Seasonal Recipes - Edible Communities

edible

communities

Seasonal Recipes

summer

RECIPES Molly Watson

@mollywatsonaf

RECIPE PHOTOS AND STYLING Erin Scott

@erinscottstudio

DESIGN Bruce Cole

@ediblesf

Cover photo: Adobe Stock

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to Edible Communities!

And hello summer! We offer these recipes to help answer two pressing summer issues. First, what to do with all that glorious produce that tends to pile up after visits to the farmers market (including all the bunches of herbs that are so tricky to resist and often equally tricky to use up). And second, what to bring to the party.

Summer barbecues, picnics, potlucks, backyard parties, meet-ups at the park ... summer is the time for casual gathering. These drinks, salads, sides, and desserts were designed to be toted along for the ride or offered to a group if you're hosting. No quickly wilting salads, no fussy last-minute prep.

--Molly Watson editor in chief, Edible Communities

ABOUT EDIBLE COMMUNITIES: Edible Communities is a network of more than 80 individually owned publications across the US and Canada united by a single mission: to connect people to their local food, how it's produced, and who makes it. We believe that locally sourced, sustainably produced food matters to our health, to our communities, and to the future of the world around us.

Contact Us: info@ Mail: 369 Montezuma Ave, Suite 577, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Phone: 866-825-6053

Summer Recipes

2 melon mint Agua Fresca 3 Cherry Lime (Gin and) Tonic 4 Fennel Cucumber Chopped Salad 5 Colorful Summer Bell Pepper Slaw 6 Corn Salad with Jalapenos and Cilantro 7 Minty Potluck Green Beans 8 Crunchy Sweet Peach Celery Salad 9 Herby Potato Salad 10 Smooth and Chilly Spanish Gazpacho 11 Chilled Avocado Zucchini Soup 12 Spiced Summer Fruit Cobbler 13 Corn Cake With Berries

MELON MINT AGUA FRESCA

Sweet summer melon becomes a refreshing beverage with a visit to the blender.

Any melon works here--both watermelon and cantaloupe are classic choices for agua fresca-- but honeydew's more delicate flavor is remarkably light and drinkable, and when combined with the additional green from the lime and the mint, it just plain looks refreshing. Feel free to make it ahead and cool it in the fridge, just know that the mixture will separate--a quick stir will bring it back together. You can strain the mixture before serving for a more "agua" effect.

Serves: 8 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS 1 honeydew melon 2 limes 1/2 cup granulated sugar About 3/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves Chilled still or sparkling water optional

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Peel, seed, and chop the melon. Put the chunks on a baking sheet and put in the freezer while you prepare the other ingredients. 2. Zest the limes--large strips of zest will be easiest to deal with. Put the zest, sugar, and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir to dissolve the sugar. Transfer the mixture to a metal bowl and let cool. 3. Put the syrup, the melon, and ? cup of the mint leaves in a blender. Cut the 2 zested limes in half and juice them into the blender as well. 4. Whirl to blend thoroughly. You may need to work in batches. When everything is whirled and blended, pour into a pitcher or other serving vessel. Dilute with chilled still or sparkling water to taste, if you like. 5. Serve over ice, garnish the remaining mint.

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CHERRY LIME GIN AND TONIC

Cocktail or mocktail, this drink is a refreshing spin on a summer classic.

An overabundance of cherries one weekend led to me putting them in everything--on pancakes, in salads, even making a cherry-centric salsa. A pitcher of cherry lemonade was whipped up, which led to the possibility of a cherry gin and tonic. The pretty color was too tempting for the children present, so cherry tonic mocktails were on order.

They were just as good as the cocktails. Arguably, they were even better. So add the gin or not, as you see fit--or for gin-haters consider vodka or tequila, if you prefer. Know this recipe doubles or triples easily; it halves and quarters equally well. For a lighter version, use half tonic water and half soda water.

Serves 6 Prep time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS 12 ripe sweet cherries 1/4 cup lime juice 3/4 cup dry gin (optional) 24 ounces tonic water Lime slices for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Pit the cherries and put them in a cocktail shaker or a large glass. Use a muddler or the back of a large spoon to gently crush them. 2. Add the lime juice and gin, if using. Let sit for a few minutes. Cover and shake vigorously for 1 minute--you really want the cherry flavor to blend in with everything. 3. Fill 6 glasses with ice and strain the cherry-gin mixture in equal measures over the ice. Add tonic to fill the glasses or to taste and garnish with a lime slice, if you like. You can spoon in the crushed cherries from the shaker or not-- your call.

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FENNEL CUCUMBER CHOPPED SALAD

A salad so chopped, you can eat it with a spoon.

This particular spoon salad is also remarkably green. And crunchy. And cooling. And it's begging to be messed with--swap out other veggies (jicama is a stellar option). Add more sprouts, leave the sprouts out. Crumble on some cheese. Add chopped nuts. Toss in chickpeas.

You can make this in any order you like, but I prefer to make the dressing first and then just pile in the ingredients.

Serves: 8 Prep time: 30 minutes INGREDIENTS For the dressing: 1 small clove garlic 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons lime juice 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar or mild honey 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard/ground mustard 1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste) 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (plus more to taste)

For the salad: 2 small heads fennel 1 small cucumber 2 celery stalks 1 green pepper 1 jalapeno (optional) 8 springs mint 1/2 cup toasted pepitas 1 cup sprouted lentils and/or other legumes 1 cup kale sprouts or other micro greens

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel and mince the garlic and add it to a large salad bowl along with the olive oil, lime juice, agave, mustard, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust. You want a very bright, vibrant dressing, so go ahead and add more lime juice and/or salt and/or pepper to make it really "pop" on your tongue. 2. Trim and dice the fennel. How big? You want a pretty small dice--the goal is to have all the salad components more or less the same size, and pepitas are the size they are, so a dice about as wide as a pumpkin seed (or a bit bigger) is ideal. Add the fennel to the dressing. 3. Peel, de-seed, and dice the cucumber. Add to the bowl. 4. Trim and dice the celery, into the bowl it goes. 5. Trim and dice the green pepper, add it to the bowl. 6. Trim, de-seed, and dice the jalape?o, if using, and, obviously, add it to the bowl. 7. Toss everything with the dressing. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper if you want. 8. Remove the mint leaves from their sprigs and stack them on a clean cutting surface. Roll them into a little bundle and cut into thin ribbons. Scatter the mint, pepitas, sprouted lentils, and sprouts on the salad.

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