Seasonal Sundays (Week 30) Memorable Summer Sides

Side dishes are having a moment but really, aren't the best summer side dishes ones that can easily move to the center of the plate with a little protein on the side? I love every single one of these recipes hope you will too!

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

Seasonal Sundays is 100% written by me, Alanna, a real, live human, no blah-blah copycat ChatGPT AI plagiarism, thank you very much. Any awkward phrase, unclear meaning, misspelled word, mistaken fact, bad punctuation or overwrought alliteration is the clean, proud product of my own quirky humor, inadequacy as a wordsmith and oversights as an eagle-eyed editor. But when that very much living human says she's grateful that you're here, reading, well, please know, she really truly 100% means it.

A few weeks back, I promised you inspiration for summer's best produce. This week, I'm pivoting just a bit, focusing on that produce in side dishes.

Now these aren't just your plain ol' mashed potatoes or rice, no, no, no.

Instead these are side dishes with all of summer's best vegetables, beans, corn, tomatoes and more. in easy summer versions that easily stand in for a meal, especially with some sort of added protein.

Enjoy!

PERSONAL NOTE I'm taking one, maybe two, maybe three weeks off for a couple of big-birthday big-bashes for my husband, some family time (so excited) plus a visit from one of my favorite seven-year olds (soooo fun). Bring on the zoo! the ice cream stops! and so much more. I'm not sure any of it qualifies as "rest and relaxation" let alone "vacation" but it is important family time and I'm much looking forward to it all.

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: Read on ...

Déjà Vu

Something useful ... or thoughtful ... or interesting ... or fun ... or maybe inspirational ... from Seasonal Sundays, this same week in 2020, when I shared a photo of a butterfly captured in our favorite spot of wilderness.

Again, from 2020, Seasonal Sundays (Week 30) Seasonal Salads ...

A moment of welcome calm, an eastern tiger swallowtail, a male I think, a common butterfly with broad habitat across America from the Atlantic to the Great Plains. This handsome fella is feeding on purple blazing star (also called liatris) in a meadow in the northern edges of the Missouri Ozarks. Close-ups of these lovely creatures often reveal less than perfect specimens: their wings are often in tatters and yet they're still flying.

A lesson?

If you, like me, are feeling beat up by the vulnerable state of the world — no, that's not right, it's the precarious state of these un-United States that sends me hangdog. What is it that makes so many of us so mean and selfish and outright bullies? What makes us accept and even applaud Portland, Atlanta, character assassination, stifled science and so so much more.

Every day feels like a firehose of insidious new and expanding threat. My long-time Canadian friend wrote this week, "You can't even escape to Canada anymore" because, you know, the border is closed (and should be).

And yet ... battered butterflies continue to fly and let us never forget that Black people have fought oppression and discrimination for centuries. As just-passed civil rights leader John Lewis wrote, "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way."

Life, it's a long game, God willing.

In Praise Of ...

• SHARING RAIN REPORTS WITH NEIGHBORS ... I've kept a rain gauge for-evah, that's how I know that here in St. Louis we once got rain a half inch or an inch at a time and now, whoah, it's four inches at a time. That's no complaint, I know there are so many parts of the world with severe drought. (Hmm. We've all heard of flash floods. But there's something called flash drought, too.) Anyway a rain gauge is essential to these back-n-forth rain reports. I recently replaced a gauge that held only five inches to this glass replacement tube that measures seven inches. Heaven help us if we need even more ...
• LIVING VASES ... It's time, it's time! This week I cut long stems of basil and mint for vases for the kitchen, stripping the leaves from the bottom ends of the stems that are in water. In a few days, the stems will begin to take root (the basil definitely will, some years the mint doesn't cooperate) and will stay fresh for weeks and weeks, right up until Thanksgiving. For the first while, you'll need to replace the water every few days but once the roots take hold, the stems become their own little ecosystem and the vase's water stays clear and doesn't seem to evaporate.

May I Suggest ... a Link?

Let me just presume that if you're reading this, well, you're both a cook and a recipe collector. Don't the two kinda go together? And that means you tuck aside interesting recipes all over the place and then, dang, where is that chicken recipe that looked so good anyway? Here's an idea. Start a folder on your phone, call it "Kitchen Parade" or "Alanna" or whatever makes best sense to you. Then save the recipes you're most interested in right there in one place. Easy Peasy.

• Start here?
• side dishes

---

---

SEASONAL INSPIRATION:

• THE RECIPE Fresh Creamed Corn Garden luxury, straight to the table.
• ANOTHER TAKE Fresh Corn & Tomato Salad Perfect corn, perfect tomatoes add up to more than the sum of their parts.

• THE RECIPE Fresh Green Bean Salad with Asian Dressing Re-inventing the picnic favorite.
• ANOTHER TAKE Fresh Three-Bean Salad That old potluck favorite except with fresh green beans and "skinny" with less oil and less sugar.
• ANOTHER TAKE Green Beans with Mayo-Soy Sauce So weeknight easy!

