Summer Cooking with Herbs: Seasonal Dishes

Make the most of summer produce with fresh herb recipes!

Summer is peak herb season, with gardens overflowing with lush, aromatic leaves and Farmer’s Markets brimming with locally grown produce. Cooking with fresh herbs is the best way to highlight seasonal produce and add layers of bright, unforgettable flavor to every meal.

Herb-Forward Salads and Dressings

• Add chopped parsley, dill, basil, or chives to green salads.
• Whip up an herby vinaigrette: olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, Dijon, fresh herbs.
• Quick Herb Vinaigrette
  
  
  
• 3/4 cup light flavored oil
• 1/4 cup herb or rice vinegar (sweet and savory work well)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (savory or sweet)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously until emulsified. Serve immediately. Makes 1 cup. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week.

 

• Toss tomato, cucumber, and feta with oregano and mint for a Mediterranean touch. Or add our Greek Blend Seasoning.
• which is perfect on tomatoes.

Grilling with Fresh Herbs

• Make marinades with rosemary, thyme, and sage for meats and veggies.
• Easy Marinade
  
  
  
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup cider vinegar  
• 2 clove garlic, crushed 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 Tbls. finely chopped onion
• ½ tsp. brown sugar
•  ½ tsp. fennel seed
•  ½ tsp. salt 
• 1/8 tsp. pepper 
• 2 tsp. fresh, 1 tsp dried herbs of your choice

Combine ingredients in a jar or cruet and shake well. Pour over cooked or uncooked vegetables, pasta salad, or chicken or beef.  Allow to marinate 2 to 8 hours, then grill, bake or broil as desired.

• Create herb butters with parsley, garlic, and chives to melt over grilled corn or steaks. Check out our previously posted herb butter recipes.
• Use sturdy herbs like rosemary or thyme as skewers for kebabs.

Light, Summery Pastas and Grain Bowls

• Toss pasta with olive oil, cherry tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella.
• Make tabbouleh with fresh parsley and mint, bulgur, lemon juice, and tomatoes.
• Add chopped herbs to rice or quinoa salads with summer vegetables,
•  Tabbouleh
• 1 cup bulghur wheat
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (1 bunch)
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (1 bunch)
• 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)
• 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the bulghur in a large bowl, pour in the boiling water, and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir, then allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour. Add the scallions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper; mix well. Season, to taste, and serve or cover and refrigerate. The flavor will improve if the tabbouleh sits for a few hours. 

 

Closing

Your summer harvest deserves center stage. By weaving herbs into every dish, you celebrate the freshest flavors of the season while making meals that are as colorful as they are delicious.

Great Grilling Butter -- Weekend Recipe

 Using herbs that are left over from the garden or the grocery to make an herb butter is a great way to make something you can use with the grill.  This recipe uses parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme because I have them growing in my garden. If your family prefers a different combination, go ahead and substitute what they like. The ratio is 1/2 cup of butter to 1/4 cup minced herbs, so use any herbs you like. Simply place a portion on top of a cooked steak, just like a fancy steakhouse would do.

                                            
Herb Butter for a Grilled Steak

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

Place 7 tablespoons softened, unsalted butter in a small mixing bowl. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir cooked garlic into reserved softened butter. Mix the minced fresh herbs into the garlic-butter mixture using a fork, stirring and pressing until evenly distributed. Season with sea salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate until slightly firmed up, about 20 minutes.

Turn mixture out onto a 9x12-inch strip of aluminum foil or parchment paper. Form mixture into a log, about 6 inches long and 1 inch thick. Roll herb butter up in the foil or parchment, twisting the ends and closing with a twist tie or rubber band. Return to the refrigerator until firmed up, about 40 minutes. Slice into 8 equal portions and serve on top of steak or other dishes. Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers up to 4 days. Logs can be frozen up to 3 months.

Herb butter is great not only on steak, but works with any grilled or roasted protein, steamed vegetables, or on baked potatoes.

