictured above): Homemade granola, soy milk, frozen raspberries and blueberries, chocolate chips
Berry smoothie: Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, coconut milk, banana, greek yogurt
Carrots
This is the first year we’ve successfully grown carrots. They’re remarkably easy (says the girl who played no role in their success). It seems like the main thing is giving the seeds enough room when you put them in the soil. We had an abundance of carrots so I made a massive batch of carrot ginger soup that was delicious.
Carrot Ginger Soup (a few changes I make to this recipe: shallot instead of onion and garlic, chicken stock made with this, and some butter in addition to olive oil)
Crudité with carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell pepper strips, radish and herby white bean dip
Carrot Ginger soup with toasted sourdough on a rainy summer day, yes please.
Corn
OMG I love summer corn. I kind of loathe eating corn on the cob though. I prefer to grill it (husk on) and then cut it off the cob. Two very popular cookout dishes:
Corn and Tomatoes
Shredded Green Cabbage with Corn and Cilantro Lime Dressing (delicious with tacos)
Pizza
We make pizza at home at least once a week and by we I mean Craig. He has mastered the pizza oven (we have the Ooni). Honestly it’s better than any takeout pizza and way less expensive. I love to use fresh toppings from the garden. I would’ve never thought to add shishito peppers to a pizza but it’s SO good!
S’mores
Apparently today is National S’mores Day. Required eating in summer. I don’t make the rules! It’s also my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday Mom!
Is it even summer if you haven’t had a s’more?
