Summer is all about the salads; quick, cool, and delicious.  One of my favorite salads is a Tabbouleh salad.  It has a very clean flavor full of citrus and herbs.  It is also a very healthy salad dressed with only lemon juice and olive oil.  

I was craving tabbouleh the other day but I didn't have any parsley, the main ingredient in a traditional tabbouleh salad, in the house.  I did have some broccoli and so I decided to use it instead.  The result was so delicious!  Although it didn't have the same intense herb flavor as a traditional tabbouleh, it did have a wonderful texture and light cabbage taste that only raw broccoli can give.  

This one goes into the salad rotation not only for the summer but all year round.

Ingredients:
12 oz raw broccoli florets
3 Persian or 1 English cucumber, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced 
1/4 cup fine bulgar 
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Place the raw broccoli florets in a food processor and pulse them until they are small chopped and uniform in size.  Remove and place in a bowl large enough to hold all the final ingredients.  If you don't have a food processor, you can chop the broccoli with a knife.  

Next add your diced cucumbers, tomato, red onion, and lemon zest to the broccoli mixture. 

In a measuring cup, add the bulgar, lemon juice, and olive oil and let it sit for 15 minutes.  

If you have never had bulgar, it is cracked wheat.  It comes in various sizes and is used in a lot of Middle Eastern cooking.  In Tabbouleh, the bulgar is not cooked so by using the fine grain you can soften it by adding it to the lemon juice and olive oil.  

After 15 minutes, pour the contents of the measuring cup into the bowl of broccoli and veggies, mix, taste for salt and pepper, and enjoy.  Keep in the refrigerator.  The flavor only gets better with time.  You can serve this salad cold or at room temperature.

I was recently gifted with a bag of onions from a neighbor who was going on vacation and afraid they wouldn't last until she got home.  I immediately thought about making onion jam.  After all, this is grilling season and nothing makes grilled food better than condiments.  I decided that I should try to elevate the usual onion jam that I make.  A quick look around my kitchen and I found inspiration, fresh pineapple.  The pineapple adds a bit of sweetness and screams summer!  

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium onions, diced (about 5 cups)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)​, or a seeded and chopped jalapeño would also be great to add heat
2 cups fresh pineapple, cored and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar - I use white balsamic because I like the flavor better than regular balsamic and I like that it doesn't darken the mixture.

In a sauté pan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the diced onions, salt, pepper, thyme, and red pepper flake if using, to the heated olive oil.  Cook the onion with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. 

Once soft, remove the lid, give a stir and continue to cook over medium heat until the onions begin to brown.  If they start to brown too fast, lower the heat.  If the pan gets too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water.  The onions should become golden and soft.

Now add the fresh pineapple pieces, the sugar, and the vinegar.  If you didn't have fresh pineapple, use could use canned.  Just make sure to drain the pineapple before adding it to the onion mixture.  I added the fresh pineapple at this point because I wanted it to cook and release some of its natural juice but I didn't want it to get super soft.   A light smash with a potato masher helped to release the juice but kept the pieces whole.

Continue to cook the mixture uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated and it has become thick.  

I decided to grill a pork tenderloin to go with this delicious condiment.  Simple and easy.  

• 1 pork tenderloin, silver-skin removed
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
• Salt & pepper

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Place all ingredients in a resealable bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Remove from the bag and grill the tenderloin, turning on all sides until an internal temperature of 145 degrees is reached.  Always let grilled meats rest once off the grill so the juices distribute back into the meat.  Slice, and serve.

This pineapple onion jam would also be delicious on chicken, fish, burgers, even on toasted bread with goat cheese as an appetizer.  ​

Keep jam in the refrigerator.  

I heard that Memorial Day is the official start to barbecue season.  Not sure if that is true for everyone; I barbecue even in the winter! No matter when you barbecue, this is a great alternative to regular barbecue sauce.  It works well with spare ribs and baby backs but would also work with chicken.   

Ingredients - For 2 slabs, double the recipe
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 scallions, white and pale green parts only
3/4 cup of hoisin sauce
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup vodka
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
5-10lbs. of spare ribs

In a food processor chop garlic and scallions.  Next, add hoisin, ketchup, honey, soy sauce, vodka, rice vinegar, and five-spice powder and blend together.  

