Summer Solstice and the Living is Easy

I live in the South. Needless to say, our summers are HOT. Last year we had a terrible drought, and the temps were regularly in three digits. I'm so happy this year we've had a goodly amount of rain and only a few days of 100+ temps.

I've read about some wonderful solstice celebrations - all outdoors - and I think how I wish I could do that here. Now, if I had my own backyard pool, all bets would be off.  We'd be outside every day!

No matter. I've been eyeing these recipes for the first day of summer for a few months now. Fortunately, the day wasn't sweltering and I was able to talk the hubby into grilling. On a weeknight. Will wonders ever cease?

Macadamia Chick'n with Mango Salsa

1/2 c. soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. olive oil
1 t. grated ginger
2 packages of Gardein Chick'n Scallopini, frozen
Mustard Sauce
Chopped macadamia nuts
Mango Salsa

Combine the soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, olive oil and grated ginger in a ziplock gallon baggie. Add the Chick'n Scallopini. Move it all around to coat and put in the freezer. Periodically pull out the baggie and give it a wiggle to continue to coat. When the coals are ready - they should be about medium hot - grill the scallopini, turning, watching, and brushing with leftover marinade until they are done.

Mustard Sauce

1/2 c. Dijon mustard
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. pineapple juice
1/4 t. ground red pepper

Stir everything together, cover and chill.

Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, peeled and diced
One green pepper, diced
One jalapeno pepper, diced
3 T. cilantro, chopped
2 T. mint, chopped
One red onion, chopped
2 T. agave nectar
1 T. lime juice
1/4 t. ground red pepper
1/4 t. salt

Stir everything together, cover and chill.

To serve: Slather the Mustard Sauce on top of the scallopini. Sprinkle on some macadamias. Top with a spoonful of the Mango Salsa.

I tried the first scallopini with just the mustard sauce and the macadamias. I thought the sauce was a little too tangy for my tastes. On the second one I added the salsa atop, and it made quite a big difference. It softens the tang of the mustard while lending a slight sweetness. Much better, so I really recommend doing it that way.

Peanutty Pasta Salad

2 cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed, sliced in half moon shapes
1 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. rice wine vinegar
1/2 c. chunky peanut butter
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 t. sesame oil
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1/2 t. salt
One package angel hair pasta, cooked
3 carrots, peeled and shredded
6 green onions, sliced in diagonals
Dry roasted peanuts

Whisk all the saucy ingredients together, then pour over the pasta, cucumbers, carrots and onions. Mix together well, but gently. Chill. Serve with a spoonful of dry roasted peanuts on top.

Tropical Fruit Toss

2 navel oranges
One can pineapple chunks
One banana
One kiwi
1/2 c. red seedless grapes
Shredded coconut
Chopped macadamias

Peel and slice the oranges, banana and kiwi into bite sized pieces. Mix the fruit together in a bowl. Serve with a sprinkling of the coconut and macadamias.

Now, go enjoy your summer! Just keep cool!

Noodles with Spicy Sauce

So I've had these noodles sitting around for awhile, and finally decided to use them. Interestingly, they had NO cooking instructions on them and the writing was all in a language I couldn't read, so I best guessed it. I figured between five and ten minutes would do the trick.

I worked on the rest of the dish and when I went to dump the noodles into the colander to drain, they were missing! What I had instead was a gelatinous goo.

Emergency trip to the grocery store for more noodles allowed me to find another package of these same mystery noodles (and again NO cooking instructions), but I voted against buying them. Instead I bought spaghetti and returned with a resolve to learn more about those pretty clear noodles.

Turns out they were cellophane noodles, and most instructions seem to suggest not boiling them at all, but rather pouring hot water over them. Lesson learned.

Noodles with Spicy Sauce

Spaghetti noodles (or pasta of your choice, but make sure you know how to cook them!)
1 c. peanut butter
6 T. tamari or soy sauce or Braggs Aminos
4 t. lime juice
2 t. brown sugar
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 c. water
Two cans of mixed or stir-fry vegetables. drained
Chopped roasted peanuts

Cook the noodles according to package directions. In a pot, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, red pepper flakes and the water, until smooth. Add more water if needed to make the sauce saucy. Heat the sauce over low heat, stirring often. Add the drained vegetables to the sauce and mix in well. Serve the sauce over the drained noodles and sprinkle liberally with the peanuts.

One word of caution: check the ingredients on the peanuts. Seriously. We made the sad discovery recently that some dry roasted peanuts list gelatin as an ingredient. Really? Gelatin? In a jar of peanuts? This seems to be a problem with Planters, but the store brands tend to list only peanuts and oil and salt as their ingredients. I haven't checked other brands, but wanted to issue that warning.

Enjoy! Oh, and have tissues handy. This stuff will clear up your sinuses!

Peanutty Pasta

I love nuts, especially in pasta. My recipe files are full of recipes that include nuts of all kinds; almonds, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pretty much any and every nut I like and will find a way to incorporate it into a recipe.

My husband isn't big on nuts in recipes, but he does like peanuts. Voila!

Peanutty Pasta

Cooked pasta, shape and type your choice

1/4 c. peanuts

Parsley, fresh or dried

2 cloves garlic

1 c. vegetable stock

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

1 T. lemon juice

One zucchini

One can diced tomatoes

In a food processor, whir together the peanuts, parsley and garlic until nicely minced. Cut up the zucchini (I quartered mine) and add to a pot with the diced tomatoes. Heat to boil, then reduce to simmer. In a separate container, mix the stock with the salt and pepper and lemon juice. Whisk until blended.

Place the hot cooked pasta in a bowl. When the zucchini is cooked and soft, add the zucchini-tomato mixture to the pasta. Add the minced peanut mixture to the vegetable stock mixture, whisk well and add to the pasta. Mix everything up gently, serve, enjoy!

You can really play around with this dish. You can use different nuts, you can slice the zucchini instead of quartering it, you can use cherry tomatoes halved or cut up a whole tomato.

Oh, and you can try out different types of pasta or shapes, too. It's a really easy, simple dish.

Fettuccine with Cilantro Lime Pesto

My kids and I discovered cilantro lime rice some time ago, and it is one of our favorite ways to make rice. We love it in tacos and burritos, especially. Imagine our delight to find a recipe for it using pasta!

Fettuccine with Cilantro Lime Pesto

This yummy recipe comes from one of the first vegetarian cookbooks I bought, Pasta For All Seasons, another winning cookbook by Robin Robertson. It features the obligatory cilantro and fresh lime, but also flat leaf parsley, garlic, peanuts and other seasonings. You can sprinkle extra peanuts on top, if you'd like.