Happy Wednesday Links!
We’re going through a heatwave in New England right now and it is unpleasant, considering my apartment (and most apartments in the area) don’t have central AC. Summer is…unpleasant. Anyone else experiencing the same thing and trying to keep cool?
Also, I hate cooking during this weather, so feel free to share your favorite summer recipes that don’t require me standing by a hot stove!
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Beverly Jenkins has announced that her Blessings series has been picked up by NBC/Universal Television, with John Legend’s production company also on board. Congrats to Ms. Bev and her agency team!
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Bonkers Romance is back with another Kickstarter! They’re releasing hardcovers of sexy fairy tale retellings. The books will be digital early next year and will get paperback releases, but according to Kickstarter, this will be the only chance to get them in hardcover format.
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Courtney Milan was interviewed in The 19th late last month!
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Another Kickstarter alert! This one is wrapping up and has already met it’s goal. But it’s for a book titled Manners & Monsters and it’s described as Jane Austen meets The Addams Family.
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I am personally delighted to learn that eating cheese plays a role in happy, healthy aging!
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
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2 cups of each of the following
Green onions (scallions j
Grapes
Oranges
Cucumber
Diced cooked chicken
Pasta or not depending on your relationship to carbs
Dress with balsamic
fridge-cleanup gazpacho: bell peppers that need to get used up, that half a box of passata you got for something else last week, the emergency jalapeňo, a shallot, one piece of good white bread sans crust, you don’t have a cucumber but you do have nashi starting to go so use the good half of that (cut off the peel too), a few hearty splashes of olive oil, black pepper, salt, squeeze some lemon in, blend and adjust proportions until content, chill, serve with diced pepper bits you saved from the blender and whatever else strikes your fancy.
@Nina: My recommendation also. I don’t bother with quantities, just throw in what I have. Chopped pecans or sunflower seeds are good additions.
A traditional Czech side is *grated* cucumbers in vinegar, sugar and salt, all of that to taste. No need to peel or slice the cucumbers, but do refrigerate before eating. For some reason, this is the simplest and most refreshing dish to eat in the summer, especially in an apartment without air conditioning.
Do you have a microwave Amanda?
If you do you can use it for an awful lot of the things you would use your stove for, but with no escaping heat. The downside is the lack of browning, but you can get round that by using colourful spices, tomatoes etc. I don’t use mine more as I do like to stir and smell and see how the cooking is going, and doing the cooking in the microwave doesn’t give you as direct sensory information.
Of and I forgot to say that Darlynne’s Czech side has equivilents in lot;s of cuisines from the traditional English – finely sliced with lots of mint and either sugar or vinegar, to Chinese – peeled, cut into think half slices with white rice vinegar, to Thai – half moons again with finely sliced shallots and lime juice so you can ring the changes according to what you have in your cupboards.
One of my favorite cold summer dishes is a sushi rice salad. The original recipe in the paper (which dates it and me) referred to it as a deconstructed sushi roll. Cook sushi rice and add rice wine vinegar (depending on how much rice you cook, 1/4c?). Let the rice cool. Then add whatever you like in sushi rolls, which for me is vegetarian, so avocado, nori or furikame (always with extra sesame seeds), cucumber, and picked carrots (I’m experimenting with pickling my own for the first time), and some baked tofu on the side. It would go well with cold chicken or fish, I’d think. I add some of the liquor from the carrots, and soy sauce when serving. It keeps well in the fridge, which is good because it’s just me eating it.
Fish tacos are a yummy summer food. You can grill, saute, or toast the fish in an air fryer. We like tortilla crusted tilapia, but salmon and plain tilapia are good too. With tilapia, we put it in a taco shell or soft, warm corn tortilla with coleslaw, avocado slices, and pickled jalapeno.
This may originally be from the NYT but we just riff on it without measurements: a good-sized bowl of greens and arugula, add sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, cooked chicken (works well with rotisserie chicken), parmesan (and you can add whatever you like, radishes or dried cranberries, almonds etc.). Mix up a dressing with olive oil, salt & pepper and lime juice, then toss. We also sometimes do mexican salad; romaine lettuce, chopped red onion & bell peppers, ground beef or turkey cooked in skillet with taco seasoning, shredded cheddar, cilantro if you like it, crushed tortilla chips, and mix with salsa as the “dressing.”
