4 Tips for Simple Summer Entertaining

Entertaining. Some people love it. Some hate it.

I’m firmly in the “love it” camp. So much so that some may say that I have a pathological need to feed people. I know that not everyone feels the same way.

Often, people are in the “hate it” camp because they think that it’s a lot of work. It certainly can be. But you can host a fantastic, fun event without a lot of work. In fact, what I’ve learned over the years is that people have the best time at a party when the food is simple. And, summertime is the easiest time to create simple, delicious food.

Here are some tips to make feeding your friends easy:

1. Start with good ingredients. I’m often told that I’m a good cook. But in reality I keep things really simple. The secret isn’t my skill. It’s good ingredients. When your ingredients are delicious you don’t need to do much to them. This time of year so many veggies and fruit are at their peak. Mother Nature’s done the work for you, all you need to do is highlight the abundance. Green Earth Organics only sends you good ingredients all year long. Start with the ingredients in your box and you’ve got the makings for a delicious menu!

2. Serve healthy food. Often we feel that because it’s a party, we need to be serving rich, indulgent foods. But I find that people appreciate that I serve healthy food. They get to come and enjoy fantastic food and friends, without feeling guilty afterwards. All the pleasure without the guilt – sounds good to me.

3. Offer a variety. In this world of food sensitivities and special diets, serving a variety of foods makes everyone happy. People can pick and choose what works for them. For example, attending the evening gathering in the photo that I snapped, I had a vegetarian, two pescatarians (they eat seafood but no meat or poultry), an allergy to stone fruits, a hazelnut allergy, a blueberry allergy, and someone who eats gluten-free. The event was at 7pm so I knew that some people would have eaten dinner at home before coming out and some people would be arriving hungry for dinner. It was also during one of our summer’s heat waves so I didn’t want to spend all day in a hot kitchen, nor did people want to eat hot, heavy food. What did I serve?

• Cucumber topped with smoked salmon pate
• Quinoa salad in endive boats
• Sweet & spiced nuts (no hazelnuts)
• Cherry tomatoes
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Local melon
• Cherries, apricots, and peaches.
• Apricot-almond tarts
• Meringues  

4. Know when to outsource. Stick to what you’re good at, otherwise you’ll stress yourself out. For example, I don’t have the gift of baking. So I either plan a dessert without baked goods (e.g. a mixture of fresh fruit and some good-quality chocolate), or I ask a guest to bake dessert (many people love to help out), or I buy dessert at a bakery. At the event in the picture, I bought the tarts and meringues at an amazing local gluten-free bakery.

Don’t let the perception that it’s a lot of work get in the way of enjoying getting together with your loved ones. Keep it simple and enjoy their company.

Kristen Yarker, MSc, RD helps moms and dads support your picky kids to get good nutrition today…and instill a life-long love of healthy eating. After 7 years of moms asking for help with their eating too, Kristen created 40 Days to a Healthier, Happier You women’s weight loss program. Find out more at www.KristenYarker.com


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The goods on cucumber

The cucumber is a tropical plant that originated in Southeast Asia more than 10,000 years ago. It was originally used not only as a food, but also for its beneficial skin-healing properties. Cucumbers are composed primarily of water, but they are also a great source of vitamins C, A, and folic acid. The skin is rich in fiber, and also contains many valuable minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and silica – which strengthens our connective tissue, hair and nails. Topically, cucumbers can be used to treat swelling under the eyes and sunburns. Enjoy it on its own, in a salad, or added to water to create a fresh taste!

Tomato Salsa with Cucumber "Chips"

From: Food and Wine

Get ready for Super Bowl weekend with a delicious healthy take on the traditional chips-and-salsa combo that is nearly fat-fee and refreshing.
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large seedless cucumber, sliced 1/4 inch thick


Directions:

In a bowl, toss the tomatoes with the onion, cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve the salsa with the cucumber chips for dipping.

