Summer is almost over, and before it is, I pulled 10 of my must-try before-summer recipes. I’ve covered everything from soups and appetizers to main dishes and desserts!
One of my favorite things to use is our pizza oven. It is honestly my new favorite toy! It takes a bit of work, but it is worth the effort. This recipe is one of my favorites, and if you don’t want to make it on the grill, you can easily throw a tray in the oven!
1. Charred Broccoli and Garlic Ricotta Toast
Summer wouldn’t be summer without watermelon! This is one of my favorite soups, and I think you’ll like it too! If you can find a “Black Diamond” watermelon, grab one! They’re worth the price!
Who doesn’t love a yummy, beautiful bowl for lunch or dinner? I love pickling and canning fresh vegetables from my garden. Onions are my new favorite thing to grow! I keep pickled onions on hand nearly year-round. This recipe uses tomatoes, quick pickled onions, and micro-greens!
3. Hummus Bowl with Roasted, Raw, and Pickled Vegetables
I made the following recipe for the Fourth of July a few years ago. These tiny treasures only take a little while to make, but they do need some freezer time, so it’s best to make them the day before you want to eat them! If you like red, white, and blue, skip the matcha in the cheesecake and add key lime juice to your white layer! This recipe is also 100% raw vegan. For the rose cheesecakes, I added Anima Mundi Herbals Dirty Rose Chai collagen powder, a plant-based collagen that is super bio-available.
4. Raw Key Lime, Blue Spirulina, and Rose Cheesecakes
Summer is usually a pretty busy time for us. We travel a lot, everyone runs in different directions, and sometimes I want a quick meal. My go-to is pasta! Cacio E Pepe in English means cheese and pepper. This simple delight is on the table in under 30 minutes. This recipe is perfect for you if you have cherry tomatoes growing in your garden!
5. Cacio E Pepe with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Fennel Pollen
If you have been with me for a while, then it’s no secret that I love Mexican food. I could eat it every meal daily and never grow tired of it. Tacos are my mainstay; I eat them for breakfast and dinner. The only thing that is second to tacos in my book is a creamy, delicious dip served with tortilla chips. Hence, my following recipe. Muy, muy delicioso!
An oldie but goodie is my Sweet Potato Coconut Curry with Mango Salsa. Mango season is now! I love them so much; their sweetness perfectly complements the spicy curry and sweet potato. If you don’t have a spiralizer, most grocery stores will have sweet potatoes spiralized or butternut squash, which has a similar color and flavor and makes a fine stand-in.
7. Sweet Potato Coconut Curry with Mango Salsa
Another mainstay of summer is my Poke Bowl with Compressed Watermelon. In place of Ahi Tuna, the compressed watermelon is an impressive imposter. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, don’t worry; you can use a straw and a gallon-size ziplock! It’s a little bit of effort for a whole lot of flavor.
8. Poke Bowl with Compressed Watermelon
For this Kansas City native, summer is not summer without BBQ. Honestly, I don’t miss meat. I miss the smell and flavors of slow-roasted barbeque. Jackfruit is wonderful because it has the texture of meat and loves to soak up the flavor of any marinade or sauce. I lived in North Carolina for a while about 25 years ago, and when my work said they were bringing in BBQ, I was stoked. Then, when I opened my little styrofoam box and found slaw on top of my meat, I almost threw it in the trash. Not to mention, it was also a vinegar-based BBQ instead of tomato-based. I still hate vinegar-based BBQ. It’s not natural. However, I did make nice with the slaw on top of my sandwich, and now I can’t get enough!
My friends, let’s end with a dessert, shall we? This simple sorbet recipe uses one of my favorite summertime ingredients, the lovely, delicious, and often overlooked rhubarb. A vegetable is often used as a fruit in the culinary world. When choosing rhubarb, look for crisp stalks that are firm and tender. Try to avoid stalks that are too hard or thick. Unlike its friend, the strawberry, color doesn’t have much impact on taste.
Enjoy, my friends! It’s been a long, hot summer, for sure. I don’t know about you, but I am exhilarated by the notion of cool autumn weather!
Much love. See you in September.
XOXO,
Steph