(Hot) Dog Days of Summer
Summer greetings from me and the fourth edition of: FOOD & STUFF, a monthly newsletter where I round up recipe recommendations and food thoughts and deliver them right to your inbox!
I began writing this month’s newsletter (July’s, though I’m sending in August sorrrrryyyy) from my kitchen as my niece (Evelyn, 9) and two nephews (James, 7 and Peter, 5) watched some movie about Indiana Jones-esque golden retriever puppies called “Treasure Buddies.” Last weekend was what we’ve dubbed our annual “Aunt Grace Camp,” a weekend of fun, processed foods, and bumping our heads and kneecaps on all the playground equipment that Kent, Ohio has to offer.
One of the biggest culinary highlights of Aunt Grace Camp is that each child gets to pick out a breakfast cereal of their choice. This year, Evelyn really showed her first-born colors by choosing Cheerios. Bless that child. James chose Dunkaroos, and Peter chose Paw Patrol-themed shredded mini-wheats, strictly because they had a photo of Paw Patrol on it. Anywaysssss, last weekend’s menu included homemade mac and cheese, turkey meatballs, and then when their parents came to pick them up, we had a carnitas taco night and this strawberry summer sheet cake by our trusty friend Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. It was an easy recipe to follow and a big crowd pleaser. Serve it with some vanilla ice cream or a dollop of chilled whipped cream and bingo-bango, you’ve got yourself an amazing summer dessert.
In this month’s newsletter, we’ll review July’s Everyday Eats, share a food flex, pine over a past plate, and I’ll share a couple more recipe links for you to check out.
Everyday Eats
Where I share recipes that I have eaten this month during breakfast, lunch, and dinner…and snacks, desserts, and bevvies, etc.!
Breakfast
Lately, I’ve been relying heavily on these power-packed trail mix breakfast cookies for before my long runs or to stave off the mid-morning hangries. You can mix up the nuts and dried fruit, or do all dried fruit if you’re not a big chocolate person! Unsure of how you couldn’t be a chocolate person, but that’s between you and your maker…
Lunch
Last week I enjoyed Molly Yeh’s cauliflower tabbouleh salad! In the past, I’ve complained about cauliflower being used in places it should not be used (looking at you, pizza crust), but when riced cauliflower is used here as a vegetable, I feel good about it. You could also just roast a head of cauliflower at 450* with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and dice it in the food processor after it’s cool, which is what I did. Overall though, I loved having this for lunches with some crispy chickpeas and the addition of tomatoes from the plant I’m growing on my deck!
Dinner
My favorite dinner this month was, once again from my cooking club, Natalie Cooks. I adored these baked falafel bowls with tahini sauce! Sharing the recipe below. I’m also about to make this again tonight, and I’ll be adding in some ground lamb that I’m going to sautee up with some scallions, garlic, cumin, and chili flakes. Pack in that protein!
Baked Falafel Bowls with Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
For the Falafel
½ cup rolled oats
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ yellow onion, chopped
2 cups loosely packed fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, and/or mint)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
For the sauce + bowls
½ cup tahini
½ cup water
3 tbsp lemon juice
¾ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 heads romaine, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
2 tomatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 avocado, chopped (optional)
2-4 pita bread or 2-3 cups cooked grain
1 lemon, cut into wedges
½ cup feta cheese (optional)
Pickled vegetables
1 cup peeled and thinly sliced cucumber
1 cup peeled and thinly sliced carrot
1 cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp coconut sugar or maple syrup
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
To make the pickled veg, in a medium bowl, add your cucmber, carrot, vinegar, water, salt, and sweetener. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight to pickle.
Add oats to a high speed blender and blend on high into a flour. Add chickpeas, onion, herbs, garlic, chia seeds, 1 tablespoon olive oil, cumin, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Blend until thoroughly mixed/smooth, using your damper tool to encourage blending. Scrape the side and under the blade as needed.
Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil onto the baking sheet and spread it around with your fingers or a pastry brush. Use a small cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to form your falafels into balls and place on the baking sheet. Flatten slightly with your palm into ½-inch thick rounds. Brush some of the oil on top so it’s coating on both sides. Repeat until falafel mixture is used up.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until browned on the bottom, then flip and bake for 6-8 more minutes, or until lightly browned on the other side.
In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, water, lemon, salt, and pepper until smooth. Thin out with water if too thick. Taste and add more salt or lemon, if needed
Add romaine, tomatoes, avocado (if using), rice or pita, falafel, and pickled veggies to your bowl. Squeeze lemon all over, drizzle the tahini sauce over top (save some to have on the side, trust me you’ll want more!), and sprinkle with feta (if using), and black pepper.
Food Flex
This month’s food flex is this recipe for Strawberry-Halva Shortcakes. I had never had halva before, which is a term for a variety of middle eastern confections, though it usually expresses itself in American recipes as a soft, fudgelike candy made out of sesame paste. It is SO GOOD. I just bought another type of halva that is topped with pistachios and dried, chopped cherries and I put it on ice cream with a drizzle of tahini and it SENT ME.
Anyways, the combo of dark chocolate with the flavor of sesame from the halva really is stellar, and when you serve the shortcakes with whipped cream…WOW! Do not sleep on the sesame flavor profile, pals.
Pining Over Past Plates
I am very proud of my cherry tomato plant, which is beginning to yield a nice little crop of flavorful snackaroos. Oh, how I love a fresh tomato! Which reminds me of this sidewalk chalk I spotted in my neighborhood last August, in the peak of tomato season…I dunno about you, but I also like to “Thanks for tomato” during the month of August!
Anyways, I’m thinking about tomatoes here because the plate I’m pining over is this Malfatti with Pancetta and Cherry Tomatoes I make each summer. It’s actually not too technically challenging, and makes for a tasty and fun dish! It doesn’t necessarily look pretty in photos, but it is cheesy and salty and sweet from the tomatoes and just sings whenever you add some fresh basil to it all. Give it a try if you’re up for a little project!
Summer’s Greatest Hits (Part 2)
As we’ve established, I love summer cooking and eating. It’s about to be PEAK Farmer’s Market season, so I’m sharing a few more great recipes that can utilizes local product.
Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce. A Pioneer Woman recipe that calls for butter and heavy cream. You cannot go wrong!
Spaghetti Squash with Chickpeas and Feta. You could also halve and grill the spaghetti squash!
No Grill Elote but honestly you could just grill the corn!
& Stuff!
This month’s & Stuff section features a recent development from the cereal world. You may have heard, but Millenials were supposedly ruining the cereal industry. I heard that the pandemic really boosted the cereal industry though, with more people looking for easy snacks to eat at home. I guess office etiquette did not make cereal a permissible snack option?! My beloved Raisin Nut Bran and I think that’s outrageous. But not as outrageous as these two different kinds of cereal I’ve spotted over the last year or so…
Friends, how do these make you feel? Would you eat them for breakfast? Or would they be related to “snack cereal” only? Would you eat them at all, even? I’m a big fan of Cosmic Brownies, but I must admit: I might be one of those Millenials who is going to have to take a pass on these cereals….
As I always say, I’d love to hear what you’ve been cooking, drinking, and snacking on lately. Do pass this newsletter on to friends that would be into this kind of thing, too! So that they can enjoy food and stuff, too. Because food and stuff is for me, for you, for everyone!