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Water

Salad:
1 Apple
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Tomato
2 Stalks of Celery
1/2 Red Onion
1/2 Cucumber
6 Sprigs Cilantro
1/4 Cup Walnuts


Dressing:
8 Tbspn Olive Oil
6 Tbspn Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbspn Lemon Juice
2 Sprigs Cilantro
1/2 Tspn Salt
1/2 Tspn Pepper


Directions 

1. In small pot, bring to boil 1 Cup Quinoa and 2 Cups of water.  
Turn down to simmer for 15 minutes, until water all absorbed in the quinoa.
Once Quinoa is done, put in the fridge/freezer to cool off (Do not freeze) so it is cold when added to salad.

Chop up Apple, Green Pepper, Tomato, Celery, Red Onion, Cilantro into small chopped pieces.  Put aside.

In a small blender, blend together Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Cilantro, Salt and Pepper.
Everyone is different, so try the dressing and add what you think will make it better for you! Be creative! 

In a large bowl, add the cooled down Quinoa to the chopped fruit and Vegetables.  Add your dressing and mix thoroughly.  

Sprinkle some crushed walnuts on top and voila!  A healthy salad that is absolutely delicious!

Quick Rocket Salad

Adapted from
Allrecipes.com



Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
4 cups arugula leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Add the cucumber and tomatoes. Toss to coat thoroughly.

Gently mix in the alfalfa and arugula, until evenly distributed.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.


For a protein heavier salad:

You can add cubed avocado and pecans/walnuts or slices of chicken breast.


You can also switch up the Arugula for Baby Spinach 

Summer Sweet Corn Salad

Adapted from
Taste of home



Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1/4 tsp Salt
1 - 1 1/2 cups fresh corn
1 - 1 1/2 grape tomatoes
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp fresh minced basil
1/4 cup crumbled Feta
Optional:
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

Directions

De-cobb your corn and separate to remove any remaining corn silk.

Cut your grape or cherry tomatoes in halves and chop your cucumber into equivalent pieces. You can also use Zucchini for this, you just may need to make a little extra dressing to compensate for it being less juicy than cucumber.

In a large skillet, cook and stir corn in 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until tender.

Transfer to a salad bowl; cool slightly.

While it cools, In a small bowl, whisk 4 teaspoons oil, lime juice, salt and hot pepper sauce.

Add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and basil to the corn. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving or refrigerate until chilled.

Sprinkle with the feta cheese crumbles just before serving.

Makes about 4 servings.

Pickles! Simple Dill Recipe

I absolutely love pickles, especially cucumber pickles, and my husband loves to experiment with different flavours. I thought, since anyone growing Zukes or Cukes would be drowning in them right now, I would share a traditional dill and garlic recipe. So, no need to foist the extras on the neighbours! (Unless you want to, of course)

Ingredients
Anything you want to pickle!
- Cucumbers
- Broccoli stems
- Asparagus
- Carrots
- ect...

4 cucumbers ( 3 - 4 inches)

4 cloves garlic
1 cup Fresh Dill, chopped
1 tsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Whole peppercorns
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Water
1 tbsp Sea Salt
Optional:
1 Lime (juiced)

Any glass container with a lid that seals, regular glass tupperware works great!

 
Directions

Pour water into a large bowl, about 2 cups, then mix in and dissolve the salt. Once salt is completely dissolved add the apple cider vinegar. Then, add all of your other herbs and spices. Let this mixture sit while you prep your cucumbers.

(I've added lime juice as optional, since the hint of citrus is really nice to add to pickles during the summer and the price just dropped back to something reasonable this week.)

Give them a quick wash to remove any excess dirt residue, then cut them into quarters. If you prefer whole cucumber pickles, then be aware that they will take a bit longer to "cure" before being ready to munch on.

Bathe your cucumbers in the pickling liquid for about two hours (three hours for whole cucumbers). If they start floating, just set an upside down pot lid on top to submerge them.

