Potato Salad Two Ways (w/ enough protein to be lunch)

Curried Potato Salad
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Mayonnaise (vegan or otherwise), mixed with curry powder & additional curry spices (turmeric, cumin, cayenne) to taste
1 carrot, finely grated
Grean beans
Potatoes
Quorn Chikn
Dried cranberries

SUPER NOM

Papas Pesto
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Pesto
chopped fresh garlic
halved cherry tomatoes
kalamata olives
chopped hardboiled egg
quartered hardboiled egg on the side

JUST ADD ICED TEA AND IT'S A PICNIC

Avo shakes

There are two ways I have found so far to do this, equally delicious:

1 avocado, sweetened condensed milk, and ice
OR
1 avocado, honey, almond milk, and ice

Blend and enjoy

Curry Canteloupe Soup

My attempt to re-create one I had several summers ago at the co-op.

1 large canteloupe. I baked it bc it was a bit underripe. Very interested to try this with grilled melon at some point.

Seasoning mix: 1 inch fresh turmeric root, spices in order of prominence: coriander, curry powder, fennel seed (whole), cayenne, nutmeg, clove

1/4-1/2 c. mirin to add liquid

Just blend that all up and taste test to see if it needs any salt or sugar (it didn't this time around)

Best served chilled!

Daylily Stirfry

Make base in wok:
1/3 c garlic & shallot, very finely chopped or mashed
1 Tbs picked ginger
1/2 tsp chopped turmeric root
1/3 c. guava paste
dash black sesame seeds
oil & cooking vinegar, sufficient to create a thin paste

Add 1 bowl green beans, toss/sautee over high for a minute, then turn down, add a lid, and steam in the sweet sauce

Meanwhile, give a quick garlic-oil sautee to
1 c. chopped oyster mushrooms
1/2-1 c. chopped daylilly blossom
1/2 cup daylily corms, boiled in saltwater till fork-tender

Toss all that into the wok

Top with lime juice, sesame chili oil, soy sauce, an ornamental blossom, and more sesame seeds

Dessert pairing tip: Coconut cardamom custard sauce over fresh fruit salad

Think it was roughly June when all this was at peak freshness.

High Summer Warm Chowder

Pan fry:
garlic & shallot (or walking onion)
1 serrano
earth balance
thyme (could vary) & black pepper

Add & boil
1/2 lb potatoes, chunked

Add and simmer another 2-3 hrs
2 ears fresh sweet corn, kerneled
generous paprika

Partial blend with stick blender or remove 2/3ds, blend and return

Top with cream (plain plain soy is ok), fresh thyme, and diced roasted red pepper

Warming and increasingly hearty as you dig in, but summery from the corn! Nom.

OK chilled, but best hot w/ sourdough

Late summer green sauce (chimichurri)

I think this is more of a chimichurri than a pesto ... but at any rate, moral is: some lemon, garlic, and whatever greens are around rarely goes wrong.

2 pts bland greens (chard, poke)
1.5 pts spicy greens (geranium leaf & marjoram)
1/2 Tbs or so of dried parsley
1 medium garlic clove
1 dash of oil (I used a lime fused oil for extra nom)
2 hearty squeezes lemon juice
pinch of salt

Served over a poblano, shishito, and boca burger skillet w/ brown rice, some cherry tomatoes to garnish. Would be good on eggs, sandwich, etc etc.

Zucchini Fritters

Nothing terribly original here, just a method that worked out once so maybe it will next time also ...

1 large zucchini, grated
place on paper towel, sprinkle with salt, let sit 2 min, add towel on top and press to extract some water

mix 1/4 c cornmeal and 1/2 c white flour, 1 tsp baking soda, another pinch salt, any desired herbs. toss the zucchini in this dry mixture to coat

beat 2 egg whites till frothy, add 2 Tbs olive or canola oil and continue beating, then mix half into zukes and fold in other half

form mixture into patties, using a little extra flour/cornmeal to coat your hands if needed, and drop into pre-heated cast iron skillet to shallow fry in garlic butter or garlic oil till crisp each side

I like serving it topped with an herbed white bean salad or a fried egg and fresh greens.