Once the marinade is ready, prepare the ribs.  Turn the ribs over and see if there is a membrane covering the meat and bones.  You want to remove this.  If it is left on it will make the ribs tough and chewy.  

Take a sharp knife, I like to use a boning knife for this, and slice the membrane in the middle along all the ribs.  You can then begin to loosen and peel the membrane off.  I usually start in the middle and pull each side.  Discard this membrane.

Cut each slab into two equal portions and place them in a large plastic bag.  For two slabs you will need two bags.  Pour all but 1/2 cup of the marinade equally into the bags, seal the bags, and move the marinade around so that it is covering all the ribs. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours; overnight is best.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Place a rack on a rimmed baking pan, remove the ribs from the marinade, and place on the rack.  Fill the bottom of the baking pan with water (I used 2 cups).  You want enough water in there to steam the ribs but the ribs should not touch the water.  Cover the entire baking pan with foil and bake 2-1/2 hours.  

After 2-1/2 hours, remove from the oven and finish on the grill basing with the reserved marinade. OR If you don't want to grill them, you can remove the foil and continue to bake for 20 minutes basting with the reserved marinade.

During the winter months I tend to drink hearty red wines and whiskey cocktails like Old Fashions.  When the warm weather hits, it's time for Sangrias, Aperol Spritz and Negroni.  These drinks bring me back to warm weather and great memories of my travels to Spain and Italy.  

Sangria
Sangria is the perfect summer drink; fresh, light, sweet, and full of fruit.  I've changed up the more traditional recipes by add flavored brandy to my recipes.  I think it just gives that added push of fruit flavor that screams summer.  You can muddle the fruit in the bottom of the pitchers with a 1/4 cup of sugar before adding the rest of the ingredients to bring out the flavor faster.  I usually make these up a day before I want to serve them.  It gives the fruit time to infuse the wine without muddling.  

White Sangria Pitcher
2 bottles of Spanish white wine
1 1/2 cups of peach brandy
1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
12 oz. of ginger ale 
Light colored cut fruit: lemons, oranges, green grapes, peaches, nectarines (use all or any combination you like)

Red Sangria Pitcher
2 bottles of Spanish red wine
1 1/2 cups of blackberry brandy
1/2 cup of orange juice
12 oz. of ginger ale
Dark colored cut fruit: red grapes, cherries, nectarines, lemons, limes, oranges (use all or any combination you like)
Serve over ice.

Negroni & Spritz
The Italians believe that a Negroni or a Spritz before a meal opens the stomach and cleanses the pallet.  The slightly bittersweet and botanical flavors in the Campari and Aperol make this a clean and refreshing drink any time of the day.  

​Negroni
1-1/4 oz gin
1-1/4 oz Compari
1-1/4 oz sweet vermouth
Orange slice garnish/twist
Mix together and serve over ice.

Spritz
3 oz Prosecco
2 oz Aperol
1 oz club soda
Orange slice garnish/twist
In a glass filled with ice, add the Aperol then the Prosecco and then the soda water.  Mix to combine and garnish.  

1 small Spanish onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1lb. cooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber (I use English for less seeds), diced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1-1/2 cups chilled Clamato juice
1 cup ketchup
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)*
2 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce (I use Cholula)
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced

In a large bowl, mix the onion with the lime juice and let it sit for 10 minutes.  The lime juice will mellow the sharp onion flavor.  After 10 minutes, add the cooked shrimp, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, jalapeño, salt, pepper, and mix thoroughly.  

In a separate bowl, whisk the Clamato juice, ketchup, cilantro if using, and hot sauce.  Add this mixture to the shrimp and veggies and then fold in the avocado.  Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

The key flavor bomb to this recipe is the Clamato juice.  You can usually find it in the juice section of the grocery store.  It adds layers of flavor but don't worry, it is not fishy.  

* I love cilantro but I know some people say it tastes like soap to them.  If you don't like or use cilantro, you can add fresh oregano or parsley.  In fact, you can use those herbs in addition to the cilantro just make sure to adjust to smaller amounts for each herb.