Summer Eating

What's on the Cooper summer menu?

I was raised in dreary, grey, chilly northwest Ohio where summertime meant a dramatic and refreshing change from all of that—warm and sunny days at the lake, backyard garden tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh peaches from our tree, and corn and cantaloupe from Bergman Market.

In contrast, summer in Florida is a cruel joke. It’s so hot, you guys. I’ve heard it described as “Hell’s Front Porch;” and that would feel true if, in fact, Hell’s Front Porch also includes daily severe thunderstorms, weekly tornado warnings where we take cover in our small guest bath, swarms of mosquitoes and gnats that feed on my flesh, and humidity that smacks me in the face like a hot, wet, towel every time I leave my house.

The other nine months of the year in Florida are pure bliss. But June, July, and August are mi-ser-a-ble!

This is my “winter.” This is where, unless I’m in water or A/C, I’m indoors.

This heat makes what I’ve always considered “traditional summer cooking” a challenge. I mean, standing at a 450-degree grill in 100-degree weather is no joke. But so is opening a 400-degree oven. Or stir-frying over an open flame.

And yet, everyone in my house still needs to eat. Three times a day, most days. :)

So, here’s a peek into what I’ve been serving my family lately, trying to incorporate summer produce, summer vibes, AND summer temps into the mix.

Pasta Monday

One of my favorite weekly menu staples is Pasta Monday. It works in all seasons. It’s quick and easy. And I can get as creative as I want to. Or I can open up a can of Rao’s, pour it over spaghetti, and call it a day.

This week, I felt creative, so I pulled together a creamy Southwest Pasta, blending until smooth a can of full-fat coconut milk, a couple of teaspoons of taco seasoning (I make my own, but a packet would work fine), and about a cup of salsa.

And then I stirred the sauce into cooked and drained pasta with pinto beans, fresh chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Then, I topped the whole thing with diced mango.

It was outstanding. I wish I had taken a picture, because it was pretty, too.

Tofu Migas

Tofu Migas from the Beat Cancer Kitchen Cookbook is one of my easy, go-to mid-week meals that my whole family gobbles up. I seriously crave this dish on the regular.

Combine crumbled extra firm tofu*, a large can of drained black beans, 2 bell peppers (I used one green and one red), and a diced red onion.

Then add 2 tsp of cumin, 2 tsp coriander, 2 tsp turmeric, I tsp garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil.

Toss it all together and place it in a 13 x 9-inch pan.

Bake at 400 for 25-35 min, stirring once during baking.

Then drizzle with the juice of one lime and sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips (I used Scoops this week) or street taco tortillas (my fave!) with fresh salsa, guacamole, and diced mango.

YUM!

Pro tip: serving two “southwest” inspired dishes this week helped me use up all my fresh cilantro and simplify my shopping trip since many of the ingredients I used for both dishes.

*Also, do NOT fear the tofu in this dish. The turmeric turns it yellow and makes it look just like scrambled eggs. In fact, my 22-year-old son thought it WAS eggs until I told him otherwise.

Big Salad

You know, it’s like a salad…only bigger. (Seinfeld reference).

No seriously. Once a week, I take all the leftover produce in my fridge, toss it with whatever greens I have on hand, and use it as a base for a Big Salad.

This week, the night before Big Salad Night, I made sheet pans of roasted baby potatoes, cubed sweet potatoes, cauliflower, bell peppers, and onions. The leftovers ended up in the Big Salad.

Whenever I make Big Salad, I add chickpeas to give it some oomph, a cubed avocado for creaminess, something sweet (like chopped dates or maybe an apple—I think I used the tomatoes for sweetness here), and something crunchy (like pepitas, pistachios, toasted sliced almonds, or sunflower seeds).

Oh, and SOMETIMES I add quinoa or rice and make it a grain bowl!

Then I chop it all up on my giant cutting board, toss it with a vinaigrette in this giant bowl, and serve it with take-and-bake sourdough bread from my grocery store bakery.

Voila! Big Salad. Or Big Grain Bowl. :)

Salad Wraps

Another simple summer dinner that requires 5 minutes of prep and always goes over well in my home is the Salad Wrap (not pictured.) This can be as simple as a large flour tortilla and a Caesar Salad kit from the produce section. Publix usually has them on sale BOGO or two salad kits for $7. One kit makes two dinner-sized wraps. So, this is both easy AND cheap.

Depending on the day and my mood, I will vary the salad kit flavor or I will add a layer of hummus to the tortilla before I pile on the salad. Sometimes my kids want some meat (it’s not easy being Plant-Based Sandy’s kid) so I’ll bake some chicken tenders from the freezer and add them. Sometimes I will serve these with french fries or Sun Chips. Sometimes Big Salad becomes the guts of Salad Wraps.

The bottom line: this is my go-to when I don’t want to cook.

Grilled Veggies

I told you that standing over a 450-degree grill in 100-degree heat is no joke. I know this because I did it last night. But I was reeeaaaaalllly wanting to practice grilling fruits and veggies. I know how to grill meat. In fact, for the first 10 years of our marriage, I only knew how to cook meat by grilling it.

But, since I no longer eat meat and rarely serve it to my family, my grill has suffered neglect.

Until yesterday.

Elliana and I slowly browsed the produce section and picked out every last item we wanted to try on the grill. Here’s what I served last night.

Pictured below beginning at twelve o’clock and moving clockwise: Take and bake sourdough making a second appearance with a homemade vinaigrette on the side for dipping, kale (surprisingly delicious on the grill!), mango, apricot, peach (omg drool), asparagus, cauliflower (Pioneer Woman recipe), green beans (tossed in a sweet Asian sauce and sesame seeds).

Tonight I’m grilling kebabs and tomorrow I’m grilling veggie burgers. I’ll report back, unless I melt in the heat before then.

Fun Food Finds

On the way home from our vacation a few weeks ago, we stopped at The Cracker Barrel and found gummy bologna and gummy boxed mac and cheese. The jury is still out as to which product is less nutritious…the gummy version or the real version.

Balance Playlist

While you are whipping up your summer meals for your family and The Balanced MomCast is on summer break, pop in your earbuds and listen to this BALANCE Spotify Playlist: a curated playlist of all The Balanced MomCast episodes I’ve dropped specifically about “balance.”

This list is about 10 hours long and takes you all the way back to EP1 (March 2019!) where my voice was waaaaayyyy too deep and breathy and my editing skills needed serious help.

Happy cooking and listening!

Love,

Sandy