Garden Pleasures - summer cooking tips include recipes for tostadas, salad, soup, pasta, and corn

Vegetarian Times, July, 1999 by Nava Atlas

The five tempting meals make hot-weather cooking a breeze

Recipes

1 Tomato and Green Chile Tostadas

2 Mixed-Up Cobb Salad

3 Cold Cucumber-Yogurt Soup

4 Pasta Primavera with Miso Dressing

5 Rice Salad with Sweet Corn

I love summer. It's the season to revel in sun-drenched days at the beach and enjoy the quiet pleasures of digging around in the flower garden. But what I love most about this season is the fact that the produce is so fresh, tasty and abundant. Some days, when I'm milling around the local farm stand, everything looks so good I want to buy it all.

Take a peek at this month's shopping List--you'll see that almost everything needed for these quick and easy meals comes from the produce section. Juicy tomatoes, fresh herbs, sweet corn and succulent summer squash are just a few of the terrific ingredients featured in our recipes. These dinners are ideal for outdoor weekend parties or simple family fare during the week. A little vigilance will help you take advantage of the wondrous summer fruits, whose perfection is fleeting. Ripe melons, berries, plums, peaches and others make effortless, delectable endings to any meal.

Tomato and Green Chile Tostadas

6 SERVINGS LACTO

Highlighting the flavor of green chilies and fresh tomatoes, these tostadas make a great warm-weather meal. If you don't have a nonstick baking sheet, lightly spray a regular baking sheet with cooking spray first.

MEAL PLAN: Microwave some tiny new potatoes (allow 3 to 4 per serving). Serve the tostadas with the potatoes, sliced bell peppers and black olives. Cut up any fresh fruit left from the week to make a colorful fruit salad. Serve with vanilla yogurt, frozen yogurt or nondairy frozen dessert.

3 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3 ripe, firm, medium tomatoes,
  thinly sliced
2 (4-oz.) cans chopped mild green
  chilies, drained
6 oz. grated reduced-fat Mexican
  cheese blend (cheddar and
  Monterey Jack) (1 1/2 cups)
3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 [degrees] F. Place tortillas flat on a large nonstick baking sheet. Arrange tomatoes over tortillas. Sprinkle with chilies, cheese and cilantro.

Bake until tortillas are lightly golden and crisp and cheese has melted, about 10 minutes. Alternatively, cook them on a nonstick griddle.

Cut each tostada into wedges, and serve hot.

PER 1/2 TOSTADA: 151 CAL.; 12G PROT.; 4G TOTAL FAT (2G SAT. FAT); 17G CARB.; 10MG CHOL; 304MG SOD.; 2G FIBER

Mixed-Up Cobb Salad

6 SERVINGS DAIRY-FREE

This favorite main-dish salad traditionally calls for diced chicken or turkey, crisp-cooked bacon and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Avocado, another common ingredient, has been retained in this version. The eggs have been eliminated, and of course the meats have been replaced with healthful soy-based analogs. Look for baked marinated tofu and soy deli slices in well-stocked supermarkets or natural food stores.

MEAL PLAN: Put on a big pot of water to boil. Cook some corn on the cob while preparing the salad. Cook four extra ears to use in the rice salad later in the week. Serve the cobb salad with whole-grain bread and the corn. For dessert, offer sweet berries in individual dishes topped with a dollop of frozen vanilla yogurt.

6 slices soy "bacon"
4 to 6 oz. baked marinated tofu or soy
  "turkey-" or "chicken"-style deli
  slices, diced
1 ripe, medium avocado, diced (1 cup)
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 ripe, medium tomatoes, diced
   (1 1/2 cups)
6 cups torn dark green lettuce or
  spinach leaves
1/4 cup natural, low-fat French or
  Catalina dressing, or more
  to taste

CRISP-COOK SOY "BACON" according to package directions. Remove to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

In large bowl, combine soy "bacon" and tofu. In small bowl, toss avocado with lemon juice, then add to tofu mixture along with tomatoes and lettuce. Add dressing, toss to coat and serve.

PER SERVING: 121 CAL.; 5G PROT.; 7G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT. FAT); 11G CARB.; 0 CHOL.; 189MG SOD.; 3G FIBER

Cold Cucumber-Yogurt Soup

4 TO 6 SERVINGS LACTO

For a heartier version of this soup, add a cup or so of cold, cooked barley. If cucumbers seem watery, halve them lengthwise then scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard.

MEAL PLAN: Make the soup, then let it stand while warming veggie burgers (if you wish to grill them, prepare the grill before starting the soup). Serve them on rolls with the soup along with a simple tossed salad. Finish the meal with slices of melon such as cantaloupe, watermelon or honeydew, or use a combination.

2 large cucumbers, peeled
1 pint plain low-fat yogurt or soy yogurt
1 1/4 cups low-fat milk or soy milk,
  or as needed
1/4 cup finely chopped mixed fresh
  herbs, such as dill, parsley or
  mint, or more to taste
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (optional)

SHRED CUCUMBERS on coarse blade of box grater or in food processor fitted with coarse shredding disc. (You should have about 2 cups.)

In medium bowl, combine shredded cucumbers with yogurt, milk and herbs; mix well. Mixture should be slightly thick. Stir in sugar, salt, cumin and pepper, then add lemon juice if you would like extra tang. Serve or refrigerate until needed.