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Cucumber and melon salad with edible flowers

Summer Recipe Round-Up: 20 Recipes for the Season

Summer Appetizers

Summer means longer days, which means that you have more time for daytime eating, and less time for snacking once the sun has gone down. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, by the way.)  With that in mind, here are some of our favorite things to tuck into before a sunny evening dinner or during a twilight filled cocktail hour.

Hello, crunchy wonderful things!

Asparagus Bacon and Tomato Bundles with Gruyere

Asparagus Bacon and Tomao Bundles with Gruyere

Now, we think that asparagus can hold its own with its bare deliciousness. How much adornment does it really need? Well, it turns out that asparagus doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight with smoky bacon and nutty and salty gruyere wrapped in puff pastry. Bonus: It takes just a few minutes to put together and then – bliss.

Chive Blossom and Za’atar Hummus

Chive Blossom and Za'atar Hummus

Chive blossoms aren’t just stunning, they taste like the essence of chives. Like if Demeter took time out from her busy day blessing the crops of grains and said, “Hey. Yo. Let’s make a beautiful flower that would be perfect in a salad.” Or, in hummus with tangy za’atar.

Ginger Wasabi Beet Green Chips

Ginger Wasabi Beet Green Chips

Beet greens long for a hyperbolic soliloquy. They’re delicate, yet bold and assertive in flavor. They’re shy, but look you straight in the eye. They giggle coquettishly, but street dance. Now, when you pair all of that with spicy ginger and wasabi, well, you get magic.

Parmesan Dill Crackers

Parmesan Dill Oyster Crackers

Salty parmesan. Sprightly dill. These two flavors are combined and baked to golden perfection with the oyster crackers that you have in the pantry. Toss them with some melted seasoned butter and watch them evaporate off of the pan.

Air-Fried Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

Air Fried Lemon Pepper Wings

Lemon pepper seasoning is – you guessed it – lemony and peppery. And man, oh, man. Does it love crispy chicken wings. And thanks to the wonder of the air fryer, these come together in less time than it takes to cheer through an encore of your favorite band in concert.

*flicks lighter, sings along anthemically*

Summer Salads

It’s not just that salads are refreshing when the temperature soars, they become their own food group because of all the seasonal things you have to play with. Edible flowers? Check. Summer fruits and vegetables that are bursting with flavor? Check. A painting on a plate? Huge checkmark.

Cherry Salad with Savory Coconut Granola Croutons and Pickled Rhubarb

Cherry Salad with Savory Coconut Granola Croutons and Pickled Rhubarb

We metaphorically swung for the fences with this salad. Crunchy coconut “croutons,” cherries from the farmers market, and rhubarb we pickled from a generational rhubarb plant. We couldn’t stop making this one over, and over, and over again.

Cucumber and Melon Salad with Edible Flowers

Cucumbers, melon, and a mosaic of edible flowers make this salad a showstopper. And then we not only combined them for flavor, but to stand back and look at the colors explode like fireworks. To misquote Jack Kerouac, “In the middle of the salad you see the blue flowers pop, and everyone goes, ‘Awww!”’

Blueberry Radicchio Mason Jar Salad

Blueberry Radicchio Mason Jar Salad

Sweet and tangy summer blueberries adore bitter greens like radicchio. And then when strawberries and goat cheese slip past the velvet rope into the club, they all go dancing together with balsamic vinaigrette.

Bonus: They all metaphorically boogie in a Mason jar for picnicking – or dancing – convivence.

Green Bean Caesar Salad with Black Pepper Croutons

Green Bean Caesar Salad with Black Pepper Croutons

What to do when summer hands you a voluminous amount of green beans? After you’re done eating your fill of them raw, steamed, and roasted, try them with some aged parmesan and some homemade black pepper croutons with a super savory dressing.

You might consider this to be your newest favorite Caesar salad.

All hail, a Green Bean Caesar!

Spicy Mexican Corn Salad

Spicy Mexican Corn Salad

When it’s so hot that you can’t understand what the other person is saying from the other room because a multitude of box fans are blaring and the question,” Do you want pickles?” sounds like “Do you want tickles?” There’s only one thing that will make you stop laughing and sweating.

