Favorite vegetarian summer meal

[HUNGRY!]

Bean salad.

I just made this the other night. I mixed kidney beans, black beans, and black eyeds with shredded lettuce, corn, and some onion. Then I made a dressing from a little olive oil, balsamic, cilantro,garlic, and one packet of taco seasoning. I searved the whole thing on a tostada and it was sooooo good!

It was the first time I have ever tried anything like that, but now I have nominated it as my favorite!

[gertdog]

Panzanella. With some boiled corn on the cob and sliced melon. Definitely a favorite summer dish (rather than year round) because it really is best with super ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. And I don't have to cook, just chop (for the panzanella, of course... not the corn)!

I think I know what we'll have on July 4th!

[beejayw1]

Take a thin, crusty French loaf and split it horizontally.

Brush garlic-infused olive oil on both sides (not a lot; just enough to get the taste)

Cover one side with roasted red pepper slices.

Layer slices of brie on the pepper.

Top with crisp-tender cooked asparagus.

Put the top crust on the sandwich, wrap in foil, and put in a medium oven for 5 - 10 minutes.

A gold glass of white wine tastes good with this. Also some kalamata olives...

Diana

[lorilei]

Steps to the perfect summer feast:

Assorted Veggies
Olive oil
1 loaf focaccia
Mayonnaise
Fresh basil, chopped
garlic, minced

Toss assortment of veggies with olive oil and grill over open flame -- zucchini, peppers, onions, eggplant, mushrooms... even tofu!

Meanwhile, slice focaccia bread into four "pie" shapes. Slice each pie horizontally.
Mix minced garlic and basil with mayo and spread on bottom slices of focaccia. Top with grilled veggies. Cover with top slice.

Enjoy with a cool glass of lemonade!

These are the best sandwiches... and they don't heat up your house on a hot day!

[SQ]

Gertdog - what's panzanella?

[valchemist]

SQ, panzanella is an Italian "bread salad." Cooking Light had a modified panzanella recipe a while back that kim reviewed. It has been in my "recipes to try" folder since then. here is the recipe.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Panzanella with Beans

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : June '97 Salads


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 garlic clove -- minced
2 cups chopped tomato (about 1 pound)
1 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -- drained
4 cups (1/2-inch) sourdough bread cubes -- toasted
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese with basil
and tomato

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add tomato and next 4 ingredients (tomato through chickpeas), and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature for up to 2 hours.

Add bread, parsley, and basil; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with feta cheese, and serve immediately.

Serving Size: 2 cups salad and 2 tablespoons feta cheese

Description:
"We've added garbanzo beans and feta cheese to this classic Italian
salad to make it a more substantial dish."
Source:
"Cooking Light, June 1997, p.102"
Copyright:
"© Cooking Light"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 357 Calories; 12g Fat (30.3% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 48g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; 577mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

[JillC]

CL had some great pizza recipes about a year ago, I make the ones that are vegetarian--one has tomatoes and capers and the other has carmelized onions, arugula and blue cheese. We grill our pizza, so it means no hot kitchen! We also often make Mediterranean Wraps from CL (they have zucchini, yellow squash and feta, among other things).
Let me know if you want more info and I'll track down the issues these were in (I'm at work right now).
Jill

[KValley]

Originally posted by beejayw1:
Take a thin, crusty French loaf and split it horizontally.

Brush garlic-infused olive oil on both sides (not a lot; just enough to get the taste)

Cover one side with roasted red pepper slices.

Layer slices of brie on the pepper.

Top with crisp-tender cooked asparagus.

Put the top crust on the sandwich, wrap in foil, and put in a medium oven for 5 - 10 minutes.

A gold glass of white wine tastes good with this. Also some kalamata olives...

Diana

Diana,

I just lost all focus at work reading this post. My mouth is watering, my stomach is growling, I can absolutely taste that warm brie, the sweetness of the red peppers, the crunch of the asparagus and crusty bread, the delicate tang of a cool Chenin Blanc...

Thanks for the interlude....

Julie

[kima]

Oh what wonderful ideas!! I am so inspired and so hungry!!!
We don't own a grill- just a little indoor electric one. Being vegetarians I have never felt the need to own one- now I am rethinking that.
I will print out this entire thread(by all m
means keep the ideas coming!)

Julie you are so articulate and poetic I hate posting after you!! My brain is fried after spending the dday at the beach with 60 kids (teaching) Fun but alot of work keeping track of them all. Oops that sounds like I was on my own with them- not in this life!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[SQ]

Valchemist, thanks for the info and recipe. That's another recipe I missed - which happens a lot less often now that I've discovered the BB!

[Chef Cindy]

All I can say is YUM!!

[kima]

What is everyones favorite vegetarian main dish for summer ? I need some inspiration!! Thanks!!

[SusanMac]

I love summer fruit & veggies! So, good question. I dont' have a specific recipe or CL dish. Just a huge, yummy, crisp salad with pretty much everything in the fridge. Tomatoes. Kiwi. Wild mushrooms. Garbanzo beans. Sprouts. Spinach. I could keep going on. And a big wedge of watermelon.

Don't know why this doesn't taste/sound as appealing in winter. But it's sooo yummy on a warm summer night.

[RunnerKim]

I'm in love with grilled peppers right now. A mixture of grilled zucchini, red, yellow, green peppers, onions, tomato, garlic. Either on a pizza or in a quesadilla (particularly with Monterey Jack w/Jalapeno cheese and homemade tortillas).

The open-faced pepper sandwiches from the June issue were fantastic.

Didn't have leftovers from dinner last night so I grilled some peppers I'd gotten on sale and made a sandwich for lunch with leftover focaccia, basil, feta and red onion. It's too early for lunch here in the pacific time zone, but I'm looking forward to my pepper sandwich.

