Easy and Light Summer Meals

A hoy-hoy and welcome back! Today we will be taking a trip to the garden, picking out the best she has to offer, and making delicious summer foods! What’s that, you ask? Do I have a garden? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA – NO. I have the blackest of black thumbs. I am the hospice care for dying plants on their way to meet Jesus. I do, however, have awesome neighbors that can grow veggies and they sell across the street from my house in their Veggie Stand. That’s right. I literally walk, barefoot, across the street and get awesome, homegrown veggies such as heirloom tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, onions, and the list goes on. In the Winter, I love to make hearty, warm foods that will fill me up and keep me warm, honestly I feel the same way for Fall and Spring, HAHAHA. Now Summer. Summer with its warm nights, the smell of fresh cut grass like watermelons surrounding you along with the lightening bugs. Rich and vibrant colors of midnight blues, sharp gem-like greens and honeyed, mellow golds are the season’s themes. Summertime is when I crave lighter, simpler meals; meals that won’t weigh you down or heat up your kitchen to much. 

In this blog, I will go over a couple of summertime recipes that I love to eat throughout season. So, get your Kiss the Cook apron on and lets create some light yet filling summertime foods! 

Green Beans and Bacon

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, green beans and bacon. You have the juxtaposition of the fresh and bright green beans with the unctuous, fatty bacon and sweet onion sprinkled in for added flavor and texture. My Papa was a farmer (and pharmacist) and I loved summertime because that was when we would eat a cornucopia of fresh, vibrant veggies such as sweet corn (like, the sweetest corn you will ever eat), green beans, greens, sweet onions and more!! But, lets focus and get back to the green beans! I remember several times throughout my childhood, my dad waking me, whispering for me to get up and have some green beans and bacon. Of course, every time, I would get up and have some, no matter the time! Now. Be forewarned, we cook this recipe in the pressure cooker. Yes. The pressure cooker. You could do this in the oven or stove top. It will not taste the same. It won’t. Sorry, not sorry, but it is the truth. The pressure cooker takes that pressure to combine the flavors of the bacon and onion into the green beans. 30-45 minutes (only because I want to make sure the bacon gets done) and not only does your entire house smell like bacon and onion and bacon and summer and bacon, but it melds the flavors of these three simple ingredients into a decedent, yet somehow light meal. 

1 pound fresh green beans
1/2 pound bacon – raw
1 small onion or 1/2 medium onion. 

Step 1 – Ingredient preparation: take your fresh green beans (yes, fresh. You cannot use canned or frozen – they will disintegrate in the pressure cooker) and cut both ends. Trust me, do this, I have tried to be lazy and not cut both sizes and you will regret this decision when you are eating the green beans and choking on stings. No bueno. Take your raw bacon and cut and separate the pieces, mixing them amongst the green beans. Chop your onion and do the same at the bacon. 

Step 2 – Add all three ingredients into your pressure cooker and added about a cup or two of water. Close the lid, and set your pressure cooker to meat 30-45 minutes. Let the pressure cooker do the rest!! 

So. Yeah. That’s it. For real. Stupid easy, I know! See why we love it so much, so, much. When the pressure cooker is done, let out the pressure, spoon into a bowl or plate and salt. I liberally salt, but salt. Enjoy. Let the steaming hot plump green beans, rich and fatty bacon, and sweet onion coat your mouth and tongue with happy, summertime memories of eating this dish, at God-knows what time at night with the crickets singing and the fireflies illuminating the ink blue nighttime. 

Fried Green Tomatoes 

Yes, it is a wonderful movie from the 90s that shaped an entire female generation. No, its not just a made up food for the movie. It is a thing! Now, according to my research (but always do your own research) Fried Green Tomatoes might have made a name for themselves in southern kitchen, however, they were first made in Northern United States kitchens. That being said, as a child, watching that movie, I knew that one day I would like to try them. The opportunity never presented itself until a couple of years ago when I had the chance to make them – myself. I made a couple after extensive recipe research and they did not disappoint. As I have mentioned, there are a couple variations on the recipe, but this is one I use:

Bowl One – 1/2 cup of flour with seasoning (salt, pepper, seasoning powder, anything you like)

Bowl Two – 1 egg, beaten 

Bowl Three – 1 cup of panko or breadcrumbs

Step 1 – Get your dipping stations ready: first seasoned flour, then a bowl of whisked eggs, and lastly a bowl of either breadcrumbs or panko. Get some veggie oil into a pan, about 1/2 an inch to an inch deep as we are shallow frying. Turn the heat onto low to low-medium.

