The best thing about cooking in the summer is how quickly meals can be prepared. Dinner is ready when you toss your preferred meat onto the grill. The foundation for a week’s worth of lunches can be prepared by cooking a pot of spaghetti. Additionally, a visit to the farmers market not only bridges the gaps but also introduces you to new culinary pairings.
These dishes showcase the finest items from the farmers market and can be modified to suit personal preferences and seasonal availability.
The majority of Southern picnic salads are topped with cheese and bacon and are luscious with creamy dressings. Here, tart-sweet dried cranberries serve as the catalyst for a robust vinaigrette. Feel free to add more green vegetables, such as chard, spinach, and kale, along with the broccoli. To give the strong tastes time to meld, prepare this in advance.
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Regarding the dressing:
Dried cranberries (c)
Chopped red onion
Two tablespoons of water or orange juice
c. vinegar made from apple cider
Three tablespoons of honey
One teaspoon of coarse mustard
To taste, add freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt.
Three tablespoons of neutral oil, like rice bran, avocado, or sesame
Regarding the salad:
Two pounds of broccoli, roughly two heads
Two trimmed and sliced green onions
Dried cranberries (c)
Freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt
c. Toasted pepitas without salt, to serve
To get the dressing ready: In a small bowl, combine the dried cranberries, onion, orange juice, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Give the ingredients ten minutes to marinate. Add the oil and whisk. Put the dressing away.
To make the salad: After separating the broccoli florets, cut the stems into 1-inch pieces by removing the woody outer layer. In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, onion, and cranberries. Add the dressing to the broccoli after whisking it. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. To let the flavors meld, cover and chill for one hour or overnight. Top with the pepitas and serve. Serves four to six.
This salad is crisp, crispy, and best enjoyed cold. It’s a filling vegetarian supper or a substantial side dish. It can be prepared in advance and carried to the lake or a picnic. Replace the peanut butter with cashew, almond, or sunflower butter, and add any crunchy vegetables you can find at the store.
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For the Dressing with Spicy Nut Butter:
c. Nut butter, such as peanut butter
c. Soy sauce
Two tablespoons of maple syrup
Two tablespoons of lime juice
One tablespoon of dark sesame oil
To taste, a generous amount of spicy sauce
One minced garlic clove
when necessary, to c. water
Regarding the salad:
Salt that is coarse
Ten ounces of soba
Six radishes, cut into -in pieces after trimming
Cut four salad turnips into small pieces after trimming them.
One cucumber, cut into small pieces after trimming
One cup of snow peas, sliced
c. chopped, salted, and roasted nuts
Two scallions, cut and trimmed
c. chopped cilantro leaves, along with additional ones for decoration
slices of lime for serving
To make the dressing, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, lime juice, oil, spicy sauce, garlic, and enough water in a medium bowl to form a thick and creamy mixture. (The dressing should have a thick, cream-like consistency.)
To make the salad, add the noodles to a pot of boiling salted water. As directed on the package, stir and boil until just tender. After transferring to a colander, rinse the noodles under cold water until they are totally chilled. Drain well and use your fingers to separate the noodles before transferring them to a big bowl.
Add the noodles and the prepped vegetables. Pour enough peanut dressing over the ingredients to coat them. Add the cilantro, scallions, and nuts, and serve with lime wedges and more cilantro on top.
Serves four.
The Tribune News Service
