Two Bean Salad

I have another easy and perfect-for-summer side dish for you today. This one was inspired by the three-bean salads that are served so often during the summer. You probably know what I'm talking about - they're generally green beans plus chickpeas and red beans pickled in a strong vinegar and sugar base. I always like the idea of the three-bean salad and occasionally I find one that tastes pretty good, but usually I'm disappointed.

A few months ago while flipping through an old Everyday Food magazine I ran across a tuna-green bean-salad-thingy recipe that looked pretty tasty. I didn't love the original recipe, but I played around with it for awhile and it easily adapted into a really great three-bean salad update. I ditched the third bean and kept the other ingredients really light and fresh. It's just terrific for the summer and I LOVE serving it with grilled fish or tuna sandwiches. The green beans are just barely cooked, so they're fresh and crunchy and pair really well with the creamy white beans.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Everyday Food was a little magazine from the Martha Stewart Living company that I absolutely loved. Sadly, it went out of publication several years ago. So many of my staple recipes came from this publication and I was a real shame that the publication went under. Fortunately, it evolved into a terrific video series and you can sign up to get daily emails from them, which I highly recommend. Also, I hoard old copies and find myself pouring through them for ideas more often than I care to admit. Nostalgia runs in my family so I'll just blame it on the genes.

Simple Summer Squash

I found a recipe similar to this in a magazine years ago when I was in college and still trying to figure out the "cooking for myself" thing. I remember the recipe being very forgiving for a novice cook, quite fast, and easy on my college budget. I don't remember where I got the recipe and the oil-spotted clipping I loved so much has long-since gone to the great compost pile in the sky, but I have mostly committed it to memory. Over the years I've tinkered around with what I remember and I'm excited to share with you my current version.

This recipe cooks the squash for a short time over high heat, almost like stir frying. The mix of crisp-tender squash, sweet corn, and melty cheese is just so satisfying, plus it cooks up really quickly and requires very little time over the hot stove. Since I do not have air conditioning, this is extremely important to me! I often serve this along side baked fish or a grilled cheese sandwich. Although the recipe feeds 4-6 as a side, I've also been known to eat half a batch for dinner and the other half for lunch.

This recipe is in heavy rotation at my place during the summer when summer squash is cheap in grocery stores and when friends and neighbors are unloading their zucchini surplus in a near panic. I'm happy to give you an excuse NOT to make another loaf of zucchini bread.

Simple Lime & Paprika Salmon

My husband is away for a time doing some Navy training, so that left me some time with my almost-one-year-old sidekick to do some traveling. A few weeks back I went up to Idaho to visit my sister Natalie. My mom was there visiting, and Natalie's mother-in-law was coming over for dinner. My mom was making pineapple shrimp salad (delicious!) and then we remembered last minute that there was a salmon filet that needed to be used up that night.

All three of us use the famous family marinade for salmon about 98% of the time, which requires actual time to marinade. Nat and I just looked at each other, and both said something along the lines of "don't people usually slather a bunch of mayo on their salmon and call it good?". As we ran around the kitchen trying to find a way to make a delicious, simple, quick salmon, this recipe was born. Boy, the outcome was DELICIOUS. My little goober gobbled it up, and we were all wishing there was more salmon by the end of the dinner.

Let me just tell you again. This is SUPER easy and quick. No real preparation ahead, and it's perfect if you have some fish in the freezer if you need to use it up (I usually keep at least one fillet of fish in the freezer at all times for things like this).

Blueberry Coconut Smoothie

I love a good green smoothie. They are fast, easy, filling, and loaded with good things. We usually have them a few times a week at our house. That is unless I am pregnant. My taste buds get completely out of whack with pregnancy and unless the smoothie taste like Jamba Juice I can not stomach them. I was really surprised with my first when this happen and it is no different the second time around. I can taste ever "bitter" undertone of the veggies and it just doesn't sit well. This recipe is my fool-proof smoothie that is completely delicious, veggie packed, and (best of all!) I can handle with my wacky taste buds. Any non-green smoothie lover will love this as well (plus it is not green...so some are less "scared"). My toddler side-kick has dubbed this "Blueberry Coconut Explosion" (has anyone else found their toddler boys gobble anything up if it has the word explosion or monster in it?).