Summer Minestrone Soup

I have never made minestrone soup before, ever.  I never eat minestrone either.  The reason I am calling this "summer" soup is because it's summer.  😜  I threw a zucchini in, so there, that makes it summery.  I had a bunch of veggies in the fridge and I had to use them.  I had planned other dishes, like for my eggplant, but never ended up making it and it was starting to get soft so I had to use it up.  This would be a mishmash of veggies that needed to go out of my fridge.  Here's what I rounded up:

Watermelon-Thai Chili Gazpacho

Every summer I make gazpacho for a friend at work.  The favorite one I have made so far is here.  I've been trying to do different ones each time, so I picked this one for this years go at it.  4 birds eye chilies seemed like it would be HOT, but I followed his recipe.  I actually probably doubled all the ingredients except for the chili peppers.  I could add more if needed but could not take out, so I was leery...I also added a teaspoon of Red Boat fish sauce.  I was trying to get the Thai Balance:  Sweet, Sour, Spicy, Salty and Bitter.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I didn't make the crust but there are many recipes out there.  I even have one bookmarked, though I haven't tried it yet.  I know my friend tried a recipe once, but it wasn't the most successful outcome.  Lucky for me, Trader Joe's sells them!  $3.99 USD.

Turkey, Pinto/Cannellini Bean Chili

Today found me "under the weather" and at home.  Looking around at what I could make for dinner, I found some frozen turkey in the freezer and pinto beans in the cupboard so decided on chili.  I thawed the meat.  I discovered a bunch of good ingredients I could utilize for it.  I used:

Vivian Howard's Fried Okra Hash

I found fresh okra at the market yesterday and was so excited.  I thought about Vivian Howard's recipe and decided I should try it as I always make "gumbo" with okra when I have it.  Time for a change!  She does a whole wonderful chapter about okra in her book, and yes, you should buy her cookbook.  😊 This was very simple and I made it as a side for dinner this evening, which was leftovers from last night (chicken & corn).

Vivian Howard's Fresh Corn Roasted in Chicken Drippings

I am waiting for our local Chilliwack corn to come in season, but it's still too early yet.  I love this stuff.  Sweetest and bestest corn ever.  So, I bought "other" fresh corn today (not local) as I was inspired to make this recipe.

Vivian Howard's "Fancy Sandwiches" or to me: "High Tea" Cucumber Sandwiches

I will be doing a few of Vivian Howard's recipes this summer and every time I do I will mention how good her cookbook is and suggest you buy it.  It is more than recipes, it is her life stories about the South, and they are captivating.  In fact they moved me...550 pages too! It's been a long time since someones words touched me, and who would have thunk it would be a cookbook that did it?  Not me...

Fisherman's Stew

I had these frozen cod fillets in my freezer from Costco and I thought maybe a good way to use them would be to make a fish soup or stew.  I was going to add some prawns but ultimately decided I'd leave them out tonight, but I'm sure they'd be great too - any seafood would be good.  I also was going to zest some lemon or lime but got lazy, so didn't end up adding that.  I kept the liquids to a minimum as it is my experience that any thawed frozen fish exudes tons of water.

Turkey Patty Melts

I saw this on "The Chew" and thought I'd try a Daphne Oz recipe as I don't think I've done one of hers yet.  It looked really good and I love that she used fresh herbs for the flavor, which is my favorite thing to do in food.

Red Beans & Rice (Cauliflower Rice)

This is such a comforting dish.  I am familiar with it from New Orleans and have made it at home before with the legendary Camellia beans.  It is a Creole meal, traditionally served on Mondays there.  This would be our Sunday dinner tonight.  I have made it before and it is very carb heavy which is why it is comfort food, I guess.  To make this less carby, I was going to use cauliflower for the rice.

Swiss Chard and Ricotta Portobello Caps

I saw this on "The Chew" and thought it looked really good.  But wow, portobello mushrooms are so expensive here, or at least "downtown" where I bought them!  4 caps cost me $12!  I was going to do these on my cast iron grill.  While I love my Lodge cast iron frying pan more than anything, this grill hasn't been kind to me and is not "seasoned" yet even though it was supposed to be "pre-seasoned".  Food sticks to it and it's not pretty, so I've barely used it.  It's almost impossible to clean it as well, a real PITA (pain in the ass).  It cost me $100 too, so I'm determined to get it to where I can enjoy it.