What is summer? Wikipedia breaks it into categories, timing, weather, holidays, and activities. Wait, what about food? Summer for me is strawberries, raspberries, spinach, lettuce, bing cherries, green beans, peas, watermelon and an old fashioned picnic. It is many things, timing, weather, holidays and activities but food, oh the food from the garden, traditional things like lemonade on a warm day and a picnic with fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans and don't forget the chips! Let's take a look at some fast and fun foods for the summer and take a look at food safety so we all stay nice and healthy while enjoying summer festivities.
Summer is for simple things because the activities are in full swing! Sandwiches, wraps and keeping it simple is my motto for summer food. The idea of cooking once and eating twice means half of the prep time and more time to play.
Memorial Day weekend found us in the yard and garden preparing for the upcoming months. We had a lot on our to do list, but I didn't want to forget about the food, the wonderful, mouth watering and nutritious food. I found that our local store had Pork Shoulder Roast for $1.88 a pound. I chose to fix this for Sunday dinner. I found this lovely rub on-line and cooked it at 300 degrees fahrenheit for about 4 hours. http://bbq.about.com/od/rubrecipes/r/bln0224a.htm My roast was 10 pounds, I used about 1/2 of the rub on the roast. Along with summer at our house is the sacred grill, a good meat rub is nice to keep on hand. I personally like a rub that has a mix of spice and sweet, so I enjoy a good North Carolina Rub. Sunday dinner found a roast meal with potatoes and gravy, green beans and an apple cobbler for dessert. Monday, found the roast turned into pulled pork sandwiches, the roast was slow cooked and fell apart, I then covered it with barbecue sauce. This is a great time of year to stock up on bottles of barbecue sauce. You can find great home made sauce on line as well. Check out this sight, http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuesaucerecipes/tp/10barbecuesauce.htm. I have a family favorite that we use, it comes from the Better Homes and Garden recipe book that I have had for many years!
Ranae's Barbecue Sauce
In a sauce pan, stir together 1/2 cup catsup, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 2 tbs. brown sugar, 1 tbls. prepared mustard, 1 tbs. water, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper. Cook 2 minutes or until onion is tender. Makes 3/4 cup (6 servings).
Recap: Sunday, roast dinner with potatoes and vegetable, Monday, pulled pork sandwiches, served with potato salad and baked beans. Leftovers, frozen into portions for sandwiches for lunches in a week or so. Never let anything go to waste! It is typical for a family to grow tired of leftovers, they can be easily frozen for a quick and easy meal at a later time.
Wraps: Anything wraps up in a tortilla! The shredded pork could have been put in a tortilla with peppers, onion, tomatoes and lettuce topped with taco sauce for a twist. Our family likes to make Quesadillas, we cover the tortilla shell with shredded low fat cheddar jack cheese, place under broiler for just a few minutes, top it with tomatoes, lettuce and salsa, and you have a healthy snack or it can be a main entrée. For a grab and go breakfast, scramble eggs and add cheese and salsa, great quick breakfast on the go, or a great lunch item. My favorite snack is a small tortilla, spread 1 tbs. of nuetella, or peanut butter, place a banana in the middle, roll up the tortilla and eat, makes me smile thinking about it!
Tortillas are so very easy to make. The ingredients are flour, baking powder, salt, oil and water. They are a bit labor intense, but you will get your physical activity in for the day! This link is a wonderful recipe, you will notice videos on the right hand side to get you started! http://allrecipes.com/recipe/authentic-mexican-tortillas/. We make the tortillas as a family. Typically, we double the batch and freeze some for later. In the summer, we go through a lot of tortillas because you can have a quick and easy meal or snack.
Picnics in the Summer Time! Who does not love a good old fashioned picnic? My motto is still to keep it simple. Summer always brings hot weather and bacteria just loves a picnic! With a few tips, you can be sure that your summer fun is not ruined by a food borne illness. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/UCM239489.pdf This tip sheet will help you to be sure your food is safe for your summer picnic. To sum up safe practices, keep the hot food hot and the cold food cold. As soon as you have completed your picnic lunch, be sure to place food in a cooler if you want to serve the food at a later time. Always play it safe and when in doubt, throw it out!
Fruit in the summer is just absolutely the best! What an easy snack, fresh berries, sliced water melon and cantaloupe. One of my favorite things to put on the table is a fruit salad. At my house, that means whatever fruit is in the frig, sliced and eaten fresh, yum! The fruit is endless, grapes, strawberries, bananas, blueberries and the list just goes on! Vary the colors and you get a variety of vitamins and minerals to improve your health.
Vegetables are at a premium too. Try something you have not tried before! One of my favorite things to do is to make pasta salad, I include a variety of vegetables in my salads. My favorite pasta to use is rainbow pasta with dried spinach and dried tomato. Slices of fresh cucumber, squash, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, black olives and cherry tomatoes are a spectacular colorful combination as well as a mixture of great tastes! You could use a variety of dressings for your salad. I keep on hand our favorite salad dressings, creamy italian, ranch and oil and vinegar. I am most fond of my home made oil and vinegar, You will find this in my previous post on gardening. The best part of making a home made oil and vinegar dressing, is that you can decide on the herbs and this alters the taste of the salad. In the spice section of your grocery store, you will find a blend of spices and it is labeled for salads, this adds a nice flare to your pasta salad. Once you make your first pasta salad, you will not go back to the box version!
What is summer without a dessert? Again, fruit is in abundance, so a lot of times, we will call the water melon a dessert. We also enjoy fruit cobblers. My favorite cobbler comes from my Aunt. So simple!
Apple Cobbler
Sliced Apples tossed with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Spread in bottom of 9X13 pan (approximately 4 to 6 cups)
Combine 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. oatmeal, 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. butter. Mix together till crumbly. Spread evenly over top of apples. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit until apples are tender and top is slightly brown. Approximately 30 minutes.
One thing I have learned about summer, this is a time that I do need to work on planning. Healthy snacks and easy meals are a must. Get your kids involved, no time like the present to visit your local farmer's market or super market and check your produce section to see what is in season. Give your kids the chance to try something new or be creative with a food you have had before. As your kids get a bit older, it is a good thing to help them learn to cook easy and healthy meals and snacks. This will help prepare them for good habits when they are grown-up.
Summer is all about timing, weather, holidays and activities. Don't forget the exercise! Check out your local parks and exercise trails, you will be glad you did! Our family enjoys a local hiking trail. Add a picnic lunch and you will have summertime memories to last a lifetime!
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| Yanney Park, One of our favorite places to ride bicycles, walk and enjoy the outdoors! Find your local parks and trails and enjoy! Make this a part of your summer tradition! |
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