Rick’s Favorite Black Bean Salad

 July 26, 2022 by richardlfloyd

Here’s another easy hot weather summer dish. It’s a quick side dish or can even be a meal. Your good garden or July farmstand produce will make this dish sing.

Ingredients

1 good sized ripe tomato

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

The kernels of a cooked ear of corn, or it’s frozen equivalent

½ red bell pepper, chopped

½ red onion, peeled and chopped

1 cup of fresh cilantro (coriander) washed and chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped fine

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe

Whisk the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside. Put all the other ingredients in a food processor and chop but not puree.  Add the dressing. Put this in the refrigerator to get happy, but it is also good at room temperature.

Rick’s Summer Gazpacho

 July 25, 2022 by richardlfloyd

These last few July days have been too hot to cook. The good news is that the summer harvest of fresh produce is here, and it is a good time to make Gazpacho. I make this every summer when the tomatoes are ripe. My neighbor gifted us a cucumber, and my own parsley is in. I grew the jalapeño pepper in a pot.

You can make this in food processor, a blender, or with an immersible blender. It’s easy, but make it in time to have it in the refrigerator for a while, and put your bowls in the freezer to give them a chill. I like my gazpacho fairly chunky, but you can process it the way you like it. This recipe has no bread in it.

Ingredients

2 lbs. ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded and cut into small pieces.

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 TBS tomato paste mixed with one cup cold water

¼ cup sherry vinegar (or good red wine vinegar if you don’t have sherry)

1 big clove of garlic put through a garlic press

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped fine

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Recipe

Working in batches process all the ingredients in turn and place in a large bowl. Add the tomato paste and water, the vinegar, and the olive oil. Put in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

Serve with good crusty bread and chilled dry Rosé.

Rick’s New England Lobster Bisque

 July 14, 2022 by richardlfloyd

Lobsters have been pricy this summer, but they had a sale this week at the grocery and I picked up a couple. They were delicious. I’d never made lobster bisque before, but I researched a few recipes, and came up with this for our lunch.

The first thing you need is foresight, so you save the lobster shells after your feast, and save the water you cooked them in, and any drawn butter you dipped them in. And pick up some heavy cream at the store. This recipe is for two but can easily be doubled.

Ingredients

The shells from two cooked lobsters.

½ stick of butter (divided)

1 small onion chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

A sprig of fresh thyme, or ¼ teaspoon dried

1 Bay leave

1 cup dry white wine

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

4 cups water the lobster was cooked in

1 cup heavy cream

Recipe

Put half the butter in a Dutch oven or sturdy deep pot and melt over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion, carrot, garlic, Bay leave and thyme and saute, stirring for about 5 minutes until the veggies are soft.

Add the cooked lobster shells and stir for another 5 minutes. Add the wine and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. When it boils turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the water, bring to a boil. Again, when it boils, turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the shells and Bay leave from the broth and put the broth through a food mill (I had to dig mine out of the garage) or put it in a blender to puree. Bring the broth back to a boil, add the remaining butter, turn down the heat and add the cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Rick’s Summer Spaghetti with Uncooked Tomato Basil Sauce

 July 23, 2022 by richardlfloyd

We’ve been cooking variations on this recipe on hot summer days for decades. The original “Silver Palate Cookbook“ had a version that called for Brie, but  we felt that was too rich for a hot summer dinner.

We only make this in late summer when the good local tomatoes come in, and we have fresh herbs in pots ready to go. You do have to cook the pasta, but the rest is uncooked. I combine all the other ingredients in a pasta bowl earlier in the day and let them get happy.

INGREDIENTS

2 big ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped

¾ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella

2 big cloves of garlic, finely chopped or put through a garlic press

1 cup fresh basil leaves, snipped into shreds with kitchen scissors

½ cup of fresh Italian oregano, stems removed, snipped into shreds with kitchen scissors. (Optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound spaghetti or other long pasta

Parmesan cheese for grating

RECIPE

Earlier in the day put all the ingredients except the pasta in a large bowl, stir to combine and let sit out at room temperature.

Bring water to a boil, cook pasta, saving a cup of pasta water. When the pasta is al dente or to your liking, drain without rinsing, and add to the pasta bowl. Stir to combine. Add some pasta water as needed to get the right consistency. Serve onto plates and grate Parmesan cheese to taste.

Some crusty bread, a cool salad, and some chilled dry Rosé would round out this easy and tasty summer meal.