Category: summer recipes

Sun-dried Tomato and Tuna Panini

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Taken from the 5 Ingredients 5 Minutes recipe magazine:

Sun-dried Tomato and Tuna Panini

5 ounce can chunk-light tuna in water drained

4 finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Pinch of salt

2 slices sprouted whole-wheat bread

1/4 cup shredded fresh mozzarella

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine tuna, sun-dried tomatoes, mayonnaise and salt in a small bowl.

Spread the tuna mixture on 1 slice of bread and top with mozzarella and another slice of bread.

Brush the bread with oil. Cook the sandwich in a panini maker or in a small skillet over medium heat until toasted.

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I didn’t use the mayonnaise. Other than that I followed the recipe.

Pesto & White Bean Stuffed Tomato

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1 large tomato

1/4 cup canned white beans rinsed

2 teaspoons pesto

Torn fresh basil for garnish

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Slice tomato horizontally and hollow out each half. Fill with beans and drizzle with pesto.

You can sprinkle salt on the tomato and garnish with basil if you want.

I didn’t use the salt or basil.

This is the ideal quick meal recipe. Tomatoes are in season in the summer and even at the end of the summer.

These tomatoes would be a great snack instead of chips or pretzels.

I buy organic beefsteak tomatoes and Goya organic Cannellini beans to create the recipe.

Sweet Potato Snack #2

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Toast 1/4-inch thick sweet potato slices in oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Raspberry & Cream Cheese:

For each slice:

Add on top after cooking sweet potato:

1 1/2 Tbsp. reduced-fat cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp. mashed thawed frozen raspberries

2 tsp. toasted chopped hazelnuts

1/2 tsp. honey

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Be careful to use the right knife to slice the sweet potato.

Otherwise you could cut your thumb (aloe vera to the rescue!).

Caprese Sandwich

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This is an easy simple recipe that can be used for lunch though I had the sandwich for dinner.

Caprese Sandwich

Sourdough bread

Fresh mozzarella

One medium tomato

Pesto sauce

Balsamic glaze

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Spread thin layer of pesto sauce on two slices of bread.

On one slice add mozzarella slices over pesto. Place tomato slices over cheese.

Drizzle balsamic glaze over top.

The original recipe calls for adding basil leaves over the mozzarella.

Cover the sandwich with other slice of bread.

Spread butter over each side of bread. Heat in skillet for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

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I used Gotham Greens Classic Pesto and Bread Alone certified organic Whole Wheat Sourdough plus an organic beefsteak tomato.

Lastly: I burned the skillet at the end of heating the second side. You might want to heat the second side of bread for only 3 minutes.

Alfredo Corn

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The upside-down pasta bowl proclaims Bon Appetit. The recipe for the alfredo corn in the photo comes from Bon Appetit magazine. It’s creamed corn circa 2024. Better than the store-bought kind which likely has a chemical additive via natural flavor as an ingredient.

This is my new favorite recipe. Though I used 3 ears of corn the kernels did not fill up 2 cups in the measuring cup. In the future I’ll buy six ears of corn to make the full recipe.

Plus I did not use the Parmesan cheese crisps. I also used David’s Kosher salt not the Morton.

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter cut into pieces

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 large ears)

2 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1/4 tsp. Morton kosher salt plus more

2 oz. Parmesan finely grated (about 1 cup) plus more for serving

Store-bought Parmesan cheese crisps (such as Whisps for serving)

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Melt butter in a medium high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and cook, swirling pan, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add corn and cook, tossing often, until tender, about 2 minutes.

Mix cornstarch and 1/2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1/4 tsp. Morton kosher salt into 1/2 cup room-temperature water in a small bowl until dissolved. Add to pan; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid thickens and clings to corn, about 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Add 2 oz. Parmesan and stir vigorously until mixture is creamy and melted. Taste creamed corn and season with more salt if needed.

Spoon creamed corn into a shallow bowl. Top with more Parmesan; coarsely crush a handful of cheese crips over.

White Bean Tuna and Roasted Pepper Salad

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Serves 4

1 15-oz can of cannellini beans rinsed

1/4 small red onion finely chopped

6 Tbsp classic vinaigrette below

3 hearts of romaine torn into pieces 12 oz about 6 cups

2 jarred roasted red peppers drained and cut into pieces

1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts drained and quartered

1/2 cup pitted mixed olives

1 5 oz can tuna packed in olive oil drained and flaked

First the vinaigrette:

1 cup

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 shallot finely chopped

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.

To a jar add vinegar, shallot, Dijon, salt, and pepper.

Cover and shake to combine. Add oil. Cover and shake until emulsified.

Dressing will keep in refrigerator up to 5 days.

  1. In a large bowl toss beans and onion with vinaigrette then add romaine and toss to coat.
  2. Fold in peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, and tuna.

How I created this recipe:

Marinated artichoke hearts are soaked in UN-healthy fat in the form of sunflower oil. So I used a can of Cento quartered artichoke hearts instead.

I didn’t buy the red onion and shallot. I used Cento food products and kalamata olives.

Since I’m only one person not serving 4 people I estimated the measurements for the vinaigrette and the salad ingredients.

The amount of vinaigrette and food in salad was fine the way I measured everything.

Peach Pizza Easy Hack

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Last year at this time in peach season I cooked the Peach Pizza recipe found in the Peach Truck Cookbook.

The original recipe is a little intricate to follow step-by-step.

I found an easy hack for making a peach pizza:

Simply buy a white pie like the Talia version above. Slice peaches and arrange the slices on top of the pizza.

Heat as directed in the instructions.

Peach pizza is a tasty way to get in a serving of fruit.

Peaches are in season now. I order a container of Frog Hollow Organic Peaches. Four or 5 peaches come in the container.

Easier than following the longer recipe in the Peach Truck Cookbook.

Just as tasty and a quick meal to have on a summer evening.

In the coming blog entries I will post the latest Upper and Lower Body Routines I’ve been doing this summer.

Swiss Chard Dinner

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2017 swiss chard csa box

This was a weeknight dinner.

The Swiss chard arrived in a CSA box. I bought the chicken like that from an online grocer. The pepper jack cheese was accidentally packed in with the groceries.

The cheese slice is only 80 calories and has calcium and if I remember 9 gm of protein.

The chicken was precooked and arrived in a plastic container.

I sauteed the Swiss chard in olive oil until it was soft not totally wilted.

Perfetto: a summer dinner that takes only about 10 minutes to cook.

I will return early next week with a recipe for pizzocheri. It’s an Italian pasta dish you make with cabbage. I have a photo for that meal too.