A spicy, crunchy, sweet, and tangy corn salad.

Summer Entrees and Side Dishes

Hot or cold summer meals take on a life of their own because of all the fresh ingredients you have to play with. When you have a bounty of basil, a zillion zucchini, and more herbs than you can shake a stick at – dinner kind of just creates itself. Here are some of our favorite meals when we get our CSA box.

Pistachio Pesto Chicken with Seasoned Salt Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Pistachio Pesto Chicken with Seasoned Salt Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Pine nuts are lovely, but pistachios have just a little bit of extra oomph in this pesto that puts it over the tippy top. And then when you marinate chicken in it, and serve it with seasoned salt cherry tomatoes. Well, you’re never going to be late for dinner again.

Italian Zucchini Tomato Herb Bake

Italian Zucchini Tomato Herb Bake

Does the scent of summer tomatoes, zucchini, onions, butter, parmesan, tarragon, parsley, thyme, and chives make your knees go weak?

Well, you’d better sit down. Because, boy. Do we have a side dish for you!

Creamy Chicken Parmesan and Kale Skillet with Sundried Tomatoes

Creamy Chicken Parmesan and Kale Skillet with Sundried Tomatoes

This one skillet meal brings all the flavor! Sweet sundried tomatoes and roasted peppers, kale, cream, and vermouth all swirl together in a pan sauce that makes chicken feel like a rockstar.

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Nasturtium Compound Butter

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Nasturtium Compound Butter

Lemon pepper and chicken go together like, lemon pepper and chicken! It’s the perfect combination of bright and spicy. And then when you add a layer of peppery and beautiful gratification from nasturtium compound butter, well, you’ve got a meal fit for a queen.

Refreshing Frozen Tomato Gazpacho: A Recipe for Instant Gratification

Refreshing Frozen Tomato Gazpacho

This recipe nearly falls under a “kitchen hack” as much as it does a step-by-step recipe. The trick is to always keep some frozen summer tomatoes on hand! When you get home from the farmer’s market, or back from the garden just wash a few tomatoes, and stick them in resealable plastic bags. That way, when the temperature soars, you don’t need to chill gazpacho for an hour – you’re starting with icy cold tomatoes as a base. (Of course, they’re great for other applications too, but that’s a story for another time.)

Summer Desserts

Rhubarb, cherries, and melons appear in rapid succession when the sun plays all day, and the nights are soft and mellow. And boy, do we love to cook and play with them!

Orange Blossom Rhubarb Sauce

Orange Blossom Rhubarb Sauce

Indulge your rhubarb love in this lickity quick pan sauce that’s perfect ice cream or cake! Orange blossom water, lemon juice and agave all combine with tart rhubarb to make a sauce that will make your neighbors knock on your door. Just a head’s up. You will be very popular!

Wild Cherry Chocolate Bars with Sea Salt

Wild Cherry Chocolate Bars with Sea Salt

Butter. Tart cherries. Wild berries. Dark chocolate chips. You get the idea. These bars leave the term “fantastic,” way back in the rearview mirror.

You want these. Nay, you need these.

Mom’s Nectarine Blueberry Pie

Mom's Nectarine Blueberry Pie

Nectarines and blueberries are enveloped by a sweet sauce kissed with cardamom, and then they’re surrounded by a buttery crust that’s topped with crunchy sugar. Hello, summer love!

Orange Ancho Melon Salad with Maple Candied Pecans

Orange Ancho Chili Melon Salad with Maple Pecans

We’re always happy to just go at a sweet summer melon with a couple of spoons. But, if we can hold off that long, we also love to toss the melon in a little orange juice, and a bit of ancho chili powder to really make it stand up and sing. And then when that melon is topped with spicy maple pecans? Holy moly, Batman!

Pomegranate, Rosewater, Honey and Cardamom Ice Cream

Pomegranate Rosewater Honey and Cardamom Ice Cream

The joy of having coconut milk on hand is that you can always whip together a simple and delicious ice cream – no machine required! And then when you throw in pomegranates, rosewater, honey, and fragrant cardamom, well, you’re going to rock every barbecue!

We hope you enjoy these summer recipes! They’re everything you need for a barbecue, picnic, party, or between rounds at the batting cages!

 

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