Summer meals

On hot days like today, I raid the freezer for ...whatever looks easy and cool.  Shrimp salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, salads with veggies and fruits and grains.  We ate at a Lebanese restaurant on Friday, and enjoyed tabouli salad.  With the grill and a salad, it's hard to go wrong.  Last night, we skipped the starch part of the menu and had grilled pork chops, grilled onions, broccoli and carrots.  You haven't lived until  you've eaten grilled vidalia onions.  A large one is enough for two people.  Pork chops are delicious on the grill.  I   just used salt, pepper,  grated lemon zest and a bit of olive oil and minced garlic.

Here is the recipe for the onions, from the disgraced Paula Deen, but this recipe makes you want to forgive her.
 Grilled Vidalia Onions in Foil


It's strawberry season and I went all out and made a strawberry shortcake  with a sponge cake instead of a biscuit recipe.  To Die For.  Well, see for yourself.

Strawberry short cake with whipped cream -

The recipe is right here: Strawberry short cake with lemon pepper syrup

The tablecloth, so summery, is an old one from the Simon Pearce outlet in Quichee, Vt.  It's so old and soft that it barely needs ironing, a good thing.  Made in India, by the way.

The garden is gifting us herbs for cooking:  chives, thyme, rosemary,  sage, parsley, and huge batches or oregano.  Basil, too.  Can't wait for the tomatoes.  I already ate the first Insalada Caprese.    Summer is wonderful.  The farm down the street has "Pick  your own strawberries."    I'm taking two young ladies along next week.    We will probably eat as much as we pick.  My grandmother had a huge strawberry patch, and by the end of the summer, I was actually tired of them, although now I cannot conceive of such a thing.

What do YOU like best about summer foods?             

The best summer dessert ever

I have been making this for at least three years. It's a free form tart that you make with a purchased pie crust (the kind from the dairy case), or if you are really into cheese paring, a bottom crust you make yourself. I do it in the food processor, and aside from getting the food processor and a couple of measuring implements dirty, it's fast, fast, fast.

After your bottom crust is made and rolled out (about the size of a well, a pie crust) take some ripe fruit and mix it with a little sugar and a little (approx. 1 T) tapioca. You need 1 1/2 to 2 cups of ripe fruit. Yesterday, I did blueberries and nectarines, but just about any in season fruit will do, and don't be afraid to try a mixture of 2 compatible fruits. Season with a little cinnamon or nutmeg or even a soupcon of almond extract depending on the fruit.

Place the bottom crust on a rimmed cookie sheet. Dump the fruit in the middle of the crust and fold up the crust (crimping attractively) until only 2-3 inches of fruit are showing. Brush the crust with egg-yolk mixed with a little water.

Put in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350-375 degrees. Bake another 20 minutes or until golden brown. My oven is on the cool side of the temperature gauge, but yours may be accurate.

This tastes like a fancy dessert, and even if you make your own crust it takes just minutes. Serves 4.

Berries and stoned fruit like peaches, apricots and nectarines are good. Pretty much anything. Thin slices apples with a few raisins or dried cranberries would work. Use your imagination.

The Cheeseparer