Herbed Potato Salad with Green Beans and Tomatoes

You'll have to use your imagination a bit for the photo above. Instead of the slightly overcooked potato lumps, picture firm red potatoes tossed with tomatoes, beans and basil. Now, doesn't that look tasty?

Despite the smushy potatoes it was still delicious. Our produce box had potatoes, beans, basil and tomatoes the other week and this was a wonderful way to combine them: the fresh veggie flavors overlaid with basil and the slightest bit of vinegar tang. A great salad to squeeze in to those final sunny September barbeques.

Recipe below; printable version here.

Bulgur, Mint, and Parlsey Salad

When I saw the large bunch of flat leaf parsley in the produce box I knew tabbouleh was in our future. Nutty bulgur, tart lemon, cool cucumbers and tomatoes--love it!

The Husband made this dish, so no prep photos today.

The flavor blends and intensifies the longer it sits, so make it a few hours ahead of time if you can. It was near divine when I scarfed down the leftovers the next day.

Recipe below; printable version here.

Italian Zucchini-Tomato Skillet

The zucchini has arrived!

This little combo is one of my go-to basic side dishes in the summer. It's quick and doesn't involve the oven (too hot!). And I've found the tomato-basil-parmesan combo to be pretty palatable for most kids.

Let some garlic get the party started	Add the zucchini for a minute
The green onions get all up in their business	Finish with tomatoes, basil, and parsley

Recipe below; printable version here.

Quinoa Salad with Sugar Snap Peas

Lots of sugar snap peas in the box lately! We eat most of them raw, nibbled as snacks or accompanying meals. But I've been looking for other uses for them.

This quinoa salad seemed like a simple summer side dish, one that would taste good cold. It went together fairly quickly.

Blanch snap peas and cut into one inch segments

Boil up some quinoa and let cool to room temperature

Toss quinoa and peas together with chives,
pumpkin seeds and a vinaigrette

I don't know what I was thinking when I pulled this recipe. I like quinoa, I like snap peas, I like olive oil...but I don't much like vinegar (with the notable exception of sea salt and vinegar Kettle Chips). This recipe uses a healthy chug of white wine vinegar as a major flavor. So why was I surprised not to like the taste of this salad much?

The Husband said it was good. The Girl seemed to like it. You'll have to take their word for it.

Recipe below; printable version here.

Beans of Awesomeness (with Greens)

I recently found Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson at our local library and spent an evening curled up with it on the couch. It's filled with luscious images that make you want to spend the day cooking (and eating). But as soon as I spotted this simple side dish using chard, I knew which recipe I would be trying first.

The official name is Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens. I've affectionately renamed them the Beans of Awesomeness. Because that is exactly what they are.

I wish I were a better food photographer, so I could capture how delicious this dish is. The beans have a textured, almost crunchy outside with soft centers; the flavor of the greens quietly blends in among the garlic and olive oil. What's more, it uses simple, easy to find ingredients.

The author cautions against using canned beans, which apparently don't hold up well to sautéing. So sometime the day of or in the few days before, you'll want to cook up one-half pound of large dried white beans (notes on how to cook dried beans).  I failed to think about the beans the night before, but got away with soaking them for five hours and cooking for one. I added a shallot to the stock pot just to make things a little more interesting.

From there, it all happens in a single skillet. Fair warning: you need a large skillet.

Sauté in butter or oil in a single layer (this was too crowded)	Flip when beans begin to turn golden and crusty
Add onion and garlic	Add chard, cooking just until wilted

The cookbook suggested serving the beans "over grilled slices of rustic bread rubbed with a clove of garlic and a fragrant extra-virgin olive oil." A homely bruschetta, if you will.

At this point in the meal, conversation stopped. Because we were too busy scarfing down tasty bean-topped bread.

The Husband declared he would happily serve the Beans of Awesomeness to guests. I heartily agreed. And in our house, that's about the highest compliment a dish can get.

Recipe below; printable version here.

Asian Cabbage Slaw

Napa cabbage time!

A tad milder and sweeter than your standard green cabbage, it can be braised, marinated, used as a wrap, added to soups or eaten raw in salads (it's tasty with noodles!). Chop up the white stems and add to a stir fry for a bit of crunch. Such a versatile little veggie.

Asian cabbage slaw is an easy side dish and a happy addition to summer barbeques.

Mix together shredded cabbage, grated carrots, and diced bell pepper. My cabbage was a bit more on the chopped side than shredded. What can I say? I was feeling lazy creative.

Whisk together oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger.

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Toss the dressing with the veggie mix and let marinate a wee bit.

Hello, refreshing alternative to coleslaw! Recipe below, or printer-friendly version here.

Homemade refried beans

Since I learned how to cook and freeze dried beans we've pretty much stopped buying canned beans. So much cheaper and no worries of BPA nastiness. But it never occurred to me to make our own refried beans until another blogger mentioned it.

We gave it a try the other month and, holy smokes, I think I'm ruined for canned refried beans forever. Not only was it less expensive to make our own, but they tasted so much better. Now we've got a  few frozen batches stashed away and ready to go the next time burrito night rolls around. A pint container holds about the same amount as a standard can.

I'm still experimenting with some different recipes, but the one below is the one we are using at the moment. It's a mild, plain flavor, just like you want out of your basic refried beans. It suggests smashing the beans with a potato masher, but I like going at them with my immersion blender instead. Much more like the familiar texture of the canned version that way!

Now to figure out how to recreate the green chile and lime refried beans. Mmmm.

Recipe below; printable version here.