Summer Vegetable Bowl



4 slices bacon
12 small white onions
1 small green pepper, diced
2 cups hot water
1 lb green beans
6 ears corn, cut into thirds
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
6 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 lg celery stalks, cut into 1 inch slices
1 large tomato, cut in wedges

In Dutch oven, over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, drain bacon on paper towels. To the drippings in the pan, add onions and green pepper, cook until golden; add hot water and next five ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low; cover; simmer 10 minutes.

Add zucchini and celery; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender. With a slotted spoon arrange the vegetables in a large, shallow bowl. Crumble bacon and sprinkle over the top. Arrange tomato wedges on top.


Corn on the Cob

Stove method: Remove all husks and silk from corn and cut stem off. Wash ears then place in a large pot of cold water. Bring corn to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until tender.

Grill method:  Buy the corn still in the husks. Strip back the husks without tearing them off. Pull out all of the silks and kind of scrub at the ear to get the silks out (silks are the stringy parts for all of you non-midwesterners). Pull the husks back up over the ear to completely encase it. Soak the ears in a bucket of salt water overnight. Take the ears directly from the bucket and put them on the grill to cook. To eat, just pull back the husks and use them for a kind of a handle, butter and enjoy.

The salt water acts both to salt the ears and also to moisten them so the corn doesn't dry out and burn on the grill. You can do his even with a a large group where all of the ears soak in a large plastic garbage can.

Other ways to do this involve buttering the ear before grilling rather than soaking in the salt water and some people wrap them in foil rather than grilling them in the husks.


Baked Beans

This recipe is a family favorite, handed down by my grandmother. It’s the kind of dish that disappears completely at potluck picnics, no matter how many other people also brought baked beans. To be completely honest, I have never made this dish according to any recipe - it lends itself to guess and dump, and despite the inevitable variation, has never turned out badly yet. The following amounts are pretty close to what I normally use. Fix this for your next BBQ and mark my words, everyone will rave!

Ingredients
3 16-ounce cans of pork and beans
1 small onion, chopped
4-5 slices of uncooked bacon, chopped
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup

Directions
Drain and discard all juice off pork and beans (and discard that one lame little bit of pork fat you will find at the top as well). Combine beans and remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Simmer for several minutes until the sugar begins to caramelize and the ingredients are well mixed. Pour beans into a casserole dish and bake at 400 F for one hour or until the edges of the beans start to brown (they are good slightly burnt on top, too).

In my family, we eat these beans with potato chips as the utensils of choice. Okay, not much about this recipe is healthy, I’ll admit, but it is most definitely yum even if it is not gourmet!

Submitted by Betsy Gartrell-Judd of Myria.com


Potato Salad

2 lb red potatoes, boiled and quartered
2 each eggs, hard boiled and chopped
1 each green pepper, diced
1 each onion small, chopped
1/2 cup salad oil
1/3 cup wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp salt
1 dash pepper

Combine potatoes, eggs, green pepper and onion. Mix remaining ingredients in a small jar and shake well. Pour over potato mixture. Refrigerate several hours.


Homemade Onion Rings



3 large onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
salad oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Separate onion slices into rings. Heat salad oil (about 3/4 inch) in an electric skillet to 370 degrees F, or use a heavy frying pan. Place milk in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl mix the salt and flour together.  Dip rings in milk, then in flour mixture. Repeat to coat twice.

Cook onions in hot salad oil for 3 minutes or until golden. Remove to paper towels and drain thoroughly.  Serve immediately.


Colorful Pasta Salad

This one is an easy summer classic and very versatile. The following recipe is my favorite preparation, but you can certainly experiment with the combination of vegetables, using tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, green onion, artichoke hearts or whatever else strikes your fancy, as well as substituting other kinds of pasta, cheese or salad dressings.

Ingredients
20 ounce package rainbow pasta
1/2 head of broccoli florets, separated
1/2 head of cauliflower florets, separated
1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian vinaigrette salad dressing
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. When pasta is completely cooled, stir in remaining ingredients and chill until ready to serve. Add additional dressing when ready to serve, if necessary.