Get prepared for a tasty week. I’m pulling out my recipe for Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, since summer squash is abundant these days. Also, consider making two summer faves — Grilled Clams with Spicy Miso Butter and Corn Salad with Avocado and Quick Pickled Onions. Yum!
Turkey Taco Salad with Cumin Lime Dressing
A satisfying, crunchy chopped salad tossed with old-school turkey taco meat. Top with crumbled tortilla chips and you’ve got a main dish meal on your hands that makes a terrific summer meal.
Grilled Clams with Spicy Miso Butter
Enjoying fresh clams doesn’t get much easier than doing them on the grill with a flavorful butter to drizzle over the top. The combination of miso, lime juice, and a kick of sriracha plays deliciously off the briny clams. The recipe can be enjoyed as an appetizer or main and is easily doubled or tripled for a bigger crowd.
Spaghetti with Smashed Tomato Sauce and White Beans
An oven roasted pasta sauce means a hand-off affair that requires no stirring at the stove. The oven roasts the tomatoes slowly, coaxing out their natural sweetness along with way. The addition of beans adds texture and nourishment to the dish.
Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Verde
Throwing something on the grill is an easy fix for dinner, especially if you have friends joining you. In this case, it’s skirt steak (or flank steak) along with an Italian-style salsa verde.mGrill or roast some little potatoes or other vegetables and toss together a salad with this vinaigrette.
Grilled Vegetable Toast with Whipped Goat Cheese
Consider these colorful veggie toasts the starting point for a light supper or summer lunch. Pick up a loaf of good, crusty bread, then whiz together a combination of goat cheese and cottage cheese, and pile on seasonal vegetables done on the grill. Consider serving these with a summery salad tossed with my Green Goddess Dressing.
Corn and Avocado Salad with Quick Pickled Onions
This summery salad is best made and served the same day, since avocado doesn’t hold up well overnight. That said, if you do have leftover salad, it makes a terrific filling for vegetarian tacos. Melt Cheddar or Jack cheese on corn tortillas, top with corn salad and warm black beans, and serve with salsa on the side. Scrumptious.
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Made with yogurt, zucchini, and whole grain flour, this is sort of a cupcake/muffin hybrid. They make a nice treat for afternoon snack or dessert and beg for a glass of milk to go with.
SHOPPING LIST
Turkey Taco Salad with Cumin Lime Dressing
1 pound ground turkey
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 head Romaine lettuce
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1/3 English cucumber
5 radishes
1/2 large avocado
1 cup coarsely grated sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Handful corn tortilla chips
Grilled Clams with Spicy Miso Butter
1 1/2 pounds fresh clams in the shell
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon white or mellow miso paste
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons sriracha (more if you want it extra spicy)
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 lime cut into small wedges
1 crusty warm baguette
Grilled Veggie Toast
1 medium zucchini
2 medium red or yellow bell pepper
1 medium red onion
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bread
1 large round loaf of crusty bread, such as levain, sourdough, or Italian
1/3 cup lowfat cottage cheese
3 ounces chevre (soft goat cheese)
1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Verde
1 1/4 pounds skirt steak (or flank or hangar steak)
1 tablespoon shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Spaghetti and Smashed Tomato Sauce
2 1/3 pounds plum/Roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for salting the pasta water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil, plus more to garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons minced Calabrian chilies
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 heaping tablespoons capers, drained
1 pound spaghetti
1 (15-ounce) can white beans (cannellini, Great Northern, Navy), drained and rinsed
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese to pass at the table
Corn and Avocado Salad with Quick Pickled Onions
4 ears corn on the cob
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
½ medium red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ ripe avocados
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
1½ cups coarsely grated zucchini
2 eggs
1/3 cup nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
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