Afterwards, separate the cucumbers into your glass containers, then pour the pickling mixture into each container to fill it. Seal it up and refrigerate.

The usual wait time is about 2 days for really lightly flavoured pickles and 1 week for a good strong flavour. They keep for about 1 month.

Enjoy!

Caprese and Greek Salad Skewers

Brought you from
Rachel's Kitchen

Ingredients (for Both)

Cherry or Grape Tomatoes (halved)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Caprese Skewer

Fresh Basil leaves
Mozzarella (cubed)
Balsamic Vinegar

Greek Skewer
Cucumber 
Feta Cheese (cubed)
Kalamata Olives (Pitted & halved)
Salt & Pepper
Optional:
Red Onion (roughly chopped)

Caprese Directions

Slice the fresh basil leaves into thin strips and place in a small bowl. Add a very small amount of olive oil to the basil. Use your hands to gently mix and coat the leaves.

Place one of the tomato halves onto a toothpick, flat side facing inwards. On the other end add the mozzarella cube. Take a small amount of basil and trap it by pushing the tomato and mozzarella together. The oil will help it stick between the two. Repeat. Drizzle a small amount of balsamic vinegar onto the finished skewers, and serve.

Greek Salad Directions

Quarter the cucumber and then cut into equal sized pieces, around the size of the halved tomatoes. Put the cucumber pieces in a bowl with around the same amount of halved tomatoes and (optional) roughly chopped pieces of red onion. Season with salt and pepper and a small amount of olive oil. Gently toss to mix a little, but don’t worry if the oil doesn’t evenly coat everything. 

Take a piece of the cubed feta and an olive half and put onto a toothpick. Then, stab the end of the toothpick through a tomato half, piece of onion, and one of the cucumber pieces, pushing the toothpick down to secure it on the end. Repeat. Sprinkle finished skewers with some more black pepper, and serve.

Easy Sushi at Home

A number of years ago now, a couple of friends of mine went "WWOOFing" (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – an organization that connects volunteers with farms all over the world in need of assistance, often in exchange for room and board) in Japan. One of the farms they stayed with introduced them to a way of preparing sushi for a large, busy family without someone having to spend hours assembling all the rolls or cones. When they came home, they introduced this technique to our group of friends:

First, get your sushi rice cooking. For how to make the sushi rice, see this recipe.

Sushi ready for assembly: Steam broccolini stems, avocado, baked sweet potato sticks, cucumber sticks, and homemade tamago.

Second, prepare all the ingredients you like to have in sushi rolls. We like veggie rolls of various kinds, so we cut tofu, avocado, and cucumber into sticks and grate a bit of carrot and/or radish. We also lightly steam asparagus or broccolini/broccolette stems and bake yam sticks. You may also want to get more adventurous and add raw or cooked mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, mango, green onions, baked squash, homemade tamago, tofu (plain or marinated), or, of course, shrimp, crab, and sushi-grade fish. For condiments, in addition to soy sauce or tamari, you may want wasabi, pickled ginger, mayonnaise, cream cheese, toasted sesame seeds or gomasio. Check out the online menus of sushi restaurants for inspiration.

Third, cut your sheets of sushi nori into square quarters.

Finally, when your rice and other ingredients are cooled, lay out all the ingredients on the table. Just like having a taco night, everyone grabs some nori squares, add some rice and their favourite ingredients and condiments, roll it in their hands into a rough cone shape or just hold it like a taco, and eat!

Add in bowls of miso soup to complete the meal.

Simple Summer Bean Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 15-ounce can white beans or chickpeas
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
half a cucumber, chopped

3 teaspoons olive oil

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup feta, crumbled (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Rinse and drain the beans, shaking off as much water as possible.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard in a medium bowl. Add in the beans, tomato, cucumber and parsley, tossing gently to coat in the dressing. Add feta if using and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cucumber Melon Salsa

Makes about 3 cups of salsa

INGREDIENTS

1 Cucumber, finely diced
2 cups of melon (cantaloupe or honeydew work equally well here), finely diced
1/4 cup of red onion or sweet onion, finely diced
1 fresh hot red or green chile, minced (omit the seeds to mellow the heat)
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Eat immediately or chill in the fridge to let flavours blend a bit more. Perfect with grilled fish or chicken, but also just right for a summer snack. Serve with tortilla chips or just a spoon.

