Corn and cucumber salad

Summer recipes should all be like this: cold, crispy, and peach-filled. All you need to make is a quick whisk-friendly vinaigrette and slice some corn, cucumbers, and peaches. The corn in this recipe isn't cooked, instead it's eaten raw. Don't worry, you can enjoy corn raw! It's crunchier uncooked anyways. Eat up.

print recipe

Corn and cucumber salad

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 1 peach
• 1 ear of corn
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
• 1 lime, juice
• Fresh basil

Instructions

Start by preparing the produce: slice the cucumber, pit and slice the peach, and cut the kennels away from the cob of the corn.Make the vinaigrette by whisking together the olive oil, sesame oil, honey, and ginger. Squeeze in the lime juice and give the vinaigrette another whisk.Gently toss the vinaigrette together with the cucumber, peach, and corn. Top with roughly torn basil leaves. Enjoy chilled or room temperature.

Yield: 2 servings

Shrimp with lemon pepper vinaigrette

Popping by to share a easy summer recipe featuring shrimp, my favorite! There's a lot to like about shrimp, but for me it's definitely how quick it takes to cook them.

And even if you're not down to cook them, there's always shrimp cocktail, my friends. Here's the thing though, you can totally ditch the cocktail sauce and try something a little bit more semi-homemade. Lemon pepper seasoning is a seafood go-to, so this recipe is my take on the classic.

All you need to do is make a simple lemon pepper vinaigrette, kind of like a dressing for the shrimp. I like serving this with noodles to soak up more of the sauce, and rice noodles are great because they don't require boiling. Rice noodles can also be enjoyed cold so that's a win-win!

Enjoy this one.

print recipe

Shrimp with lemon pepper vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 8 oz dried rice noodles
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• .5 to 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon honey
• 5 oz. deveined, peeled, and cooked shrimp
• 4-5 fresh radishes

Instructions

Bring a tea kettle full of water to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the rice noodles in a heat-safe bowl. Let the noodles “cook” for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain them, rinse them under cold water, and set them aside to cool.In a bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard and honey. Add a pinch fo salt and plenty of black pepper. Whisk together and add in the shrimp. Stir everything together to coat the shrimp in the lemon pepper vinaigrette.To serve, toss the rice noodles with the shrimp and lemon pepper vinaigrette. Thinly slice the radishes on top for color and crunch.

Yield: 4 servings

No-cook chicken salad wraps

Sweat droplets forming on your forehead when you cook in the summer? Same, and I'm frankly over it. That's why I semi-homemade style it during the summer with these no-cook chicken salad wraps.

Ok, so maybe I fabricated that this is no cook, but honestly you don't have to do the cooking for this one. I used a rotisserie chickens that you can pick up at the grocery store for these chicken salad wraps. The trick is in transforming it into something even better. If you're still feeling ultra ambitious for a weeknight, I've got a good whole roasted chicken recipe for you.

Think of this as not so much a recipe, but just a dinner hack. It's easy to get together and adds a bit of brightness into your everyday routine. There's two ways you can shred the chicken, use a fork or do what I do, use your fingers. I think they're one of the best tools you've got in the kitchen, also it's kind of fun?

...

Well, anyways...enjoy this one and let me know how it turns out when you try it!

print recipe

No-cook chicken salad wraps

Ingredients

• 2 roasted chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons mayo
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric
• Serve with: Gem lettuce, cilantro, radish, red pepper, and red cabbage

Instructions

Start by shredding the chicken breasts. You can do this using a fork or just your fingers.To the shredded chicken, add the mayo, rice wine vinegar, dijon mustard, turmeric and a generous sprinkle of cracked black pepper. Stir everything together to combine.To serve, enjoy a generous scoop of the chicken salad in a gem lettuce cup. Top with plenty of fresh cilantro and a crunchy slaw, like thinly sliced radish, red pepper, and red cabbage.

Cilantro and sesame rice noodles

I just got back from a girls trip to Savannah, Georgia, and I'll admit I fell in love with the city. The palm trees, the historic homes, the food, and proximity to the beach? Sign me up! But after a few days of fried eats and one too many sausage gravy biscuits, I'm craving cool recipes that require very little heat. Enter this cold sesame rice noodle recipe. 

Rice noodles don't require boiling, only a soak in boiling water which means you don't have to keep your stovetop on for long. Rice noodles can also be enjoyed cold so that's a win for hot summer months too.

A few notes: If you'd like an even saucier noodle, I'd suggest that you triple the sauce. Sesame seeds would be a fitting garnish on top, and steamed shrimp or salmon would make it a meal.

print recipe

Cilantro and sesame rice noodles

Ingredients

• 8 oz dried rice noodles
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1/4 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• Pinch of cracked black pepper
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

Bring a tea kettle full of water to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the rice noodles in a heat-safe bowl. Let the noodles “cook” for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain them, rinse them under cold water, and set them aside to cool.

Make the sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, ginger and garlic. Add black pepper and red pepper flakes according to your taste.

Stir in the noodles and the chopped cilantro. Enjoy cold or room temperature.

Yield: 4 large servings

Plum sorbet popsicles

Hey friends, it's that time of year again! It's Popsicle Week. Hosted by Wit & Vinegar every year, it's an online celebration for the best summer treat, the popsicle. I was stoked to participate in my first ever Popsicle Week last year with my peachy yogurt popsicles (recipe here), and I'm back once again with another stone-fruit inspired treat.

Plums are so special because their season is so short! It's especially short for those perfect little prune plums that are typically only around in the fall. That's why it's fun to take advantage of when plums are in season, and try to make everything you can with them.

Oh, and duh, these plum sorbet popsicles live up to their name. It's like taking bites of plum sorbet, but no ice cream maker is necessary and you won't even need a blender! First you'll slice up your plums, then you'll cook them down with plenty of lime juice, sugar and a touch of honey. I like adding basil at the end for fun and flavor, of course. Once the mixture is cool you're free to fill up some popsicle molds, or an ice cube tray, and freeze away. They're sweet and very tart, and easy to make, of course.

Follow the recipe below, and check out all other Popsicle Week recipes over here!

Plum sorbet popsicles

For 10-15 large popsicles

• 2.5 lbs. black plums, pitted and sliced
• 2 cups water
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup fresh basil

Stir the plums, water, lime juice, sugar, and honey in a large pot. Bring everything to a boil and then simmer on low until the plums are mostly broken down. This should take around 20 minutes total.

Take the pot off the heat and stir in the fresh basil. Allow the plum mixture to cool completely, then remove the basil leaves.

Pour the mixture into popsicle molds, add in those popsicle sticks, and then freeze them overnight before enjoying.

Save any extra plum mixture for pouring over ice cream or stirring into whipped cream. It's delicious!

Whiskey pineapple cocktail

Whiskey pineapple cocktail

Is anyone else down for a whiskey pineapple cocktail situation this summer? Order up!

This cocktail is inspired by one I had a hometown joint, the Yonkers Whiskey House. This place really turned me onto whiskey cocktails, but specifically the combo of whiskey and pineapple together. It's a great fit for drinkers that want something strong, but prefer some sweetness, so it's the perfect summer sipper. If you want to take it up a notch, sub the ginger ale for a super tart ginger beer.

• 6 oz. can pineapple juice
• 3 oz. bourbon whiskey
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 8 oz. ginger ale

In a cocktail shaker combine the pineapple juice, bourbon whiskey, and lemon juice with some ice. Shake hard, and split the mixture between two glasses filled with ice. Top off each glass with the ginger ale and a thin lemon slice.

Makes 2 cocktails