Step 2 – Take your green tomatoes – yes, you need green ones. And thickly cut them, about 1/4 inch thick. Now comes the assembly line. Take your cut tomato slices and coat them in the flour. Then dunk them in the eggs, and lastly, coat them in the breadcrumbs or panko. 

Step 3 – Fry your slices in oil anywhere from 3-5 minutes. Watch them throughout. You can go from happy brown and crispy to black and charred in less than a minute. Take them out and onto a paper towel lined plate and season with salt. Trust me, again, you need the salt. 

Enjoy!!! 

I usually just eat those for my meal, but you could also fry up some easy over eggs to eat with them or add salsa. Have I done any of those things? No. But I imagine they would be delightful!  But please, try these, they are so good and like nothing you have had before! 

Tomato Tart

Okay, this one is a mystery. I don’t know how or where I heard about tomato tart or tomato pie, but, once I did, I started researching the heck out of it. The recipe I came up with is an amalgamation of several recipes and I picked out the favorites of each. The key here is to make sure that your tomatoes do not make the while thing soggy: we are talking about crispy crust and juicy summertime tomatoes. But, have no fear, I have some tips and tricks that worked for me. 

The Crust

You cannot have a Tomato Pie without the pie crust. For this pie, or any pie, we (I, you can use whatever crust you want) will be using the homemade pie crust featured in this blog. Please feel free to also use this recipe! I make a bunch of double batches and put them in the freezer to have at the ready. 

Either way, homemade or store bought, prepare your pie dough according to package or the recipe in the blog. Blind bake it, we want crunchy and ready to take juicy (kind of) tomatoes. Have this ready in your pie dish and cooled. Note: Blind baking is the crust, parchment paper, and weighted beans or weights. Pre-baking the crust before you place the main mixture in and bake that. 

The Tomatoes

Now. I have always used Heirloom tomatoes because my neighbor knows I love them, so grows them for me. I have not used with with regular tomatoes, but I know that you can. I just like the sweet yet tanginess of the heirlooms. But please, use regular tomatoes if that’s all you can find! When you obtain said tomatoes, we need to prep them before slapping them in the pie. Cut them into slices. Then, scoop out all of the jelly-stuff and the seeds. Please them on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle them with salt (this will bring out the extra water), place another layer of paper towels on the top and then place another cookie sheet on top and place a heavy pan on top. We are squishing the moisture out of the tomatoes. Some recipes baked them in the oven, I didn’t want to do that. I wanted as fresh of a tomato taste so I just squish them overnight in the fridge. I find heirloom tomatoes (which typically very in color from yellow to purple to red) to have a milder flavor. 

Putting This Thang Altogether 

Okay! Here we go! 

2-3 Heirloom Tomatoes – sliced, de-seeded, and squished

1 Pie Crust Recipe 

1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of mayo

1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 large egg

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives 

Fresh Basil leaves – for garnish 

1. Get your pie crust ready and cooled.
2. Get your tomatoes ready and squished (usually overnight in the fridge)
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
4. Mix the cheese, mayo, dijon mustard, salt, egg together, set aside 
5. Layer your tomato slices within the baked pie crust and sprinkle with chopped chives. Layer up to the top of the crust 
6. Take and spread the mayo, cheese mixture of the top of the tomatoes. 
7. Bake your tomato pie for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until filling is set, set out and let cool to room temp. Yes, please. Do this. It is wonderful and meant to be had at room temp. Trust me! Thank you!!

Slice and enjoy with a tall glass of iced tea!! 

Conclusion

Honestly, when I think of summer, I think of: late nights reading by my bedroom window while the crickets sing to me, endless days and evening spent in the pool, green beans and bacon, watermelon, and the smell of fresh cut grass. I am not, nor have I claimed to be a gardener. However, when a gardener gifts me with their bounty I love to make these summer classics. They are easy to make, light on the stomach, and allows you to take yourself and your puppy on longer evening strolls through the neighborhood. Evening is the best because the atmosphere usually stills while the fire flies come out and evening bugs serenade you. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I loved writing it for you! If you have any summer foods you enjoy, please share with the rest of us!