Gazpacho is usually a tomato-based raw vegetable soup served cold. There may be as many variations of this recipe as there are bass in Lake Fork. I’ve even had a melon gazpacho – not my favorite – but it wasn’t bad. My version uses fresh vegetables and it allowed me to process the 6 pounds of tomatoes I picked last week. I made enough for three meals and shared with friends. So, the following recipe is a fourth of what I made and may be better for serving a family of 4.               

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil while you wash about 1-1/2 lbs. of tomatoes. While you are washing, clean a red pepper, a cucumber and a jalapeño too. Back to the tomatoes, cut an X on the bottoms and place in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Then using tongs or slotted spoon, remove and let cool. You may need to process in a couple of batches, so make sure the water comes to a boil again between the batches.

When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and core them. I cut the tomatoes in half along the equator and squeeze them over a bowl to get out most of the seeds. That seeds them well enough for me, but maybe not for someone with diverticulitis. During this process, make sure you are saving the tomato juice since you are going to need about a cup.                         

Chop the tomatoes, seeded red pepper, peeled and seeded cucumber and 1 red onion into 1/4-inch cubes and place into a large bowl. Hopefully you have about a cup of strained tomato juice left from peeling and seeding the tomatoes. If not, add store-bought tomato or vegetable juice to the fresh juice, making a cup, and add to the bowl. Then mince a seeded jalapeño and garlic clove, adding them to the bowl. 

Pour in 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, the juice from 1 lime, a splash of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Season with a little cumin, freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt. Stir everything together and taste. I usually end up adding more balsamic vinegar and salt. If you like it hot, consider adding Louisiana Hot Sauce or Tabasco.

Scoop at least half the mixture into a food processor and purée. Add back to the bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or as long as overnight. When ready to serve, chop up fresh basil and sprinkle over the top of each bowl.

I made zucchini chips to go along with the gazpacho. Slice a few zucchini about 1⁄4-inch thick. Toss the chips in flour. Whisk two eggs and about 1⁄4 cup milk together. Toss the flour-dredged chips in the egg mixture until all are coated. 

Then toss this in seasoned bread crumbs. Be sure to sample the bread crumbs first and add seasonings until you are happy with the taste. Store-bought bread crumbs may not have the seasonings you like and may not have enough salt. I really like plain Panko bread crumbs with my own seasonings. Lay the coated chips in a single layer on a lightly greased pan. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Baked chips and cold vegetable soup are a treat on a hot summer evening.

I have found a winner of a chicken dinner. It’s not low-fat, but it’s made with fresh ingredients, and a little fat now and then isn’t a bad thing. I bought a whole chicken and cut it up into 8 pieces – two breasts, two wings, two thighs and two drumsticks. I saved the rest of the chicken in a freezer bag. When I get enough miscellaneous parts saved, I like to make chicken stock. You can also purchase bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces for this dish.

In a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken pieces, I mixed 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoons kosher salt, about 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil. With clean hands, add the chicken pieces and toss around, rubbing until the mixture coats every piece of chicken.

Wash hands well and set the oven to 375 degrees. Let the chicken sit in the bowl on the counter while you prepare the potatoes, onions and garlic.

I was lucky enough to trade some of my zucchini and cucumber abundance to a neighbor for their beautiful freshly harvested new potatoes. I washed 2-3 lbs. of the potatoes and sliced them thinly – between 1/8 – 1/4 inch slices. Then I chopped an onion and minced three garlic cloves.

This next part is very important for a successful dish. You’ll need a sheet pan with sides and a rack – a cooling rack or the rack from a roaster will work. Cover the sheet pan with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Arrange the potatoes, onions and garlic in an even layer on the pan and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Lay chicken pieces skin-side up on the rack and set the rack over the potatoes and onions on the sheet pan.

Bake until the skin is crispy and the potatoes are tender, about 55 to 60 minutes. For more crispy potatoes, remove the rack with the chicken and continue baking the potatoes for another 10 minutes.

The moisture from the potatoes and onions keeps the chicken from drying out and the chicken drippings flavor the potatoes and onions below. I served this dish with a baked zucchini gratin and a side salad.

Zucchini Gratin

This next recipe is great for using those larger zucchini. I had two large ones – over 10 inches – and three regular sized – about six inches. I washed them, sliced each in half and cut across into half-moon slices about 1/4 inch thick. I chopped one large onion, minced three garlic cloves and two garden tomatoes.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a pan and sauté all the vegetables until they are just tender. Lightly salt and pepper the vegetables, add a teaspoon of dried thyme and 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir until the flour is incorporated. Remove from heat.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and add the vegetable mixture. In a small bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1/2 cup milk. Pour over the vegetables and top the casserole with a cup of grated cheese. I used mild cheddar.

I placed the casserole in the oven and baked it along with the chicken and potatoes for the last 30 minutes.

This past Saturday I worked outside in the vineyard the whole day. When I came in at 6:30, I was hot, tired, and dirty. I needed to make something for dinner, but it had to be quick, light and cool. Baked salmon with cucumber salad fit the bill and made my family happy.

I pulled out salmon fillets to thaw while I hit the shower. Feeling human again, I returned to the kitchen and cranked the oven up to 450 degrees. Normally I like to grill salmon, but the house was cool and the back porch was not. I patted the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel and lightly seasoned them with olive oil, salt and pepper. I placed them on a foil-lined baking dish and put it in the oven as soon as it came to temperature, setting the timer for 15 minutes.