• THE RECIPE Raw Mexican Street Corn Salad with Cauliflower Rice A refreshing summer salad, spiked with lime juice, warm spices and touches of cilantro and cotija.
• ANOTHER TAKE Creamy Ricotta with Tomato-Cucumber-Corn Salad A simple appetizer, creamy and sharp at once, served with Homemade Ricotta. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Skillet-Stewed Green Beans with Tomato & Basil A memorable summer combo.
• ANOTHER TAKE "Best Ever" New Potatoes & Green Beans A magical combination, a must-make side dish all summer long. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Tomato Platter with Olives & Feta Perfect for one or two or a crowd.
• ANOTHER TAKE Tomatoes & Fresh Mozzarella for a Crowd A quick and easy way to serve two of summer's best treats.

• THE RECIPE Summer Lentils aka the "Great Big Vegetable Salad with a Few Lentils Thrown In Just for Fun".
• ANOTHER TAKE Whole-Grain Salad with Beets, Beans & Corn Grains + Vegetables = Salad Heaven.

• THE RECIPE Wedge Salad with Homemade Low-Cal & Low-Carb Blue Cheese Salad Dressing A summer indulgence.
• ANOTHER TAKE Loaded Iceberg Steaks with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

What's New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE RECIPE Fresh Blueberry Cookies A fun summer cookie, bursting with blueberries.

Looking Back ...

• Zucchini Season! (Week 29) (PIN This)
• Melon Season! (Week 28) (PIN This)
• Summer Potluck Favorites (Week 27) (PIN This)
• Summer Ice Cream (Week 26) (PIN This)
• Summer Sandwiches (Week 25) (PIN This)
• Finding Juneteenth (Week 24) (PIN This)
• Summer Tips & Ideas, No Cooking Required (Week 23) (PIN This)
• Early-Summer Salads (Week 21) (PIN This)
• Spring Recipes to Make a Mom's Life Just a Little Bit Easier (Week 20) (PIN This)
• Strawberry Season (Week 19) (PIN This)

Party Food!

A week from today, I'm hosting the second of two parties to celebrate my husband's birthday, a smallish gathering (25) for friends one night and a bigish (50 + 20 kids) swim & supper party for family two days later.

Crazy? I hear you, what have I gotten myself into.?!

And the weather!! My romantic notions of idyllic summer evenings poolside are not-to-be. Ten days out, the Friday forecast has ranged from 85F to 108F in the last couple of days, the Sunday forecast from 91F to 110F.

So we're moving the Friday party entirely inside, then leaving it set up that way as "cooling stations" for the Sunday party. The house is already topsy-turvy, reconfiguring everything to make room for rented tables and chairs inside. Dear friends are coordinating lots, cooking lots and prepping/serving it all (how lucky is this ...) but I'm cooking a few things, especially what can be made ahead of time.

• ANYWAY. THE FOOD. I roasted a big batch of beets, destined for an appetizer version of Pickled Beet Salad with Fresh Blueberries & Mint, I'm thinking pickled beet balls (like melon balls, only beets) on short skewers, with blueberries on either end or in the center, maybe a mint leaf, too?
• THE RECIPE My Favorite Way to Roast Beets The traditional method for roasting beets.

• THIS WEEK We also did a test run of the sandwiches, thin-sliced rare Perfectly Cooked Roast Beef with the onions, a creamy horseradish sauce and arugula on brioche buns. We think they're pretty tasty! Thoughts? Recommendations?!
• THE RECIPE Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions Extra-special with a little brown sugar and a little sherry.

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from the last week, not including the hummingbird food, roasted beets and quick microwave sweet corn on repeat this time of year.

• THIS WEEK I thought about finishing a new recipe for a smoked-salmon quiche but instead, used a filet of hot-smoked salmon in this cold salad supper. So good!
• THE RECIPE Southwestern Chicken Taco Salad Plates A summery Quick Supper, no cooking required, just assembly. (PIN This)

• THIS WEEK I thought about making my Simple Hummus that starts with a can of chickpeas. But since I had some dried chickpeas on hand ... "Jerusalem Chickpeas" it would be. Good call!
• THE TECHNIQUE How to Cook Dried Chickpeas Especially for Hummus aka "Jerusalem Chickpeas" For extra-smooth, extra rich hummus.

• THIS WEEK Because once the chickpeas are cooked to that super-tender state, this is such a lovely, loose hummus. Even the Littles (ages 7 and 3 years and 51 weeks, lol) were all over the hummus, especially with triangles of warm naan bread.
• THE RECIPE Crazy-Smooth Crazy-Good Hummus Perfected with three special techniques.

• THIS WEEK The hummus was just the start to an easy Mediterranean menu for summer. I actually forgot to add the toppings that shouldn't be skipped. Still so good! Some chicken was leftover, I learned that it's super-easy to warm it up, just a minute in the microwave.
• THE RECIPE Easy Garlic-Herb Mediterranean Chicken ("Med Chicken") A real crowd pleaser!

• THIS WEEK I've never paired the "Med Chicken" for what in this house we call "Med Veg" but oh, what a great call. So good!
• THE RECIPE Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables A casual feast, even mid-winter.
• SERVED OVER How to Cook White Rice Basics done well, for dinner, for the freezer.

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Sweet Rhubarb Pizza A surprising take on pizza with a cookie dough "crust" and streusel "cheese". (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Rhubarb Muffins Whole grain, less sweet.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

---

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

---

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2023