It’s mid-August in South Louisiana and it is just freaking hot. The garden is 99% empty, partly because of the heat but mostly because I lose my motivation to maintain it around this time every year. I need super fast, easy, cool but satisfying meal options that won’t weigh me down or heat up the kitchen. Sharing a collection of my favorite summer recipe ideas.
Summer Recipes – Breakfast
If you missed my most recent post, check out Jenny’s Homemade Vanilla Ginger Coconut Granola. Yes, you have to bake this but it makes enough granola for a couple weeks worth of bake-free breakfasts. I eat granola like breakfast cereal (with milk). Throw fresh summer blueberries on top!
Breakfast/Lunch
It’s hurricane season in Louisiana. This is the time of year we southerners need to get a little aggressive in clearing out the freezer in case a storm hits and you have days of power outages. During my recent inventory, I found a bag of blueberries I froze last summer and a frozen banana. I have not made my Salted Blueberry Tahini Smoothie in a while. Decided to whip up a batch.
This recipe ROCKS because it does not have to be an exact science. It called for 2 bananas, I only had one. I had 3 dates that had been in the crisper for a while so threw all of those in. Don’t dirty a measuring cup for the tahini, just eyeball it. Grabbed a decent sized chunk of ginger, threw that in (I buy big pieces of fresh ginger, cut them into chunks and keep them in a bag in the freezer and no, I don’t bother peeling them). Just be careful with the kosher salt…a little goes a long way.
The color is absolutely gorgeous, and it makes enough for today’s smoothie plus fills up a large mason jar that you can use for breakfast or lunch the rest of the week.
Feeling Foodie?
Another go-to breakfast or lunch meal for me is a recipe from my Something Borrowed page. I discovered Eat With Clarity’s Savory Quinoa Breakfast Bowl about 2 years ago and it changed my life. It’s pesto quinoa, a soft boiled egg, sauteed spicy kale and an avocado. I crumble a little goat cheese on top and drizzle with good olive oil to finish.
If you have the pesto and quinoa already in the fridge, then this is a 6.5 minute recipe once you boil water for the soft boiled egg.
I make big batches of quinoa (2 cups) and refrigerate to use throughout the week. Just nuke the quinoa for 1 minute and stir in the pesto. If you are making your quinoa specifically for this recipe, you can boil the egg and saute the kale while the quinoa simmers. Still only takes about 10 minutes.
You can certainly use store bought pesto, but it’s basil season and it takes 5 minutes to make your own. Click here for my Basil Cashew Pesto recipe.
Summer Sandwiches
Now that you have your own spectacularly fresh basil and cashew pesto, you can make my favorite simple sandwich. Pesto, hummus and cheese sandwiches are way more satisfying and filling than they look. Everyone has hummus on hand, any flavor will work. Use a thick slice of a nice sharp white cheddar.
Summer Salads
Sick of the same boring salads? Check out my Salad Recipe Collection for some fresh ideas (click and scroll down). Kale and Avocado Salad with Coconut Granola lets you use your delicious new homemade granola in a different way.
My absolute favorite summer salad is Seared Halloumi Salad with Cumin-Lime Chickpeas, Mint and Pistachios. I’m seriously eating this twice a week right now. Gotta turn the grill pan on for 5 minutes to sear the halloumi, but otherwise if you prep your cumin-lime chickpeas in advance, this is a cool salad that comes together in 5 minutes. Never heard of halloumi? OMG. Check out Cheese. It’s What’s For Dinner.
Summer Supper
If you were willing to turn on the stove to sear halloumi for the last recipe, then maybe you’ll be willing to spend about 3 minutes more to sear bacon wrapped tuna? Soy-Ginger Black Eyed Peas with Bacon Wrapped Tuna is another cool marinated bean based salad that makes for a delicious and light supper. Goes great with a rose’!
Summer On A Roll
On hot summer weeknights I am often tempted to just Waitr in some sushi. But let’s face it. Some of your favorite rolls just don’t travel well. Anything with tempura shrimp is out, anything with crab salad has mayo – same risk.
Check out my On A Roll sushi series featuring (almost) entirely vegetarian sushi rolls. Again, you gotta boil water for rice. But the rest is just prep. Make a few rolls on the weekend, and you’ll be able to take the leftovers for lunch on Monday.
Never tried to make sushi at home? Click the image above to see my post on how easy it is.
If you try any of the recipes above, I’d love to hear your feedback. If you don’t already Follow Frittata, subscribe below so you don’t miss any new recipes, including Episode 2 of Summer Recipes coming next week.
