Southwestern Orzo Salad with Raw Corn and Zucchini

This is pretty quick and easy, and good for a hot night (looks like a few of those coming up...). The only thing that needs cooking is the orzo. A food processor makes quick work of shredding the zucchini. This works as a main dish with the cheddar, or if you like you could add shredded chicken. Great for a party or a potluck.

1 1/2 cups dry orzo
1-1 1/2 lbs zucchini, shredded
5 ears corn, kernels stripped off
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (optional)
3/4-1 cup good quality salsa
Salt to taste

Cook the orzo in a pot of salted boiling water, then drain and rise with cold water until cooled.

Toss the orzo together in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.

Serves about 6 as a main dish.

Variation: Add diced raw tomatoes.

Corn and Chanterelle Bisque

I was lucky enough to score some chanterelles at the farmers market on Saturday, from Paul Lagreze. I don't know if he'll have any more this week, but they were divine! They do something really magical here in this soup with the sweet corn and a hint of sherry. This tastes very rich with whole milk, but if you want to up the luxury level even farther, substitute cream for some of the milk.

A word about sherry: if you don't keep a bottle of cooking sherry in your pantry, you should. You can get a bottle of dry sherry suitable for cooking for well under $10 and it keeps pretty much forever.

4 tsp butter
2 medium shallots, minced
1/4 lb chanterelle mushrooms, finely chopped
6-7 ears sweet corn, kernels stripped off
Water and/or stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp dry sherry
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the shallots and chanterelles and saute over medium heat until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the corn kernels plus enough water to just cover. Simmer until tender, 5-10 minutes.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or do it in batches in a blender, then return to the pot. Puree to whatever degree you like between chunky and smooth. Then stir in the milk and sherry and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.

Serves 4-6.

Variation: To turn this into a chowder instead of a bisque, add cubed potatoes (new potatoes would be wonderful) and puree only a little, just enough to thicken the soup a little.

Thai Cucumber Salad

So the cucumbers have starting coming in - with a vengeance. And when you've just picked half a dozen (or more!) at once, there's nothing like cucumber salad to use them up. There are many possible variations and flavor profiles - this is just one. (Feel free to add tomatoes if desired.)

4 cups diced cucumbers (peeled if desired)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (or other sweet onion)
1/4 cup finely chopped Thai basil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
Salt to taste
Sesame seeds (optional)

Toss all ingredients except sesame seeds in a bowl until thoroughly coated. Refrigerate if not serving right away. Sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds (if using) before serving.

Serves about 4.

Variations: substitute mint or cilantro for some or all of the Thai basil.

Sesame Snap Peas

A quick and easy side dish. Snap peas work beautifully with Asian flavors.

2 cups whole snap peas, stemmed
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
Sesame seeds (optional)

Toss the snap peas in a bowl with the sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce until they are well coated. If desired, top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Serve chilled or room temperature.

Serves 3-4.

Freezing Cherries

Clarkdale Fruit Farms has been at the Greenfield Farmers Market the last two Saturdays with both tart and sweet cherries for sale. They thought they would have some more tomorrow as well, but it will most likely be the last of the them. Get there early if you want some!

Tart cherries are fantastic for pie. If you don't want to bake in the heat, freeze some now to make pie in the fall. You'll need around 2 quarts of cherries for a pie.

To freeze cherries:
1. Pit the cherries. You can do this with a sharp knife and/or your fingers, but if you're going to do very many I suggest you pick up a cherry pitter. I have an inexpensive handheld one that pits one cherry at a time; they also come in version that pit several at a time. Make sure you do your pitting over the sink or in a large bowl, as the juice splatters and stains.

2. Drain off extra juice in a colander (down the drain, or else drink it; there won't be a ton).

3. Pack the cherries gently into quart size freezer bags. Distribute the cherries so they form a somewhat flat package. Label and freeze.

You can bake the cherries without thawing, just allow a little more time in the oven. A little gentle massaging of the frozen package should loosen them up fairly well, and they can be further separated in a bowl.

Sweet Zucchini Custard Pie (aka John Henry Pie)

This recipes comes from my friend Beth Caissie, who tells me it was invented by her grandfather, John Caissie, and who swears by its absolute deliciousness. She calls it John Henry Pie in his honor. Use whatever pie crust recipe you like.

2 1/2 cups (about 1 large) cooked drained zucchini
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Squeeze extra liquid out of zucchini in a colander.

Blend zucchini, sour crea, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in blender until thick and frothy (or mash vigorously with a potato masher). Pour into an unbaked pie shell, sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees (or until the custard has set and is beginning to pull away from the crust just a tiny bit). Beth says the pie usually needs to bake longer than this - sometimes up to an hour - but her grandfather always said 30 minutes so that's what she starts with.

Serves 6-8.

Cold Sesame Noodles with Garden Vegetables

You can serve these noodles warm or room temperature, but they are really great served cold on a hot night. At this time of year, I like to make them with snap peas and shredded carrots, but you can use other vegetables if you like. Later in the summer, sweet red peppers are delicious here.

1 lb linguine or other pasta
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp minced ginger root
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2-3 tsp chili paste or sriracha sauce (or to taste)
1-2 Tbsp honey or brown sugar
1 pint snap peas, stemmed
1-2 cups shredded carrots
Chopped fresh mint, cilantro, and/or Thai basil for topping (optional)

Cook the noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water. When done, drain and rinse with cold water until thoroughly cooled. Toss with canola oil and refrigerate until the sauce is ready.

Combine the garlic, ginger, tahini, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili paste or sriracha, and honey or sugar in the blender. Blend until smooth, adding water 1-2 Tbsp at a time until it reaches the desired consistency (it should be creamy and pourable but not runny).

Toss the pasta with the sauce, adding the snap peas and carrots until everything is coated. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (If you make these more than a few hours in advance, the sauce may thicken more than desired; in this case, drizzle the noodles with a small amount of water and toss until the sauce regains a good consistency.)

Serve cold, topped with chopped herbs if desired.

Serves about 6.

Variations: Add chopped scallions; add or substitute diced cucumber or halved cherry tomatoes.