Cooking in Season-Summer
Summer is my favorite time of year. My husband and I were both born in July, and we married on the summer solstice. We usually take a vacation around our birthdays, so I associate warmth and long days with ease and relaxation.
We also have more time to cook during the summer, and what could be more delectable than preparing food using abundant seasonal fruits and vegetables ripe for the picking. In New England, summer is a time when we are (finally) able to eat locally, which is not only healthier, but much more eco-friendly. Some of our ingredients come from our own large garden. Three long beds of raspberries are our flagship crop, but we also grow plenty of annual vegetables and fruits. About half our garden beds are devoted to members of the nightshade family—tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. We also like to grow parsley and basil (to make pesto), cucumbers, pumpkins, lettuce, arugula, and tons of annual and perennial flowers. I confess a weakness for Sweet William, Cosmos, and the ever-cheerful rainbow colors of the common Zinnia.
I cook with yogurt year-round, but summer is when I stir it, pour it, and blend it into just about everything. We love to make smoothies with yogurt (usually plain or vanilla) and fresh fruit and fruit juice like Ginger Melon Smoothies or Blackberry Lemon Smoothies. In our home, smoothies often serve as breakfast or lunch on a hot day, when everyone’s too sweaty to eat anything more substantial. Likewise, yogurt-based summer soups can’t be beat. Try Chilled Minted Strawberry Yogurt Soup or Roasted Pepper and Yogurt Soup at your next dinner party. As with smoothies, the yogurt flavor is masked by the fruit, or the savory flavors of vegetables and herbs. Yogurt and fruit parfaits, and yogurt panna cotta, make divine summer desserts. Replacing half or all the mayonnaise in summer salads and cold pastas with yogurt not only reduces calories, but makes for a lighter and fresher result. At your next cookout serve Fireworks Slaw with Tangy Cilantro Yogurt, Watermelon Salad or Orzo Salad with Zucchini, Mint and Yogurt Cheese.