Vegan Summer Squash and Pesto Soup - Recipe Theme

If you have a few leftover summer squash as the frost moves in, this is a great soup to help use them up.  You can also use your other garden produce to make this flavorful and unique soup that can use up all your remaining fresh basil. This is another crock pot recipe, can you tell where my cooking of soups tends to gravitate?  Hubby does not like to make soup and I don’t like to be in the kitchen for long periods which makes crockpot soups my favorite.  

The butter-based pesto topping is what makes you love this soup as one last time to enjoy the flavors of summer. And the butter is great on pasta, rolls, and steamed vegetables too! Leftovers of both can be frozen. 

Vegetable Soup with Pesto Butter

•  1 large onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound new potatoes (1-inch diameter), halved
• Salt and pepper
• 2 summer squash (8 oz. each), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/3-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound green beans, halved
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas
• 1 quart vegetable broth or stock
• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
• 4 tablespoons butter or vegetable butter substitute
• 3 ears corn, kernels cut off (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 large tomato, diced

Directions:

Layer the onion and potatoes in a large, lined slow cooker; season with salt and pepper. Add the squash, green beans, snap peas and broth. Cover and cook until the potatoes and squash are soft and the beans and peas are crisp-tender, about 2 hours on high or 3 hours on low.

Meanwhile, make the pesto butter: Using a food processor, puree the basil and garlic until finely chopped. Add the parmesan, butter/butter substitute, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Process until the butter comes together in a ball. Transfer to a small bowl.

Stir the corn and tomato into the finished stew; season. Top each serving with pesto butter.

 

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  

To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)

Pretzel Dip - Weekend Recipe

I purchased a cookbook while on vacation, which is my habit.  This one was called Top Chefs of West Virginia by Allen Arnold and Maureen Crocket.  It had interviews with about 20 different chefs for the Appalachian area.  They vary from complicated to basic, but all reflect a great modern esthetic and a regional flare.  I will be sharing a few more later this year.

One that caught my attention to share this month (Tailgate - Appetizer theme) was a Pretzel Dip by Dennis O. Harris II.  It was a very basic recipe with no herbs in it, but I thought with herbs flavors you could really dress this up.

Pretzel Dip ala Backyard Patch

8 ounces of cream cheese

2 Tbls herb flavored butter

2 Tbls Splenda

2 Tbls herb vinegar

Blend cream cheese with herb flavored butter.  A combination made with chives, tarragon and parsley or BYP Herbal Spread would go well with pretzels.  Add Splenda. Then stir in herbal vinegar.  I suggest a savory vinegar like tarragon, thyme or something with peppercorns, like Marcy’s Favorite.  Serve with pretzel rods.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018 or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr)

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - StirFry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)

Grilled Zucchini for your Grilling day!

Getting out the Grill for Fourth of July?

Try this great Grilled Zucchini recipe. 

I originally distributed this recipe back when I started lecturing in 1995, it is a quick and easy way to use rosemary when it is fresh and less pungent as well as make a compound butter you can save for use with  many other vegetables and a grilled steak too!

Grilled Zucchini with fresh rosemary butter

(serves 3 to 4)

Rosemary butter:

2 scallions, white part only, finely chopped

2 Tbls. finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

12 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon rind

pinch ground cayenne pepper

1/2 c. salted butter, at room temperature

Grilled Zucchini:

6 medium zucchini

olive oil

Thoroughly blend together the rosemary butter ingredients, then transfer to a deep custard dish or butter server, or place a 12 inch long roll in plastic wrap and roll into a 1 inch thick log.  Chill the herb butter slightly to firm and let flavors blend.

Slice zucchini lengthwise into thirds so you have long slices about 1/2 inch thick.  Brush with olive oil. Grill or broil them until cooked and soft inside.  Top each zucchini slice with a portion of the rosemary butter and serve. 

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes (ZuccJul)

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes

September 2019 - Quiche

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals
November 2019 - Pies
December 2019 - Mocktails

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes (ZuccJul)

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes

September 2019 - Quiche

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals

November 2019 - Pies

December 2019 - Mocktails