Spring cooking thread

[Heather]

Ok so nobody has posted any new topics here since the Easter Dinner thread so I'm doing something about it!

Does anyone have any favorite spring time recipes they'd like to share?

[yarborough house]

Personally in spring and summer we do lots of salads and grilling. Anything to not heat up the kitchen.
I have been ill with something the docs can't figure out since Dec so food is not a fave now :)
But I love all kinds of salads - anything from the farmers market thrown together.

We also do a bunch of casseroles, lasagnas (veggie or meat) and freeze them to throw in the oven.

So, any cool recipes please share..
Oh and kids love smoothies so we buy lots of fruit.

[Lisa S]

We're big on fruit smoothies around here too. I like to make them as an appetizer to dinner. I like to get the kids full on fruit!

I love making a big pasta salad in the summer. I usually will eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not that that's a good thing!

[yarborough house]

Pasta is never a bad thing at our house. It is wonderful because you can make a big batch and then make cold salads out of it..post some of your fave cold pasta salads so we can try some.

[Heather]

My world famous pasta salad goes like this:

Noodles ( I use “Diamond” brand longlife instant noodles)
½ breast chicken

2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

handful cilantro
½ bunch green onion

Optional
1 cup lightly salted dry roasted peanuts, cowardly chopped

Cook noodles and chicken.
Combine sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar in small bowl to dissolve sugar.
Let cool, mix it all up and chill.

[Lisa S]

An old roommate of mine would make corkscrew pasta, chopped pickles, onions, tuna, mayo, celery and lots of salt and pepper. It sounds kind of icky, but it's delicious. That's my tried and true summer pasta.

Or...

Corkscrew pasta, basil, cucumber, red onion and tomatoes from the garden tossed with olive oil.

[Breezy]

An old roommate of mine would make corkscrew pasta, chopped pickles, onions, tuna, mayo, celery and lots of salt and pepper. It sounds kind of icky, but it's delicious. That's my tried and true summer pasta.

Or...

Corkscrew pasta, basil, cucumber, red onion and tomatoes from the garden tossed with olive oil.

My mother used to make the tuna salad one but used elbow macaroni instead of corkscrew and it seems she also added some peas to the mix.
I'm gonna try the salad with the olive oil it sounds delicious. Yum!

[Lisa S]

Peas are a good idea!

[Heather]

Peas and mint - YUM!

[Heather]

Nobody likes peas and mint?

Hey, speaking of combos - "up here" in Canada we put white vinegar on our french fries (and salt). How come whenever I go into the USA y'all have never heard of that? It tastes SO YUMMY.

[Gigi]

Heather- Your WORLD FAMOUS pasta sounds sooooooooooooooo good! I'm going to print this one out!

Yummmmm

[RoseMary]

Heather, I've never heard of putting sugar on fries! I'm surprised, since we southerners love our sugar:p. I've also heard that y'all eat gravy on your fries?? A friend of mine had it when she was up there and really liked it.

[Heather]

I've never put sugar on my fries.... it's salt and vinegar we "do".
Yup, we put gravy on our fries! Don't you? Grilled cheese sandwich with fries and gravy... oh yeah!
There's also poutine - fries with gravy and cheese curds!
Can't do those often.... way too yummy though!

[cheapdiva]

Heather -

That's the British version of "chips" and you know we had a little war with them some time back so we try to avoid anything British!!!:p But, I love vinegar with my "chips" and I love salt and vinegar potato chips!

All this food talk is making me hungry and I just got back from a lunch!:D

[Breezy]

Heather - I've not tried the peas with mint but it sounds good.
Haven't tried the fries with vinegar either but if it tastes anything like the salt & vinegar potato chips I'd love it.

ps you have good taste cheapdiva;)

[RoseMary]

Oops, misread on the sugar:)

My grandmother used to put peas in her mint and it was very good!

[Heather]

Rosemary I think it's the other way around - put mint in the peas...

[RoseMary]

Well, my grandma liked a lot of mint:D~just kidding!

Do you grown your own mint? My mom planted some out in the pasture years ago and it's still growing out there. It's too scary to get to, so I just grow mine in pots.

[Lisa S]

I grow mine in pots too. It sometimes jumps the pot and then I have to make sure I don't have a crop growing directly in the ground. Around here, it might take over the house.

[Heather]

Oh yeah I got mint. I didn't plant it - it was here when we bought the place. It sure can get away from ya, huh? I keep a small patch going but the rest I just yank out because it smothers other plants. Sure smells nice though.

[Danske]

Hi neighbor to the north:) I just made a really quick orzo salad I'll post on here when I get back. Love easy make in the morning and forget about it salads during the summer.

[Heather]

Hey Danske whereabouts "up here" are you?

[RoseMary]

It does smell ultra nice! I've wondered if I could just grow it instead of grass in shadier areas, but I don't know if it would stand up to being mowed every week. I know it burns too bad in full sun here in the summer.

[Heather]

Speaking of smelling nice... I've got creeping thyme in between the stepping stones in the herb garden and it makes weeding nice - with that and everything else in there it's almost intoxicating!

[Lisa S]

We have some oregano growing in a flower bed. That smells great too.

[Evelyn]

This issue of Cookling Light has an excellent recipe for a strawberry cake. I was going to type it up for you all....but then I found a link to it....it is soooo good!!!!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1891910

Evelyn

[Heather]

Oh Evelyn that does look yummy!

[Breezy]

Evelyn - ya got my mouth watering with that recipe.:)

[vintage girl]

Our garden is just coming in. Should have fresh veggies by this weekend. I love to make soup with our squash. I just peel and take out the seeds, mash it up, put in some cilantro, lemon juice, and then puree. I cook it down on the stove with some heavy cream. It is wonderful hot or cold. Hot I serve it with garlic bread, cold with sliced cucumber and a crisp salad. I also like to chop up a variety of veggies (peppers, egg plant, squash, beans, tomatoe, onion) drizzle with olive oil, lemon and spices, wrap in aluminum foil and put on the grill to bake. I also make baked egg plant and squash. Just hollow out the eggplant or squash, fill with rice, tomatoes, onion and meat of your choice, add spices and olive oil. Put in oven and bake until fork tender, than sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts. You can also bake on the barbecue grill. Just wrap in foil and cook until fork tender. I also make fresh salsa and spaghetti sauce every summer with the tomatoes from our garden. I call my spaghetti sauce "kithen sink sauce", as I put everything in it but the kitchen sink. I love to put in chunks of bell pepper, squash, eggplant and even cucumbers. It is fantastic over whole wheat pasta or served over chicken and rice. Ok now I am getting hungry. Time for lunch;)

[cheapdiva]

mmmmm - the red sauce over rice and chicken - that's like heaven to me. I LOVE tomatoes in every shape and form but when you make a hearty red sauce with it - just hand me pot!!! I love dipping bread into a thick, vegetable red sauce. Have a dinner meeting tonight, but tomorrow it will be pasta!!!