We’re crazy about cooking in our house, and almost everything we eat comes from a farmers’ market somewhere. We have amazing summer produce available, and it’s heavenly. The fresh, flavorful tastes of ripe, in-season fruits and vegetables make cooking fun and easy.
Take greenhouse-grown tomatoes, for example: in winter they require a lot of work to bring out their flavor, whereas summer-ripened tomatoes only need a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
While it doesn’t have to be that simple, our summer first courses here aren’t overly complicated: They’re inspired by Italian favorites bruschetta and panzanella, made with tomatoes, bread, garlic, basil, and oil.
A variation on this theme is to spoon well-marinated colorful cherry tomatoes onto toasted sourdough bread to catch all the delicious juices. The trick is to let the halved cherry tomatoes sit for about 30 minutes after dressing to allow them to mix with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and garlic. Of course, these marinated tomatoes can also be tossed with vegetables for a quick salad or spooned over grilled fish.
For the main course I wanted something like clam chowder.
Inspired by New England white chowder, made with milk and potatoes, this dish is more of a dinner stew than a soup. It’s easy to make, a one-pot dish with a variety of ingredients added along the way. First, sauté onion and celery, then add a little flour to thicken the sauce into a flavorful white sauce. Then add sliced potatoes, sweet corn and a few clams.
Once the clams have opened, add the seasoned cod chunks to complete the stew; you want some of the fish firm and some that are falling apart. After checking the seasoning, I decided my chowder was tasty but a little bland, so to spice it up, I finished it off with some grated lemon rind, slices of Serrano chiles, and lots of chopped dill and chives, which give the mild, creamy base a much-needed kick. The chowder can be prepared up to 2 hours in advance and gently reheated just before serving to avoid any last-minute scrambles.
I always say that fruit makes the best dessert. Whether it’s a bowl of sweet berries or slices of watermelon, stone fruits are really delicious, especially nectarines. A drizzle of lime syrup adds sweetness and lime flavor that makes it really special. (You’ll need a fresh squeeze of lime juice to get the tartness, though.) Serve the fruit well chilled; it’s a very refreshing way to end a meal on a hot summer day.
