August 11, 2020
August in Ohio is when summer is at its peak of heat. These days, the only times I actually step foot out the door are to run errands or run to the local supermarket for a quick grocery run. Even those trips, I try to minimize the amount and length of times I have to leave our home as much as possible. On the days when I do make a trip out to the grocery store, I head straight for the seasonal produce aisle. Seasonal produce is my favorite part about grocery trips during the summer. The produce towards the front of the supermarket are almost always on sale, in season, and at its peak of freshness. Stone fruits and tropical fruits tend to make their way to my grocery cart more often than not. In almost every grocery trip I’ve made during the summer, I’ve stocked up on tons of peaches, nectarines, mangos, watermelon, and citrus. I use stone fruits in the summer like I use apples during the fall. They star a major role in many of the dishes I cook and add an element of sweetness to any salad or grain bowl I toss together. Peaches and nectarines have starred a major role in one too many summer pizzas. This weekend, Kevin and I took a midday break to enjoy a picnic for two. Whenever I plan a picnic, I try to plan the menu around portable foods. The easier it is to eat the foods, the better. For our midsummer picnic, I prepped my favorite summer garden salad featuring tomatoes at their peak of ripeness, cooling cucumber cut into small pieces, sharp red onion diced finely, sweet corn kernels removed off their cobs, tons of freshly chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a light sprinkling of kosher salt. The summer garden salad was so good, I brought it along to a couple small birthday gatherings throughout the summer. Picnics for us aren’t complete unless we have some sort of handheld sandwich. Kevin’s latest obsession (or maybe addiction) has been the spicy crispy chicken sandwich from Popeyes. He would go out of his way to drive to Popeyes just so he can get his fix of the spicy crispy chicken sandwich. To appease Kevin’s cravings, I created my own version of the spicy chicken sandwich to serve for our picnic. The crispy chicken was prepared the same way I prepare my crispy chicken strips. My version of the crispy chicken sandwich features crispy chicken, lightly toasted brioche sliders with sriracha mayo and fresh arugula (because you know, veggies). The only item left to pack was a refreshing drink. In my family, tea is usually the drink of choice – whether served hot, cold, or featured in bubble tea. I decided to make a refreshing version of cold tea featuring lemon slices, fresh mint, and a drizzle of honey. With the minty lemon iced tea done, we were all set to enjoy our summer picnic for two. There truly isn’t any activity more perfect in the summer than a picnic. The picnic was a much-needed break for both of us after the busy last couple of weeks we had filled with work, home projects, and fall planning.
For the summer garden salad:
· 1 corn on the cob
· 8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
· ½ cucumber, diced
· ½ red onion, diced
· 6-8 sprigs of parsley, stems removed and roughly chopped
· 1 lemon, zested and juiced
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Once the oven has reached 350°F, place the corn directly on the oven rack or on a sheet pan and cook for 30 minutes. Let cool before cutting the corn kernels from the cob.
2) As the corn is cooling, in a bowl, toss together the quartered cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, diced red onion, chopped parsley, lemon zest and juice, and kosher salt. Add in the cooked and cooled corn kernels. Serve the summer garden salad immediately or chill the salad for 30 minutes in the refrigerator prior to serving to allow the flavors to blend together.
Get the recipe for my crispy chicken strips. To build the rest of the crispy chicken sliders, top some lightly toasted brioche sliders with the crispy chicken. Add in some sriracha mayo made with one part sriracha and two parts mayo. Layer on some arugula. Pickles are optional.
Takeaways: My summer garden salad is a very versatile way to use up seasonal summer produce. You can add in some diced carrots for additional crunch and color. I’ve also made this dish using cilantro and lime instead of parsley and lemon. Both versions turned out equally delicious.