Thyme for Cooking
Seasonal Weekly Menus & Shopping Lists
Healthy Food Fresh Ingredients Simple Recipes
Menu Plan for Summer II: Week 3, Sunday
Links:
Daily Recipes:
Grilled Pork Chops
German Summer Potato Salad
Cucumber Salad
Tomato Mozzarella Salad
Cooking time: 30 minutes plus 8 earlier Cooking schedule: see below for instructions
Barbecue grill and summer salads.... What more to say? Both the Potato and the Cucumber salads will be finished later in the week. Because it's hard to gauge the size of packaged, fresh mozzarella, we have a salad to use up any leftovers from Friday.
Grilled Pork Chops
Total time: 30 minutes
This is a simple marinade that works well with chicken and beef, too. The chops marinate in the time it takes to get the grill ready.
Ingredients:
- 2 - 4 pork chops, depending on size, boneless or not, 12oz (350gr) for boneless
- Marinade:
- 3 tbs red wine vinegar
- 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbs olive oil
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients for marinade and pour over chops.
- Let marinate for 15 - 20 minutes.
- Cook on barbecue for 5 - 8 minutes a side or until done. Should be slightly pink near bone when done - take a peak (techniques).
- Or fry in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat the same amount of time. Serve.
German Summer Potato Salad
Total time: 35 minutes
This recipe is based on one from the Time Life "Foods of the World" series that I have had for years. The first time I had a similar salad was in Germany, I had expected the typical Midwestern version of Hot German Potato Salad and was wonderfully surprised by this light salad, perfect for summer, and much lower in calories than other potato salads. This recipe serves 4 and in our menu is meant for 2 meals.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium potatoes, 20oz (600gr) total
- 1 large onion
- 3/4 cup (6oz, 180ml) chicken stock
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs white wine tarragon vinegar
- 2 tbs Dijon-style mustard
- 1 tbs lemon juice
Instructions:
- Put a large saucepan half full of water on medium heat and bring to boil.
- Cut potatoes - the long way, first in half, then in half again. Now slice (the short way) about 1/4 inch thick. We are aiming for bite size so if you have a huge potato, adjust accordingly.
- Add to water, cover partially and cook until done, about 15 minutes.
- Drain, put into a serving bowl and immediately pour sauce over, turning to coat slices evenly. Set aside to cool while finishing dinner.
- Sauce:
- Finely chop onion and sauté in olive oil until transparent.
- Add stock, vinegar and mustard and bring to boil over medium-high heat.
- Boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
- To serve: Salad should be served just slightly warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Total time: 16 minutes divided: 8 minutes,
wait 4-10 hours, 8 minutes
Another summer classic, this is loosely based on my mother's recipe - which was her mother's. She used cream, I use yogurt but the taste is surprisingly similar. I can't be real specific here - I never measure and it depends on how big the cukes are, etc. But this is an easy 'taste and adjust' salad. Just play with it until you like it - you really can't screw it up (unless you try to hurry)
Ingredients:
- 2 - 3 medium - large cucumbers
- kosher, rock or sea salt
- shallot or small onion
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 - 3 tbs lemon juice fresh if you have it
- 3 - 4 tbs salad olive oil
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or plain yogurt
- Pepper
- 2 - 3 tbs snipped fresh chives
Instructions:
- First:
- Peel cucumber and thinly slice on box slicer. (You know, the kind your mother had with three slits on one side for slicing and different size holes on the other 3 sides for grating and shredding.)
- Stick the whole cloves into the onion half.
- Put the studded onion in the bottom of a deep bowl large enough to easily hold the cukes.
- Put in a layer of cukes, sprinkle with salt, and repeat 3 times using about 1 tsp salt on each layer.
- Put a small plate or saucer on top of the cucumbers - it should be sitting on the cukes, not the sides of the bowl.
- Put a big can or jar of something heavy on the plate - to weigh it down. We want weight on the cukes - the plate is just to distribute it more evenly.
- Let it sit at room temperature for 4 - 10 hours.
- Second:
- Remove weight and plate. The cucumbers will be sitting in a lot of water.
- Put cucumbers in a strainer - discarding onion and cloves.
- Rinse cucumbers (remember all that salt?) You don't want to get all of the salt off - just about 80% Taste to test.
- When rinsed to your satisfaction take the cucumbers in your clean hands and gently squeeze most of the remaining liquid out.
- Put back into the bowl (that you have rinsed).
- To finish:
- Add 2 tbs lemon juice, 3 tbs oil and stir.
- Add 1/3 cup yogurt , stir and taste.
- Adjust to the quantity of cukes and your liking.
- Add fresh ground pepper, chives and serve.
This will keep a week, but it never lasts that long at our house.
Tomato Mozzarella Salad
Total time: 5 minutes
A small Caprese Salad to use up Mozzarella and Cherry Tomatoes - and because it's summer...
Ingredients:
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 package small mozzarella balls
- handful basil leaves
- 3 tsp Balsamic vinegar
- 3 tsp good olive oil
Instructions:
- Cut cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls in half.
- Tear basil leaves into smaller pieces - or leave whole.
- Put tomatoes, mozzarella, basil into a bowl, add oil and vinegar, stir to combine and serve.
Cooking Schedule:
30 minutes plus 8 earlier |
Slice potatoes, cook |
Share this:
----------------------
Get 7 Dinner Menus, Recipes, Shopping List each Thursday by e-mail: Subscribe