Tomato cucumber salad with apple chunks, avocado and feta. Pepitas if you’re feeling fancy. Dressed with an acid of your choice (lemon or lime juice, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, etc) some olive oil, salt pepper lots of parsley and whatever other seasonings you enjoy
COLD CHICKEN SALAD:
Ingredients
* boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cold*
* seedless grapes
* pecans or walnuts, halved or chopped (not too small; you want texture)
* mayonnaise
* romaine lettuce
Directions
Cut chicken into bite-size chunks. Depending on size of grapes, cut in half or leave whole. Combine chicken, grapes, and nuts. Add mayonnaise to taste. Serve on romaine leaves.
Notes
This is a very flexible recipe. Personally, I prefer it when the chicken and the grapes or other fruit are bite-size chunks lightly coated in the dressing, rather than the shredded chicken drenched in mayo that you usually find in a chicken salad sandwich. But you can mix it up to your own tastes.
* You can substitute any chicken meat for the boneless skinless breasts. Just make sure the chicken is cool (below room temperature.) If you don’t want to cook at all, you could buy a rotisserie chicken and use that. You could even use canned chicken, but it will have a texture more like that sandwich I mentioned.
* You could try substituting fresh chopped apples and/or dried cranberries for the grapes, or even try fresh blueberries or chopped pears. (I haven’t tried the latter two, but I think they would be good.)
* You could try substituting other chopped nuts.
* You can jazz up the mayonnaise with herbs/spices to taste, and/or mix the mayonnaise with yoghurt (I recommend using whole-milk yogurt) or a little bit of sour cream.
* You could swap out other greens for the romaine lettuce.
I usually serve it with freshly-baked cornbread, but if I’m really avoiding cooking, I might use store-bought cornbread, rolls, or artisan bread.
I do a lot of grain bowls in the summer. I use microwave rice/grain packets or my rice cooker to make up a base of rice, couscous, or quinoa, then top with fresh, canned or thawed frozen veggies, whatever I have on hand. Throw some salsa or tzatziki sauce on top and done. Also, the summer issue of Forks Over Knives just came out and has an entire section on no-cooking-required meals; I’ve tried several already and recommend them!
I need to send that cheese article to my doctor; she’s insisting I give up cheese because of the cholesterol, but it’s the only milk product I can tolerate with my allergy, and really, what is life without cheese?
Two of my summer faves:
Mango and Black Bean salad
four scallions/chives, chopped
3 TB cilantro
1 TB lime juice (fresh)
1 TB salsa
1 TB olive oil
can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of brown rice
one large ripe mango, diced (or two small)
Mix!!
Green Gazpacho:
three green tomatoes (cored)
one green bell pepper
one cucumber, peeled and seeded
one clove garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
one avocado (remove peel and discard pit)
handful cilantro
handful parsley
1 cup cold water
2 TB olive oil
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp honey/sugar
Blend all ingredients in food processor; chill at least four hours. Serve with blue corn chips.
There’s no protein in this one, so we usually pair it with steak.
Black Bean and Corn Salad-no cooking involved
1 can of black beans
1 can of corn-unless you have leftover corn on the cob, in that case, scrape the kernels off the cob, and use about the same amount as a can
diced ripe tomatoes-about a cup
diced onions-about a 1/2 cup, or more if you are a big fan of raw onions. I prefer Bermuda or Vidalia onions which are not as strong.
1 tbsp. minced cilantro-you can use more or less according to your taste.
About 2 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 apple cider vinegar
salt to taste.
Drain and rinse the beans and corn well. Combine with the other ingredients, you can adjust the seasonings to your taste.
If you have other veggies that combine well, go ahead and throw them in too! I’ve added cubed avocado, bell pepper, and steamed edamame beans.
Chill before eating. This is hearty enough for a meal, with some tortillas or pita bread on the side, but also a good side dish. It keeps for days in the fridge.
Also Salad Nicoise is a great hot weather meal. You do have to hard boil the eggs and potatoes, and steam the green beans, but that’s it. Half or quarter the peeled eggs, then plate them attractively on a bed of lettuce, with good quality tuna packed in oil, the chilled haricot beans, fresh tomatoes and olives and chilled baby potatoes. Sprinkle with a little more olive oil and vinegar if you like.
The best hot day dinner is a banana split.
@Zuzus: I like the way you think!
My family loves these recipes during the summer:
https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/cheesy-herb-waffle-topped-with-burrata-tomato-and-prosciutto/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/tuscan-summer-stone-fruit-tomato-and-burrata-panzanella-salad/
(I use my toaster oven to toast the bread and keep the kitchen cool, but it could also be done during cooler parts of the day and set aside.)
https://cookieandkate.com/summertime-pasta-salad-recipe/
(Make during cooler part of day, and put in fridge to let flavors mingle)
https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/avocado-salad-recipe.html
(I use store-bought precooked lentils.)