Tastier Hydration

Everyone knows we should drink plenty of water every day for good health, but not everyone finds plain water very palatable. Many flavoured waters in the store contain undesirable sweeteners and artificial flavours, and they are expensive too. If you want to add some variety to your hydration, here are some ideas:

Herbs and Spices: Mint leaves are an obvious choice, but parsley can be very refreshing too. Crush the leaves a little before adding them to your water. For a bit of spice, try some freshly grated ginger instead.

Citrus Fruits: Slices of lemons, limes, oranges, or grapefruit, or some combination, are delicious additions to water. If you do this very frequently, however, you may want to think about the effects of the citric acid on the enamel of your teeth. You can minimize the possible side effects by rinsing your mouth with plain water after your citrus water, drinking with a straw so the liquid by-passes your teeth, and waiting at least an hour after drinking before brushing your teeth.

Cucumber: A spa classic, which is very refreshing.

Berries: Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries all release a lovely flavour and colour into your water. Just cut or crush a few of the berries into your water.

Vinegar: Many people say that once they've acquired a taste for apple cider vinegar in water, they begin to crave it. Apple cider vinegar has some health benefits of its own, and it is supposed to act as an appetite suppressant.

Sea Salt: A tiny pinch of sea salt adds interest to your water, helps the body absorb the liquid more quickly, and can replace salt lost through sweat on hot days or during workouts.

If you prefer your water bubbly, you may want to look into carbonating your own water at home. It is cheaper and less wasteful than buying bottles of the stuff, and is made very easy by simple machines that use refillable CO2 cartridges.

Black Bean Salad

INGREDIENTS

Juice of 1 lime, or about 2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp fresh oregano, diced
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cobs corn, steamed and cut off the cob
2 avocados, diced
1 field cucumber, peeled and diced
3 green onions, diced
1 tomato, diced

DIRECTIONS

In a jar, combine lime juice, olive oil, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper. Shake well to combine.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over and toss gently. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Creamy Avocado Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs white, red, or fingerling potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
2 avocados
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp chile pepper (optional)
1 small tomato, chopped, or 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in to quarters
1 small red onion, diced small
1/2 field cucumber, peeled and diced very small

DIRECTIONS

Put the cubed potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cover pot and bring water to a boil. Lower the heat to a rolling boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside to cool.

Once the potatoes have cooled, prepare the dressing. Do not prepare too far in advance or it will brown. Scoop the avocado flesh into a food processor. Add the lime juice, salt, and chile powder (if using) and puree until smooth. Once smooth and creamy, add the tomato and onion. Pulse until they are incorporated but not completely blended; you should still be able to see bits of tomato and onion in the final dressing.

Mix the cucumbers and potatoes together in a large salad bowl. Add the dressing and mix well. Wrap tightly and chill until ready to use.

Greek Chickpea Salad

INGREDIENTS

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar black olives, drained and chopped
1 ounce crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 lemon, juiced, or 1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl. Toss together and refrigerate 2 hours before serving. Serve chilled.

Tropical Mint Salad

INGREDIENTS

2 cups fresh pineapple, cubed
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 mango, peeled and cubed
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
A few chopped fresh mint leaves
Sea salt and crushed pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Combine pineapple, carrot, cucumber, and mango in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk remaining ingredients. Add to salad and toss well to coat. Serve chilled.

Cucumber and Mint Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 field cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 cup sliced celery
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 carrots, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Place the cucumber, celery, chickpeas, carrots, raisins, and mint in a large bowl, and toss with the olive oil and white wine vinegar to coat. Serve immediately