Summer Recipes!

Let’s whip up some fun summer dishes from our Vendors!

     Summer is here and with it comes Summer food!  I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love Summer food!  Everything is at its freshest and the flavors are so intense.  The colors are amazing and with very little work and not much time, you can put a beautiful and filling meal on the table.  Following are a few recipes from some of our favorite vendors.  They look so delicious.  I just wish I could smell and taste them through my screen!

     First up is Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Cook’s Vanilla http://www.cooksvanilla.com.  Why not start with dessert – it’s summer!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

So, we started with a dessert.  Let’s move on to a refreshing beverage.  This recipe comes to us from Tea Drops http://www.myteadrop.com.

Sweet Peppermint Arnold Palmer

Ingredients:

• 10 oz Tea Drops Sweet Peppermint, cooled
• 2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1 oz Honey
• 6 oz Swoon Pink Lemonade
• 4 oz Mix Berries
• 10 Mint Leaves
• Strawberry for garnish

Directions:

1. In a pitcher, combine Tea Drops Sweet Peppermint, lemon juice, honey, Swoon Pink Lemonade, mixed berries, and mint leaves.
2. Stir mixture until well combined.
3. To serve, fill glass with ice and pour mixture on top.
4. Garnish with strawberry and enjoy!

Next we have a main dish recipe – pizza crust using crushed grains.  This recipe is from Our Fathers Foods right here in Ohio http://www.healthygraincrushing.com!

Pizza Crust Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups Crushed Wheat #1
• 1 cup Crushed Wheat #2
• ¼ cup Crushed Flax

Directions

• Combine warm water and yeast
• Next add in salt and butter
• Next, add in crushed Wheat #1 Crushed Wheat #2, and Crushed Flax
• Mix together until all is stuck together in a ball
• Let rise for 1 hour 30 minutes
• Split dough into two pieces (makes 2 medium crusts)
• Roll each piece of dough out
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes
• Top with your favorite pizza toppings, bake until done and enoy!

The next recipe is from The National Honey Board http://www.honey.comand it’s a salad to go along with that pizza!

Spinach Salad with Honey Bacon Dressing

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 oz. -fresh spinach leaves 5 slices -bacon, about 4 oz.
• 1/4 cup -red wine vinegar 3 T -honey cherry tomatoes, for topping
• red onions, for topping
• mushrooms, sliced, for topping

Directions

• Wash and dry spinach thoroughly. Place in a large bowl.
• Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet on each side until crisp. Place bacon on paper towels and remove skillet from heat. Pour bacon fat into a heatproof cup and measure 2 T back into the skillet. Let bacon cool, then crumble into 1/2-inch pieces.
• In a small bowl, mix honey and vinegar.
• Heat the 2 T of bacon fat in the skillet over medium-high heat and carefully add honey-vinegar mixture. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add salt to taste. Remove from heat and cool 2 minutes.
• Pour dressing over spinach and toss well. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Add bacon pieces to spinach and mix. Serve immediately.
• Optional Toppings: cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions

And another one from the National Honey Board, because who can resist a frosty, fruity popsicle?

Honey Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

Yield: Makes 8-10 popsicles

Ingredients

• 2 cups -fresh strawberries, washed and stemmed, 1/2 cup reserved and diced
• 1/2 cup -fresh or prepared lemon juice
• 1/2 cup -honey 1 cup – water

Directions

Place all ingredients except the 1/2 cup diced strawberries in a blender and mix on high until the strawberries are completely incorporated, about 1 minute.

Divide the diced strawberries between the popsicle molds and carefully pour the strawberry lemonade mixture to the top of each mold.

Insert the popsicle sticks in each mold and freeze until the popsicles are completely frozen.

Tip

Run warm water over the molds for just a moment for easy popsicle removal.

And where would we be without appetizers while we are preparing all of this food?  Here’s a recipe – well, actually multiple recipes in one! – from Rosebud’s Real Food http://www.rosebudsfealfood.com for a dip to go with your daily veggies!

Rosebud’s Dip Recipe

“Did you know that almost all of our mixes are Dairy Free? ONLY Buttermilk Ranch contains organic dried Buttermilk. They are all Gluten Free and made from Certified Organic ingredients too! With our very versatile seasoning mixes, you can’t go wrong!”

Seasonings great for dips:

• Buttermilk Ranch
• Chipotle
• Dairy Free Ranch
• I Love Garlic
• Southwest Ranch
• Taco

Dairy Free Recipe:
Mix 3/4 C. Avocado Oil Mayo plus 1/4 C.  canned coconut milk plus
1 Tbsp Rosebud’s Seasoning Mix 

Contains Dairy Recipe:
Mix 3/4 C. Organic Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream plus
1/4 C. Avocado Oil Mayo plus
1 Tbsp Rosebud’s Seasoning Mix

Okay – one final recipe.  This is another dip, but it’s very different than traditional dips.  Citrus Black Bean Dip from Shagbark Seed and Mill would be great with Shagbark chips or used with taco salad, burritos, etc!

Citrus Black Bean Dip

Ingredients

• ½ pound dry black beans
• water for soaking
• ½ lemon for soaking water
• 2/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 ½ onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 small fresh hot pepper OR ¼ tsp. dry chipotle powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• ½ tsp. Whole or ground coriander seeds
• ½ tsp. cumin
• Salt, to taste
• Juice of 2 fresh lemons
• Dehydrated ground lemon peel, to taste
• 4 Tbsp. fresh parsley (optional)

Method

1. Cover dry beans with at least 2 inches of water with a squeeze of lemon juice to neutralize phytic acids, and soak for 8-24 hours
2. Drain water from beans and rinse in fresh cold water.
3. Cover again with at least 1-inch water and bring to a boil
4. Skim white foam from water and turn down to a very low boil and let cook, covered for 1.5 hours.
5. DO NOT ADD SALT until done – otherwise you will have a tough, indigestible bean.
6. Heat coconut oil in a skillet on medium heat.
7. Sauté onions and oregano on medium heat until translucent, about 10 minutes.
8. Add peppers, garlic, coriander, cumin and a sprinkle of salt and cook for 5 minutes more.
9. When beans are cooked, drain cooking water (reserve ½ cup of cooking water) and put beans in food processor with regular chopping blade.
10. Add onion mixture, the juice of 1 lemon and a Tbsp. or so of cooking water along with a dash of lemon peel.
11. Whiz mixture until thoroughly mixed, adding more lemon juice and plenty of salt and lemon peel (to your individual taste). If it’s too thick, add more cooking water a teaspoon at a time.
12. If using, add rough chopped parsley to food processor bowl right at the end.

Garnish with fresh lemon zest and chopped parsley.

Serve with tortilla chips and salsa.

Did you see anything you want to try?  What’s your favorite summer recipe?  Share it with us in the comments below.  Enjoy!