Cook Like Mad

picture from BBC Good Food

Thanks to S for the suggestion to share recipes that use up your summer bounty (comment found in my last post). I’ve selected my top 5 summer produce picks and selected a favorite recipe for each ingredient. I’ve also posted my favorite summer squash recipe, inspired by my trips with D to the South. Whether your garden is overflowing or you over-bought at the farmer’s market, these recipes are tasty, easy, and trusted. Enjoy!

Asparagus

Saveur’s Pasta Primavera

Baby Greens

Summer Salad with Apricots, Pistachios, and Almond Soft-Fried Eggs

Rasberries

Raspberry Ripple Pavlova

Tomatoes

Mark Bittman’s Tomato Paella

Summer Squash

Michel Bras’ Stuffed Zucchini

And finally, a recipe of my own:

My Yellow Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

3 medium yellow squash, sliced into 1/4-inch thick disks
3 c. whole milk
2 tbsp butter, plus extra to coat casserole dish
salt, to taste
1/3 c. Bread crumbs (I prefer the italian seasoned ones here)
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, divided into 1/4 c. and 1/4 c. portions

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a medium-sized pot on the stove, add the milk, a pinch of salt and sliced squash to it, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer 5 minutes until squash are tender. While squash simmers, butter a small- to medium-sized casserole dish.

2. Turn off heat under pot, drain most of the milk (let’s say, leave 1/2 cup milk in the pot- this isn’t an exact science though), stir in 1/4 cup parmesan and transfer entire mixture into the casserole dish.

3. Top the mixture with the bread crumbs, then with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan. Dot the top with the 2 tbsp butter and place in the hot oven for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. If the top begins to get too brown, cover it with foil and continue cooking for the remaining time. Enjoy!

-M

There is little that excites me more than a farmer’s market. The colors of the flowers, fruits, and vegetables, the eager smiles of the farmers, the smell of raw milk cheeses, the rough feel of fuzz on white summer peaches, the sound of what can only be someone biting into their favorite variety of apple…I could go on and on. While the USQ farmers’ market is open year-round, the time to go is now. Red raspberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots, and numerous varieties of squash abound, and we are just starting to see beautiful red currants, black raspberries, and even small sugar plums. Baby cucumbers can’t wait to be pickled, zucchini blossoms are ready to be stuffed, and all the steamer clams need- from Pura Vida’s stall, of course- are some eager mouths. Check out these photos from this weekend. Barely any comments are necessary, as the photos clearly speak for themselves.

All eggplants, even the one that look like tomatoes!

Beautiful array of herbs

Think they have enough blueberries?

gorgeous flowers

20 feet of peppers

glowing tomatoes

Pickled everything, from beets to beans

potted cacti

Migliorelli Farms always has a great assortment of fruits and veg

Pura Vida’s fish stall

beans galore