I’m not a huge fan of summertime heat, but I love the amazing foods it brings! Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, berries, basil, and more are abundant this time of year. (And if not in my garden, they’re often found in natural food co-ops or farmer’s markets.)
These fruits and vegetables are the perfect solution for busy (and hot) summer days; especially if you utilize the barbecue! However, I tend to get stuck in old boring food routines, just setting out the basics and letting my husband handle the grilling.
Kate’s new ebook, Simply Summer, has revitalized our summer meals again! I quickly prepped her Cucumber-Tomato Salad (while the baby was napping & the dishwasher repairman had taken over much of my kitchen space, plus with the “help” of an almost-3-year-old tastetester).
Since that recipe went so quickly, we joyfully moved on to making popsicles! Her Mango-Strawberry Sorbet offers the alternative suggestion of turning the recipe into popsicles. Organic mangoes and strawberries were on sale this week, so I picked some up. (My family was so surprised; I never buy mangoes, since I rarely know what to do with them!)
I love having a selection of sauces, salads, and side dishes in the fridge to choose from, to go along with our barbecued meals (plus, dessert in the freezer!).
Another summertime tip:
Do your monthly menu plan, and approximate how much meat you’ll want for meals. Bring it home, and grill it all up one evening while the barbecue is hot! You won’t have to spend nights in a row waiting for that charcoal to be “just right.” Pop the planned leftovers into the fridge or freezer to wait for its scheduled day. Then serve with the sides/sauces from Simply Summer!
The summery chicken recipes and pasta salads in Simply Summer are the perfect use for your grilled meats, too. Most of the recipes have worked well in accommodating food allergy needs, including gluten-free. Some that call for dairy can be simple to substitute using coconut milk or just omitting cheese.
Giveaway!
Kate is offering a copy of Simply Summer to 3 Winners! To enter the giveaway, view the Table of Contents, and leave a comment on this blog post letting us know what recipe you’d most like to try!
If you can’t wait for the giveaway, use discount code GRANOLA25 for 25% off through 7/20/12.
Giveaway ends 7/16/12. No purchase necessary. Winners will be randomly selected by random.org. I am an affiliate of Modern Alternative Mama books, and may earn a small commission if you choose to make a purchase. Thank you for your support!
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I would love to try the Spicy Steak and Bean Soup
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I would love to see what she does with refreshing herbal teas. I have mint growing, but haven’t used it as often as I could!
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It all sounds wonderful. I would love to try the Chicken, Spinach and Strawberry Salad and the Bacon Spinach and Tomato Pasta. The Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Italian Salsa sounds good too. Thank you for the chance to win. Have a great day.
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I would love to try the pita bread or the tomato/cucumber salad (ours are almost ready!).
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would love to try the salads and sides
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would love to try!
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I would like to try the bacon cheddar dip! yum!
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Peach Upside-Down Cake or tropical punch. Yummy!!
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The mexican style pork roast sounds excellent.
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I’ve never made a chicken salad. i’d like to try that.
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Bacon cheddar dip would be requested by daddy!
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Salty Caramel Ice Cream for sure!!!
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The Fresh Tomato and Cucumber Salad sounds wonderful! Thanks so much for the opportunity to win!
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So many sound good but I think the refreshing herbal tea sounds wonderful! Thank you for hosting this giveaway Michele! Blessings!
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Ooooh… I’m thinking a meal of Bacon-wrapped Chicken with Italian Salsa followed with Salty Caramel Ice Cream for dessert!
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I love Salty Caramel so I want to try the ice cream, but it’s super hot here so I’d really start with the salads!
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The Broccoli-cheddar dip sounds promising. This looks like another great real foods cookbook. Thanks for offering the giveaway.
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Would love to have all the recipes! The Chicken/Spinach/Strawberry salad looks wonderful!!
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I would love to try the Bacon wrapped Chicken with Italian Salsa! We are in the midst of Australian winter and just thinking about summer food is making me hungry!! Thanks for the oppurtunity
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Ooh, so many recipes sound good it’s hard to pick just one! But since I’m looking for new ways to cook on the grill I’ll go with the grilled parmesan potatoes!
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I would love to try the Citrus Iced Tea.
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I would LOVE to try the Tropical Punch . Sounds delicious (like all the other recipes !) Thank you for this giveaway!
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Mmmm, they all look so good. Probably the strawberry-peach ice cream, both are inexpensive and in season!
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always looking for fun new ice tea recipes!
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The pulled pork.
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I’d love to try the sherbert and ice cream recipes! We’ve been having 100 + degree weather for several days and I want to give my kids something refreshing and healthy! The tea sounds lovely too.
Thanks,
Lori
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Peach upside down cake sounds fantastic, especially as my in-laws’ peach tree is looking full.
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Everything sounds yummy! I’d love to try the grilled shrimp salad and the lemon sorbet (and just about everything else!)
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popsicles!
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I love pulled pork at restaurants, but I bet homemade would be even better. I’d love to try that recipe and many others.
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The mexican style pork roast sounds excellent.
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