Our Summer Menu (Or Recipes Galore!)

For me, summer is a time of indulgence. A time for lots of fresh fruits and veggies. A time for fancy drinks served on ice. A lot of what we have been eating this summer is our tried and true, but I have also been quite inspired by pinterest! Here is a sneak peak into our menu for the past few weeks:

* Lavender lemonade (You can find my recipe here) with lavender ice cubes (just to be fancy!):

* Kettle Corn Cookies. I got this idea from Trader Joe's. They sell crunchy butter cookies with kettle corn pieces inside. They were good, but I imagined that a chewy cookie would make them so much better. So, I made my regular chocolate chip cookie dough, hold the chips, and added a couple of cups of kettle corn and mixed well. They were divine.  Sweet and Salty... yum! Next time though, I wouldn't be shy with the kettle corn. I think I should have even added more!

* Fruit pops! To make these yummy (and healthy treats) I blend up frozen fruit with unsweetened coconut milk. To my kids, they are as good as popsicles, but with a lot less sugar.

* Blueberry zucchini muffins

* Grilled Salmon with cucumber-radish relish.
To make the relish mix together:

• 1/4 cup duced radish
• 1/4 cup diced cucumber
• 2 Tbl freshly grated horseradish root (or to your taste)
• 2 sliced scallions
• 1 Tbl olive oil
• Salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Serve over grilled salmon. I served with dill-roasted red potatoes and swiss chard sauteed with shallots.

* Mexican Salad. Delish!
To make the salad, toss together:

• Mixed greens
• diced pepper
• black beans
• sliced scallion
• diced tomato
• diced radish
• a few crumbled corn chips
• feta cheese crumbles

To make the dressing, puree the following in a food processor:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 jalepeno, seeded
• 2 Tbl honey
• 1/2 cup cilantro

* Saw these blueberry pies in a jar on pinterest and couldn't wait to try them. I made them only half full to leave room for ice cream or whipped cream on top. They were so lovely served with homemade whipped cream!

* I also found these Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars on pinterest (yes, I am slightly addicted). I realize mine don't look nearly as lovely as the ones I copied.... but I decided to half the recipe, but didn't use the correct size pan, and well... it was a mini-disaster. But, even though they are lacking a little in the looks department, they taste divine!

* Pasta with green beans and potatoes in a basil pesto. A summer staple at our house.
To make the pesto, blend the following in a food processor:

• parmesean cheese
• fresh basil
• garlic
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

I have a nut allergy, so we do nut-free pesto. Add pine nuts, or other nuts if you like. And the proportions of each don't really matter.. if you like cheese, put more in. If you are not a garlic fan, leave it out. Easy peasy.
Saute the green beans and potatoes until tender, add to cook pasta and top with the cold pesto. As you stir the pesto in, the warm pasta will warm it perfectly.

* Grapefruit Margs. Yum! This recipe is one that my friend found on pinterest, and told me I had to try. They were so refreshing. If I was making them again, I would probably add (a lot) more tequila, but these weren't too strong so I could actually drink a couple.

What have you been eating during these days of summer?