While the salmon baked, I prepared the cucumber salad. I used 4 large pickling cucumbers. They are large because they hid from me for a few days when I was gathering in the garden. I peeled the cukes, cut them in half and scooped out the seeds. I chopped the cukes and three stalks of celery into bite-sized pieces. I usually include a few celery leaves because they look nice and then threw everything into a salad bowl.

I wanted to add chives to the salad and honestly wasn’t sure I had any. The grasshoppers have really made a mess of the herbs. I transplanted fennel in the herb garden and they really seem to love it! Despite the fact that I was clean and it was hot outside, I decided to hunt for chives. The herb bushes jumped with grasshoppers, but I pressed on moving aside a huge fennel frond. I found bright green chives untouched by the hoppers and picked a handful. I minced about 2 tablespoons of chives and added them to the salad bowl.

I coarsely chopped about a cup of walnuts and threw in 2 handfuls of golden raisins. Pecans or Craisins would also work well instead of walnuts or raisins, but I used what I had. Then I whisked together the juice of one lemon, a splash of white balsamic vinegar, about 1/3 cup olive oil, salt and pepper.

By that time, the salmon was done. I pulled it from the oven and let it rest a few minutes before serving. I dressed the salad and placed a generous portion on each plate with crumbled feta cheese on top. I delivered the salmon to each plate and garnished with tomato slices.

Dinner was simple, quick and delicious. The leftover salad made a nice light lunch the next day.

Ratatouille is a French word meaning to disturb, shake or stir. It is also a tasty way to use lots of early summer garden vegetables. Traditionally eggplant is used along with squash and tomatoes. Eggplant doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own and was commonly used by country folk to extend a dish in order to cheaply feed a larger family. I like the texture, but if you don’t care for or don’t have eggplant, leave it out. Instead add more squash. I consider all recipes to just be guidelines anyway, so I always make them my own.

Ratatouille can be served as a side dish or as a main course with rice or pasta. I chose to serve it as a side with hanger steaks. First I marinated my hanger steaks in olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled with dried thyme, salt and pepper. Turn the steaks to make sure they are coated and let them come to room temperature while you begin the ratatouille.

The vegetables in ratatouille should be chopped to about a 1⁄2-inch dice and they are added in intervals throughout the cooking process. It’s a good idea to have 1 large onion and 6 tomatoes diced and ready before you begin this dish. Then over medium-high heat, coat a large wide pan with olive oil and add the onion. Season with kosher salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions until they are soft but not brown, about 8 minutes. Mince and add 4 garlic cloves and cook for three more minutes. (Now is a good time to turn on the grill if you are making hanger steaks.)

Add tomatoes and 1⁄2 cup water or stock along with a bundle of fresh thyme and a bay leaf. Let this simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. You may substitute two 15-oz cans of tomato bits instead of fresh tomatoes and the water. If so, reduce the cooking time in this step to about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are heated through. While the tomatoes are cooking, dice a green or red pepper, 1 eggplant, 2 summer squash and 2 zucchini.

Add the peppers and cook about 5 minutes. Then add eggplant, summer squash and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper, cooking on low heat until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, get the steaks on the grill. Don’t forget about the ratatouille, keep stirring the vegetables while the steaks are going.

Hanger steaks, a cheaper cut of meat, are best cooked to medium-rare or medium doneness. If you like steak well-done, you will be happier with a more expensive cut of meat. I grilled the steaks about 4-5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Take the steaks off the grill, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

The ratatouille should be done. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme bundle. Then chiffonade (cut into thin ribbons) 6 fresh basil leaves and stir into the vegetables. Taste to make sure the seasonings are correct and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

I love corn on the cob. I have eaten it raw while standing in the garden, so I don’t think fancy things need to be done to corn to make it taste good. On a whim I purchased 4 ears of corn from the produce section of a local grocery store. It just looked good and I had no plans for it. However, Saturday night I decided to grill a few chicken breasts for fajitas and threw the corn on too.

To marinate the chicken, place the breasts in a shallow container. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, the juice of one lemon, about 1 teaspoon of each: oregano, chili powder, salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Mix together and pour over the chicken. Turn the chicken over and over distributing all the marinade. Let the chicken sit while heating up the grill.

Preparing the corn takes a little more effort, but is well worth it. While keeping the husks connected at the base of the corn, peel the husks back to expose the kernels. Clean off the silk and discard. Using about half a stick of room-temperature butter, mix about ½ tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon of chili powder adding garlic salt, pepper to taste. I went a little heavy on the garlic salt because I love it.

Then spread the butter mixture on the corn kernels. As you finish each ear, pull the layers of husk back up over the kernels to completely cover them. The husks will protect the corn while it’s on the grill, but will allow the wonderful smoky flavor to come through.

While you are still waiting on the grill to heat up, chop an onion and a pepper and sauté in a little olive oil. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt and pepper as it brings out the flavors. Instead of green peppers, I thawed roasted chilies in the microwave that I’d frozen from last year’s harvest and I added them to my finished onions.

Now outside, place chicken and corn on the medium-hot grill. Turn each after about 4 minutes. Turn again after another 4. At this point the corn is done, but if you prefer it to be more tender, continue to cook for another 4 minutes. Remove the corn and let the chicken cook for the last 4 minutes. I cooked the chicken for a total of 16 minutes and then removed it from the grill.

Cover the chicken with foil and let it rest while slicing a ripe avocado. On a cutting board, slice the cooled chicken thinly across the grain. Serve on a warm tortilla with avocado, onions, peppers, grated cheese and salsa. Peel the husks back from the corn, exposing the smoky buttery kernels and enjoy a fresh, healthy dinner.