Summer's Bounty

Hi everyone! Despite the heat and drought my farmers market is fun and busy and loaded with classic summer treats.

I stocked up on Long Island yellow and white corn, lots of summer squash, and tomatoes...

All these goodies made a number of lovely, light summer meals! First I did my current fave artisan rigatoni, very al dente, tossed with roasted veggies:

I do the tomatoes separately, 275* for a couple hours. Just sliced, a smidge of olive oil, pepper and tarragon [or basil]:

Yes I know it seems hot to have the oven on, but it is so hot the AC is running full blast and it is actually cooler and certainly drier than I am normally  used to! Then I jack up the heat to 400* and roast a pan of the tiny squash, herbs, just-pulled onions, again olive oil. (You can use whatever veggies you  have, just change the roasting times.) Toss, roast/bake, maybe and hour? Shake the pan now and then. Add kernels of two ears of corn about 15 minutes from the end.

Make the pasta, drain, add butter, white wine, more black pepper. Toss gently with roasted veggies and tomatoes and coarse grated Parmesan. If you have some feta or goat cheese toss it in too!

Serve with the rest of the white wine, more parm, green salad on the side.

Yummy! A big hit with guys who have been swimming and surfing all day!
Dinner number two was an even bigger hit!

Inspired by this post at Eating from the Ground Up here plus vague memories of a long ago/ never made Martha Stewart recipe, I took the huge overgrown yellow squash and filled them with a savory meat filling. 

Scrub, cut in half across the width, then cut those halves into halves again, longwise, like little boats. Take a sharp little knife and score a square where you want to scoop out the innards. Place face down on a plate or Pyrex dish, prick backs gently with the little knife. Microwave about 4 minutes [check, you just want them pre-cooked a smidge!]. Carefully [hot!] scoop out the inner squash meat, chop and add to the stuffing.
Stuffing:
brown 1 lb of ground beef and  some sweet Italian sausage, out of the casings, with garlic and onion. Drain well. Add 2 cups of precooked quinoa* or brown rice., 1/4 C. of bread crumbs, 1/4 C.-1/3 C. finely grated Parm, add more garlic, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, salt and pepper, basil, tarragon. And the scooped out squash meat. Mix it well, spoon it into the little squash ''boats'' Bake 350* for 35 minutes, add shredded parm bake a few more minutes til cheese melts.


oops, someone couldn't wait for the photo shoot!
It smelled and tasted THAT yummy!

 I served it with bacon/ vinegar/ broccoli slaw on the side.
Reheats great.




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 This is amazing! You cannot imagine how delicious it smells as it's cooking. Well worth investing in small containers of the seeds/ herbs..they're what make it so fragrant.

Quinoa* is a grain, sold in the rice section of the supermarket;  very easy to cook, takes 15 minutes. Do NOT use as much water  or broth as directions say. And do not overcook it. It is healthy and nutty and oh so good!
Have great weekend!

love

           lizzy

           gone to the beach...

and then the storm came!

the specks of light
are huge tankers and conatiner ships,
as much as 10 miles away

Eating from the Ground Up is a real cooking blog and I am pretty sure her dirctions are superior to mine, plus many other wonderful recipes. Check it out.