The Start of July and a Long Weekend (Week 16)

Well, look what we have here! A new month! July has arrived in all of its hot, humid, sunny, summery glory. Not every day so far has been as perfect-summer as I prefer, but you know, the humidity will always show up.

The start of July means that summer is in full-force and we kicked it off with a variety of excellent meals and the long weekend for the Fourth holiday. Of course, the usual activities didn’t happen, but it was still a fun time and the low-key energy was fine by me (we even saw some fireworks from our balcony). As soon as I feel safe having cocktails on a deck that’s not on my own property, I’m there. ;)

On to the food! Last week we made a wide-variety of plates including a repeat of our delicious meatless burrito bowls and a summery take on my favorite Italian dish, risotto. Check out all of our dinners and find a few to incorporate into your weeknight routine this summer! Recipes are linked where available.

Feel free to inquire about our original recipes. We create them ‘on the fly’ (like the cool kids) so our measurements aren’t always exact. But everything is always, entirely, gluten free. :)

Drunken Noodles with Chicken

Recipe by The Woks of Life (we used GF noodles and sauces, and added chicken).

Honestly, if you’re looking for a prime noodle-focused dinner, then look no further than this one. Drunken Noodles is a delicious meal packed with flavor, some spice (varying levels of heat are possible), and the option to make it as hearty as you wish. The traditional version doesn’t include meat, but we decided to include chicken for protein. This would also be excellent with beef, pork, or shrimp!

With many noodle recipes, the prep can take longer than the actual cooking so while it may seem like it’s “a long time until dinner” it’s rarely more than about thirty minutes. That’s no so bad! Now, let’s get to the kitchen and prep it all because this dinner is truly one of my favorites.

Note: I love this website, The Woks of Life, because it’s an Asian family sharing all of their recipes and cooking tips. The food we’ve made from this site has always been delicious and the site itself is so organized. I always enjoy browsing around for dinner inspiration.

Pinto Bean Burrito Bowl with Guacamole

Original Recipe which is very similar to last week’s version. This time we added homemade guacamole.

Hey, if something works and is delicious, then why not make it again? Tuesday night has become burrito night and last week we finally managed to have ripe avocados in the fridge just waiting for their moment to shine. Our burrito bowls were pinto-bean-based once again, but I happily report that a meatless meal is pretty much welcome any time to our table.

The bowls included a wild rice blend, pinto beans, corn with peppers and onion, homemade guacamole, and a dollop of sour cream. Plus, fresh-squeezed lime! The amount of flavor in this dish never ceases to amaze me and it’s thanks to pretty minimal ingredients, plus the key spices of cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Burrito bowls don’t need much to be wonderfully filling which is exactly why they are a terrific low-cost weeknight (or any night) meal.

For the record, our guacamole is the chunky version! The “recipe” includes one or two avocados, chopped fresh cilantro, salt, lime juice, a little cumin (if you wish), diced jalapeños (spicy!), and chopped tomatoes (if available). If you prefer a creamy guacamole, go for it! However, I think the chunky version works particularly well for meals like this one. Creamy-ish versions are best for those “chips and dip” nights.

Beef Larb with Cabbage

Recipe by Colu Henry for NYT Cooking. We made minimal changes such as adding cabbage and using beef instead of pork (that’s what we had in the freezer). If searching for the recipe, the title is “Herby Pork Larb with Chile.”

This should be the summer you make larb! It is a Vietnamese dish which comes together quickly and the flavor is beautifully bold, not spicy, and overflowing with fresh lime. Sounds good, right? Yes. I love larb! In its purest terms, you could call it a “meat salad” because the ingredients are basically meat and greens, plus a lot of fresh lime juice and tangy fish sauce. Delicious.

For this iteration, we followed a recipe by Colu Henry, who is the author of one of my favorite pasta cookbooks (Back Pocket Pasta) and has a joyful way of presenting and talking about food. Every recipe we have made of hers has always been awesome. She can do no wrong, in my opinion, when it comes to creating dishes with balanced, crave-worthy flavor in their own unique way.

Was this meal flowing with way more lime than I usually prefer? Yes, but it worked perfectly and because of that I tossed aside my “medium-level of lime please” mentality and embraced the dish entirely. Larb is a lovely way to introduce yourself to Vietnamese flavors without a lot of effort. The dinner is so, so good, but you won’t work too hard getting it on the table. Ideal for summer, don’t you think?

Capellini with Beans and Peas

Original Recipe - made with Jovial Foods gluten free capellini and borlotti beans.

My brain has gone to spaghetti more times this year than I care to admit. And by “gone to spaghetti” I mean we’ve ended up making pasta for dinner far more regularly than our previous, semi-regular “pasta Tuesday.” And that is OK. We will survive. I wouldn’t say this year has been exactly “normal” so switching my previous mindset is the least of my current worries. And who doesn’t love a bowl of warm, scrumptious pasta? No one.

This particular pasta night led us to create a meatless meal that was based almost entirely on pantry ingredients. We used a box of capellini, a jar of beans, a large can of tomatoes, a container of frozen peas, shaved parmesan, fresh basil from the balcony, and a splash of milk (to make the sauce just the tiniest bit creamy). See? The majority of those items are ones we keep around almost all of the time and you probably should too.

A delicious bowl of spaghetti (capellini in this case) is easy to prepare as long as you keep the staples in your kitchen. This whole quarantine thing has really taught me the value of “stocking up” so we are rarely without the bare minimum to make an easy, but really delicious dinner - without needing to run to the grocery store for a “last-minute” ingredient.

For the record, you could use chickpeas instead of the beans if that works better for you. It’s also entirely reasonable to use a different veggie than frozen peas. It’s acceptable even! You do you and make your pasta the way you want. I won’t budge on the parmesan though; that’s a non-negotiable. ;)

Summer Squash and Kale Risotto

Recipe is loosely based on one in the cookbook Weeknight Gluten Free by Kristine Kidd. We used veggies instead of including meat.

After the holiday weekend and many grilled meats, it was time for something fresh. Well, we made more Italian food. But it had fresh veggies! I’m calling it semi-healthy and that’s that. A great risotto is a forever-favorite food, as I’ve mentioned before, so whenever we have it I basically am left drooling for days afterward.

Our Sunday night dinner was made using local summer squash and a bunch of kale, because we need to get those greens in every chance we get. I’m all about balance with my eating habits so getting greens into every dinner is important. I knew we had sorbet in the freezer for dessert. ;)

The best part of risotto is how hearty it looks, how velvety it tastes, and how home-y it feels. My mom made risotto often when I was growing up and it still, to this very day, makes me think of home upon my first bite. Food and family; the best words that always go together.

Last thought - the leftovers from this dish were incredible. I had definitely left two portions in the container and then proceeded to eat both in one sitting. Oops! #noregrets.

Enjoy!

Mollie and Seth

PS: Guess what? Recipe Reel is arriving on the blog…very soon!