Kim

[valeriek]

I'm a wrap queen in the summer. Everthing gets wrapped. I pretty much spread a flour tortilla with hummus or salad dressing or peanut sauce, throw some veggies (both cold or grilled in my grill pan (apartment living - yuck) and wrap it up. Serve with some wheat thins or gold fish (my favorte snack food) and you have a summer meal.

[donleyk]

I have to second Valerie's wraps. We finally found some decent ones and have been wrapping everything. We've had a lot of luck with greek style, mexican (beans and veggies) and fresh veggies with cream cheese.

We've also grilled veggies, whatever we've had on hand with vinegar, garlic and olive oil. Yum.

We also have been eating a lot of fruit. The watermelon has been great.

[hlao23]

Valchemist,

That is probably the CL recipe I make most frequently. I leave out the bread because I like to make it to take for lunch during the week and the bread does not hold up well.

[gertdog]

Valchemist, thanks for posting that panzanella recipe! I'd never seen CL's version before, and I've never made it with beans... will have to try it!

SQ, my mom has always made panzanella in the summer because where I grew up in CA, summers were relentlessly HOT. So all dinners were cold or room temp. Her version of panzanella is super-ripe tomatoes, shredded basil, chopped cucumber, tiny cubes of fresh mozzerella, and cubes of sturdy bread (I like sourdough), tossed in a balsamic-olive oil vinaigrette (enough to thoroughly moisten the bread). Simple and summery!

[Linda in MO]

The other day I had some leftover basmati rice and some leftover roasted veggies (mushrooms, vidalia onion, zucchini, and red pepper), so for lunch I warmed them up and topped it with some feta cheese. I put it back in the microwave just long enough to melt the feta a bit. So simple and soooo good!

[AndreaU]

Here's my ultimate, hands-down favorite summer meal (from CL, of course)... break out the grill!

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T. olive oil
1 T. fresh basil (1 t. dried)
2 t. molasses
1 1/2 t. fresh thyme (1/2 t. dried)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
cooking spray
3 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4" strips
1 medium yellow pepper, cut into 6 wedges
2 medium red peppers, cut into 6 wedges each
1 large onion, cut into 1/2" slices
1 (16 oz) loaf French bread
3/4 cup (3 oz) crumbled Feta cheese
2 T. fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup (1 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Add vegetables; seal bag and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Remove vegetables from bag, reserving marinade. Set vegetables aside.

Cut bread in half horizontally and brush 3 T. reserved marinade over cut sides of bread; set bread and remaining marinade aside.

Place vegetables in a wire grill basket coated with cooking spray. Prepare grill. Place basket on grill rack; grill 5 minutes, basting occasionally with marinade. Turn basket over, grill 2 minutes, basting occasionally. Place bread, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill an additional 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender and bread is toasted.

Combine Feta and mayo in a bowl; stir well. Spread mayo mixture evenly over cut sides of toasted bread; place grilled vegetables on bottom half of bread. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the vegetables; top with top half of bread. Cut loaf into 8 pieces.

(for some reason I think this may have used eggplant instead of zucchini- I usuallly do zucchini, but either one works just as well)
Enjoy!

[cindyluwho]

I sometimes make a cold borscht, which does not require cooking if you use canned beets, and is very refreshing! I haven't had a good tomato in years, but when I was in California and was able to get organic Brandywine tomatoes, I used to have a 1-in thick slice of tomato on whole wheat toast with a little bit of mayonnaise and some salt and freshly ground pepper on top. That was SOOO good! I also like grilled red and yellow peppers with fresh mozzarella and basil, with a drizzling of some good olive oil and some salt and pepper.

[kima]

Just wanted to thank you all for inspiring me to make delicious grilled vegetable sandwiches for dinner tonight. I didn't follow a specific recipe- but borrowed ideas from you all. I LOVE this board for the inspiration it gives me. You are all great!!
Maureen

[LaraW]

My favorite summertime meal is Margherita Pizza. We do this on the grill most commonly, but it is also very good done in the oven if it's a little cooler.

This is from memory, but you brush your pizza crust with olive oil and then top with sliced roma tomatoes to cover the whole crust. Then top that with a mixture of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, fresh chopped basil, and fresh oregano. Bake until cheese is melted.

This is great with a nice glass of iced tea or some merlot.

Oh, and you have to sit outside http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Melman]

It's ALMOST the season for my favorite summer meal.

Ciabatta bread
Slices of fresh summer tomatoes (another couple of weeks should be primetime!)
Fresh basil - from the pot outside my door!
Thin slices of brie cheese

Put in toaster oven open-faced...toast long enough to have the cheese start to melt. Close sandwich and bite in.

This is the toughest time of the year for that sandwich. All the tomatoes are in that lovely GREEN stage just waiting to start turning red! THE AGONY!!

[LenaS]

Melman - I just HAD to bring this to the top, your fav sandwich/summer meal - the brie/tomato - OMG - a friend and I just had that on a cheese/poppyseed very fresh bagel, broiled the brie for a couple of minutes until soft, put huge basil leaves and tomatoes on top - NOW that is bar none the BEST sandwich I have EVER tasted and my 'friend' agrees - thank you for such a wonderful recipe/idea!!!!!!
Lena http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[GayeC]

Oh my gosh, these all sound so good. I too am printing out the whole thread.

I made black beans and served it over yellow rice the other night. It was VERY good. I used drained and rinsed canned black beans and cooked them with sauteed onions, garlic, and pepper, then added some chopped tomatoes. I also added cumin and black pepper to taste. YUM!

[kwormann]

My favorite is a sandwich made with soft focciaa herb bread. pesto as a spread, grilled tofu, roasted red peppers and lettuce.

It is most delightful!