Summer food!

When I’m not swiping my recipes from the internet these days, I’m probably digging into this book (if you know me well, you are chuckling or at least slightly smiling at the perfection of me and this book, together):

I love it. I’m dreading the day I’ve cooked through everything, because I have yet to make something from it that is not completely delicious. Tonight was no exception…it's really starting to feel like Spring around here (and Spring here is Summer, since it's so hot in the summer you can't do much outside). So after some refreshing Apple Avocado Arugula salads (recipe here: http://www.shutterbean.com/2012/avocado-apple-arugula-salad/ ) we enjoyed summer squash with cherry tomatoes topped with ‘cheesy’ toasted pine nuts. Over quinoa, to boost the protein content and make this ‘side dish’ a main course. (To add to the summery feel, we sat out on the front stoop listening to the cicadas while we ate.)

Apple Arugula Salad (before I added the sunflower seeds)

Because I love you, I will now transcribe the recipe from the book. But I highly recommend buying it, no matter who you are, if you’re looking for delicious ways to incorporate more color and produce into your diet. (And who isn’t?) I have a feeling this recipe will be mind-blowing mid-summer, when these particular veggies and herbs are overflowing in the garden, so bookmark it!

(*I used dried thyme and left out the parsley, because I didn’t have either fresh. I doubled the basil to make up for it. It still turned out amazingly.) (Oh, and next time I make it, I'll double the pine nut topping and work half of it through the veggies before topping, because I really like salty, cheesy goodness.)

Summer Squash with Cherry Tomatoes topped with Cheesy Toasted Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds green and/or yellow summer squash, cut into ½ inch cubes

2 to 3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced fresh parsley

1 tbsp minced fresh basil

1 tbsp minced fresh thyme

4 or 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

¼ cup pine nuts

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Combine the squash, oil, herbs, and garlic in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and toss gently. Set aside.

Add the pine nuts, nutritional yeast and salt to taste to the food processor and process until the pine nuts are crumbled and thoroughly combined with the nutritional yeast and salt.

Transfer the veggie mixture to a 9x9 or 9x13 inch glass casserole pan. Spoon the pine nut crumble over the top (mix a little in if you’d like).

Bake to 25-35 minutes or until the squash is tender. Remove from the oven and serve bubbly and hot.

Serve as a side dish or over quinoa to make it an entrée—because the squash and tomatoes break down from the heat in the oven, they form a bit of a thin sauce that is delicious (infused with the cheesy pine nuts and garlic!).

Happy eating! :)