Summer Recipes
All of these recipes are designed for summer freshness!
BALSAMIC QUINOA DELIGHT
This is a fabulous dish that I take with me to potlucks and summer picnics. It can be made ahead of time, and has a balsamic light taste that everyone loves. Plus, you can make the quinoa in the rice cooker, making the prep SO simple.
Ingredients:
2 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup quinoa
2 scallions, chopped
grated carrots, chopped celery, or other veggies you've got onhand
sprinkling of pine nuts
handful of raisins
Dressing:
3 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 T. maple syrup or agave nectar
1 t. mustard (any kind)
salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa, and simmer until water is absorbed (about 15 minutes). You can alternatively cook quinoa in a rice cooker.
2. Chop scallions and other veggies into tiny pieces.
3. Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a bowl to form a dressing.
5. When quinoa is done, put it into a beautiful serving bowl. Add the scallions, veggies, raisins and pine nuts. Then drizzle the dressing over the grains.
You can add beans or sausage to make this a full meal!
WHITE BEAN SALAD
(Courtesy of
Emily Collins)
Ingredients:
3 (14 oz) cans white beans, rinsed and drained
3 small red onions, thinly sliced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced – shiitakes and portobellas (whatever you’ve
got)
3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Dressing Ingredients:
1 T hummus (or mustard)
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T olive oil
Instructions:
1. Sauté onions in olive oil until they caramelize (5-8 minutes
in a hot pan). Put on plate and cool.
2. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and sauté in olive oil
until they brown and lose water – approximately five minutes.
(If you’re using a combination of mushrooms, cook portabellas
for a few minutes before adding the other varieties.)
3. For the dressing, whisk together the hummus, vinegar, and garlic.
Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking to form an emulsion.
4. Toss the beans, mushrooms, onions, and dressing together. Add in
the spinach right before serving.
LEMON-Y SUMMER CHICKEN
Ingredients:
Fresh boneless/skinless chicken breasts (organic preferred)
Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped fresh basil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. Mix the shallot, garlic and basil together in a baking dish. Add
lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper.
2. Coat the chicken breasts in the mixture.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
BEAN AND ROSEMARY BRUSCHETTA
Ingredients:
2 cups rinsed and drained cannellini beans
5 tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little for drizzling
2 sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper
handful of basil leaves
Gluten-free Udi's brand bread
Instructions:
1. Place tomatoes in bowl, cover w/ boiling water, leave for 30 seconds,
then peel, seed and chop the flesh.
2. Heat oil in pan, add fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and rosemary.
Cook for two minutes until tomatoes start to break down and soften.
3. Add tomato mixture and cannelli beans, season to taste. Mix well.
4. Rub cut sides of bread with garlic clove then toast lightly. Spoon
mixture on top of toast, sprinkle with basil leaves, and drizzle w/
olive oil.
