Green Bean Summer Salad

Adapted from Marie Simmons Fresh and Fast Vegetarian (this is a great cookbook and you should get it!)

This may be the best time of year for those of us who try to eat locally and thus with the seasons. Tomatoes are finally here! This along with everything fresh, bright, and crunchy that makes you think of summer (I'm looking at you corn!). This almost absurdly simple salad looked too boring to be delicious, but I was wrong! It really reminded me of an episode of the a Chef's Life on PBS in which Chef Vivian Howard opts to simplify her dishes in the spirit of letting the ingredients shine. There is something really beautiful about that concept and this salad is a great way to celebrate it.

Green Bean Summer Salad
1 pound green beans split into 1 inch pieces  (wax beans work here too!)
2 ears of corn, kernals cut off the cob
2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1/4 cup basil, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste (don't hold back!)

Combine all ingredients vegetables in a bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt. Make sure that the toss has spread out the basil thoroughly since it's the heart of the flavor profile Combine olive oil and lemon juice and give them a good stir before pouring it over the salad. The freshness of the ingredients is key here, so consider this a good option to make as soon as you get home from the Farmer's Market or store.

Try this at Home - The Kitchn's Sweet Corn and Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Needless to say, I spend a lot of time reading food blogs. I have varying success with recipes on some, but the Kitchn's are pretty consistently wonderful and this Sweet Corn and Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers was no exception. I used an oven instead of a grill, so I modified by pre-roasting the peppers for about 7 minutes prior to stuffing and then roasting another 5 minutes. It was so delicious and the presentation is gorgeous! Sprinkle whole kernals of corn on top if you want the sweetness from the corn to come through even more!

Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous with Goat Cheese

Sometimes accident is the mother of invention. I've been making a version of this dish for years with polenta that is a wram and comforting winter dish. I was spacing out as I poured the cous cous into the pot and by the time it started boiling I figured it wouldn't come out that different. To my pleasant surprise, I think I actually like this version better. This cous cous is lighter and makes for a refreshing more summery meal.

Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous with Goat Cheese
2 cups cous cous
2 ears of corn
8 cherry tomatoes
2 crowns of broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup goat cheese (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Shuck corn, wash broccoli and tomatoes. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until a golden brown color shades them (approximately 15 minutes). Set the vegetables aside to cool while you cook your cous cous. After veggies have cooled, cut the corn kernals off the corn and mix into cooked cous cous. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and mix them in along with the broccoli. Add goat cheese if desired and serve in bowls.

Succotash with Kale and Garlic Scapes

Forgive the photo. You know by now that the recipes taste better than I photograph them. This was the brain child of one of those nights when I open my fridge and try to come up with something that will use as much produce as possible before leaving town for the weekend and risking it goes bad. I had 1 ear of leftover corn from a party this weekend, kale, and some garlic scapes from the farmers market...hmm what to do? I know it's not really late enough in the summer for a corn and tomato dish, but I had the corn and the last of my jarred summer tomatoes were looking ready to go, so I went for it. I think it came out pretty great! It's super healthy, packed with nutrients, vegan and gluten free! If I weren't making an intentionally super healthy weekday meal, I might be so inclined to sprinkle this with Parmesan cheese. If you try it, let me know how it goes!

Succotash with Kale and Garlic Scapes

1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into bite sized leaves

1 ear of corn, cut from the ear

1 jar of tomatoes (canned if you don't have jarred)

1 garlic scape, diced

1.5 tablespoons coconut oil

salt and pepper to taste

Start by trimming your kale. I think you can't get those pieces too small. I had few bites that were full mouthfuls of kale and they were much less appetizing. To remove the stem, I typically grab it from the bottom with one hand and pinch either side with the other before running that hand up to the top, stripping the stem in a clean motion. If that makes no sense, just pull each kale bit off the stem. Cut the corn kernals off the ear and set aside. Dice the scapes and place the coconut oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the

garlic scapes first to get some of that garlic flavor permeated through the oil then add kale and corn and stir until kale has cooked down to half the size it was (about 8 minutes). Pour the jar of tomatoes over the top and add salt and pepper before turning down the heat to let it simmer another 5 minutes. Serve with a spoon, enjoy!