Tag Archives: summer sides

Sides of Summer

It’s here people—the weekend we’ve been both dreading and building towards all summer: Dreading because it means summer is over and we have to start returning calls; building towards because by now we are on our summer cookout/picnic A-Game.

We’ll let the main course be whatever gets thrown on the grill, and think about the all-important sides. I wanted to send you into the weekend with some old favorites and one new (to Bring It) classic.

No list of BBQ sides is complete without Hero Slaw because, duh. When cooking is not happening, Picnic Perfect Broccoli Salad and Grated Carrots Ooh La-La are fresh, crisp, healthy contenders. Speaking of broccoli, Way Bettah Broccoli Salad is a healthier (and mayo-free) take on that guilty pleasure in the deli case.

I never met a smashed potato I didn’t like, incuding these Party Time Smashed Potatoes (which you can also put on oiled foil and cook on the grill for the baking step). The easy peasy lime crema dipping sauce is a must.

It’s hard to mess up anything with peak summer tomatoes, but take them over the top with this Chili Crisp Tomato Dumpling Salad. If caprese is your thing, give it a twist with this no recipe recipe for Peach Caprese Salad. And if watermelon and tomatoes are both your thing, the Summer Perfection Watermelon Tomato Feta Salad is definitely your thing.

And finally, we need to talk about corn, because otherwise the BBQ police might come for me. Ideally, you’re getting ears and ears of fresh corn and grilling or steaming it to perfection. But for an off-the-cob alternative, you can’t go wrong with Charred and Raw Corn Salad (pay no mind to the exceptionally dark and horrible picture). For the truly devoted you can mainline corn with this one ingredient Corn Butter.

I hope you find something in this compilation to make or remake. That said, we all like something new for Back-to-school. Sooooo, here is a recipe I have been making on repeat since rediscovering in the Tupperware fest that is ski lodge lunch last winter (thank you Hope!) I like a lot of things about this salad, the first of course being its ease. It also keeps well and is eminently riffable with whatever vegetables you like. It travels well, works in any season and is not picky about temperature. All in all, it’s a road warrior and a Bring It all-star.

You are now well-armed with some options. However you spend this fine weekend I hope it is fabulous!

Curried Couscous or Quinoa Salad

From Ina Garten and Healthy Gluten-Free Family

  • 1 ½ cups couscous (or 1 cup dry quinoa, see note)
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ cups boiling water
  • ¼  cup plain yogurt (*not Greek)
  • ¼  cup good olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup small-diced carrots
  • ½ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • ½ cup dried currants, raisins, or dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup blanched, sliced almonds
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
  • ¼ cup small-diced red onion

*if Greek yogurt is what you’ve got, add 1 Tbsp water to the dressing to smooth it out.

Directions

  1. Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over the couscous. Cover tightly and allow the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. If using quinoa, see note below.
  2. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over the fluffed couscous, and mix well with a fork. Add the carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions, and red onions, mix well, and season to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Note: I typically make this with quinoa, using 1 cup dry quinoa cooked in 2 cups water, which yields 3 cups quinoa. This is my fave method, thanks to Cookie and Kate:

Use twice as much water as quinoa, as usual, then cook uncovered until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. The cooking time will vary based on quantity.

Once the water is all absorbed, remove the pot from heat, cover it and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. That’s when the quinoa pops open into fluffy quinoa perfection, and that is how to cook quinoa properly.

Bread and Butter Pickles, the easy way

Got an update for you: It’s blueberry season. So why are you looking at pickles? Let me ‘splain. To be sure, every day that passes without me getting out to the amazingly awesome Super Acres to pick blueberries, reminds me summer is ticking by too fast. But, sadly, that ticking isn’t enough to get me out there…yet. Those of you who are more industrious can get busy with your blueberries by making Blueberry Dutch Bunny ,  overnight blueberry muffins or blueberry mint lemonade .

For the rest of you, here is a tasty consolation prize. I’m about to hit you with three straight posts on condiments. Sure, summer is all about grilling, and picnics, but both beg for condiments. Great condiments can elevate anything on a bun or a bed of greens. This summer (while not at the blueberry patch), I’ve been making three excellent condiments that now have permanent residence in my fridge.

First off, bread and butter pickles, for a lot of good reasons:

  1. They’re just so darned unsophisticatedly delicious.
  2. They add that little streak of brilliance to egg salad, tuna salad, sandwiches, burgers, the end of your fork, etc.
  3. For guilty pleasures, they are pretty low-consequence. Yes they’ve got sugar, but unless you are drinking the brine it can’t be THAT much, right?
  4. Pickles, even when not made by the super responsible canning process, keep fresh in the fridge for a long while.
  5. And finally, pickles because in fact you CAN have too many cucumbers.

I discovered this after a chance evening encounter with a neighbor who kindly gave me an armful of cukes. I’m always grateful for fresh produce, but cucumbers straight up can be a tough sell in my house. They are not easily disguised, either by grating into a burger or a stir fry, and they don’t freeze well, unless your end game is to weaponize them.

If you end up with a stash of cucumbers, or if you are a pickle lover with no patience for the canning process, these babies are for you. Just a few ingredients and zero talent required. All you need is a little time for them to hang out in the fridge. Basically you can go from evening neighbor garden encounter to proud pickle producer by the time you settle in to Netflix, or bed, or whatever makes you happy.

Just add…anything really. Get your pic-nic on!

Bread and Butter Pickles, the Easy Way

From Brown Eyed Baker

Prep 15 minutes; Cook 5 minutes
Resting 2 hours 40 minutes; Total 3 hours

Makes 4 cups of pickles

Ingredients

  • 5½ cups about 1½ pounds thinly sliced (about ¼-inch) pickling cucumbers
  • 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon celery seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions

  1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1½ hours. Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.
  2. Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month.

Recipe Notes

As made here these are not shelf stable. Store them in the fridge. If you’re looking for proper canning instruction, get back on your google and good luck—I’ll be cheering you on!