Sustainable Summer Recipes
Did you know that the choices that you make in the kitchen can help you be more eco friendly? Some foods use up more water and energy to produce and some foods are obtained through unsustainable means. Fret not! Ex-chef and Program Advisor Jordan has ways to help YOU make environmentally conscious choices with summer’s best ingredients! So try these summer recipes without guilt to impress your friends and fellow environmentalists! Let’s get cooking!
Corn Salsa
2 pounds of diced tomatoes
1/2 a red onion, diced
1 jalapeno de-seeded and membranes removed
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
Salt
Juice from 1 lime
1 – 2 corn cobs or 1 cup of frozen corn
Instructions:
-Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the corn cobs for about 10 minutes. Remove the cobs from the pot with tongs and use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob. Reserve in a bowl. If using frozen corn instead of fresh corn, simply microwave a bowl with frozen corn for 2-3 minutes. Reserve for later
– EITHER blend the tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, lime juice in a blender for a few seconds and place in a bowl OR finely chop the tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro and place the ingredients in a bowl
– add corn, cilantro, and lime juice to the salsa mixture. Then add salt to your desired taste.
The salsa can be served cold with chips or heated up and served as a flavorful tomato sauce over pasta.
Pan Fried Summer Squash
2 pounds of any of the following squash: crookneck, scallop, straightneck, or zucchini (feel free to mix and match!).
2-4 table spoons of peanut oil or olive oil (depends on the size of your pan)
Salt
Instructions:
– Use a sharp knife to cube the squash. Cutting at a bias into 2 inch “diamonds” can create better grill marks due to more surface area touching a pan or a grill.
-Turn on your kitchen fan or open a window and heat a pan to medium-high and add oil until the surface of your pan is completely covered. Wait for about 30 seconds or until the oil starts to shimmer.
– Make sure that the squash is not wet and add your squash and be careful of oil splatter. Move around the pan until so that the squash is touching the pan on not stacked on top of each other. Then leave on the pan for 4 minutes WITHOUT MOVING. Look for golden grill marks.
– After 4 minutes, rotate the squash so that the un-cooked surface is now touching the pan. Cook for 2 more minutes. Smaller pieces will take less time to cook and larger pieces will require more time, so adjust cooking times accordingly
– Salt to taste and serve!
This dish is perfect with salads, bread, and charcutterie!
Summer Pickles
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup rice-wine vinegar
6 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 table spoon of lemon or orange zest
2 cups of any combination of the following ingredients chopped into bite-sized pieces: shallots, green beans, cucumbers, beets, watermelon rinds. Make sure that the ingredients can fit in your jar.
Instructions:
– In a pot, bring water to a boil in a pot and blanch the shallots and green beans for 1 minute. Do not blanch cucumbers if using. OPTIONAL: chill the ingredients in an ice bath after blanching for improved texture.
– In a clean jar, pack in the shallots, green beans, and cucumbers.
– Pour the rice-wine vinegar, hot water, salt, sugar, and lemon/orange zest into the jar of pickles. Cover the vegetables entirely with this brine
– Place a lid on the jar and refrigerate. Wait for 4 days before serving.
These pickles should last for at least 6 weeks in the refrigerator!
Stay tuned for more environmentally recipes in near future!