Watermelon Gazpacho Topped with Crab

This gazpacho is super refreshing because I use watermelon juice along with tomato juice in the base. To that, I dice celery cucumber, green pepper, orange pepper, and tomatoes. Add chopped cilantro, salt and pepper, a few shakes of Worcestershire and a few shakes of hot sauce.

It's great just like that, but even better topped with some freshly picked crab meat right out of my sister's crab pot!

Basic BLT

Nothing says summer to me like a basic BLT sandwich. Wheat toast topped with lettuce, meaty tomatoes, and salty, crisp bacon. Add a little mayo and some salt and pepper for a perfect lunch.

Roasted Orange Cherry Tomatoes

With the abundance of tomatoes this time of year, I'm always looking for ways to make them last longer. I store these tomatoes in a little olive oil and the (peeled) garlic cloves they are roasted with. They are sweet alone as a snack and make a great addition to pasta.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Slice tomatoes in half. To make slicing them fast and easy, see Tomato Tip Below.


Put tomatoes cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add a couple unpeeled garlic cloves on the pan with the tomatoes.
Roast for up to 3 hours depending on the size of the tomatoes. These were pretty small, more like grape tomatoes, and only took 2 hours. They should be shriveled but still have some juice in them.

Tomato Tip - Slicing Cherry Tomatoes in Half

Place tomatoes in a plastic carry-out lid.

 

Top with another lid (upside-down), gently press on the lid and run your knife through the middle.

Voila'. This works great for grapes, too.

Salmon Sliders

Earlier this summer I posted a great salmon burger recipe. Then I discovered this one and it is now my favorite. The uncooked consistency is almost runny and it seems like it won't hold together as a burger, but it does -- and it is the moistest burger I've tasted.


Salmon Sliders
1 lb Salmon, skin removed
1 Egg
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1/4 tsp Red Chili Flakes


Finely chop salmon and mix by hand with other ingredients.
Shape into 8 2-ounce sliders (they will be very loose)
Saute over medium high heat for about 3 minutes per side
Serve on Brioche buns with spicy mayonnaise.


Spicy Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 tsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tblsp Sriracha

Summer Veggie Lasagna

I usually think of lasagna as a winter dish but in my quest to use up zucchini, I decided that even though it was 102 degrees outside, I would give it a go -- that's how much zucchini I've got!  

It turned out to be the tastiest I've ever made. I didn't get a picture but you know what lasagna looks like.

I used flat, not curly, no-boil, lasagna sheets. Instead of meat, I had a layer of sliced zucchini and a layer of mushrooms. 

The ricotta cheese was fresh from the farmers market as was the mozzarella. The ricotta mix included fresh parsley, Parmesan cheese, an egg yolk, and salt and pepper.

The sauce had onion and garlic, a hot red pepper (that I removed before constructing the lasagna) and fresh thyme and oregano from the garden.

I made an antipasto salad to go with it -- also lots of fresh veggies from the garden/market.

I did not make this one any differently than a hundred other lasagnas I've made, so I have to attribute the success of this one to the fresh summer ingredients. 

Salmon Cakes

I'm a huge fan of crab cakes -- what Maryland-born woman wouldn't be -- but I decided to give salmon cakes a try. They will never replace crab cakes but I am very happy with them as an alternative when crabs are scarce.


I served this batch of salmon cakes with remoulade and a spinach salad of pine nuts, black olives, orzo, and radicchio. 

Salmon Cakes


1/2 lb fresh salmon
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 T mayo
Squirt of Dijon mustard
A handful of plain breadcrumbs
1 t capers
Dash of Worcestershire
A couple shakes of Texas Pete's hot sauce (Tabasco is fine)
Your favorite chopped herbs - I used tarragon and chives
Pulse salmon in food processor until chopped
Combine the remaining ingredients and stir.
Add chopped salmon.
Shape into cakes.
Heat a pan and add vegetable oil.
When hot, saute cakes until brown.

Squash Blossoms, part two ... and three ...

Yum. This time, I stuffed the blossoms with ricotta, parmesean, an egg, a little flour, and salt and pepper.

I poached them in 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken broth for about 6 minutes. Water only is fine.

While they are poaching, heat butter in a small pan and add fresh sage leaves.

When the blossoms are done, remove to a plate and top with sage butter.

part three ...

Made these again but this time before topping with sage butter, I fried them quickly to a crispy, golden brown. Then topped with sage butter ... heaven.

Wrapping up the Summer Chill-Out Dinner

I also made the beet salad that I posted a while back, baba ghanoush, and gazpacho. The gazpacho recipe follows. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it but cold, red soup is cold, red soup.

Gazpacho

Tomatoes

Green and red pepper

Cucumber

Tomatillo

Green onion

Garlic

Parsley

Cilantro

Basil

Salt & pepper

Bottle of V8

Dice veggies and herbs; toss them all in a bowl. Put about a third of the ingredients in a blender and puree. Add back to bowl with other ingredients. Stir in a bottle of V8. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Let sit at least a couple hours; overnight is better.

I learned recently that most recipes for gazpacho include EVOO. I’ve never used it and think it would weigh down the light, fresh veggies.

Summer Chill-Out Dinner

My friend, Suz, trusted me enough to prepare food for a dinner she was hosting for about 12 other women. Nervous as I was, I think it all turned out pretty well. Here are a few of the dishes ...

Caprese on a Stick. The presentation could have been a little more interesting, but I like the idea of the skewer. Nothing simpler and fresher than tomato, basil, and mozzarella drizzled with EVOO.