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summer recipes

Mexican Street Corn Soup

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Adapted from the recipe by Amanda Biddle at stripedspatula.com

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 8 ears of corn*, shucked and kernels cut from the cobs (save 6 cobs for simmering)
  • 1 yellow onion*, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon of ancho chili powder (you can add more or less depending on how spicy you like it also paprika and cumin work in a pinch)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2 large garlic cloves*, chopped
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup grated dry/aged Cotija cheese (can sub parmesan or romano*)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro*, divided

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large nonstick pot. Add corn kernels, chopped onion, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until onions are soft and corn is lightly charred in spots; this should be about 8-10 minutes.
  2. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Remove 1-1/2 cups of corn mixture from the pot and set aside in a small bowl. Stir broth and add 6 stripped corn cobs into the pot, scraping the brown bits on the bottom. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Using tongs, remove the corn cobs from the bowl and discard.
  4. Add the sour cream and cheese. After stirring it together, transfer the soup to a blender (you may have to do this in multiple batches) and blend until smooth.
  5. Transfer soup back into the pot, reheating it to your desired temperature. Stir in half the reserved corn, lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of cilantro. You can now season the soup with salt, pepper, and chili powder (or if subbing, your cumin and paprika).
  6. In the small bowl, toss the remaining corn with lime zest and cilantro. Serve the soup, topped with extra cheese and corn mixture (I like to add sour cream as well!).

Soup: The Trick to Beating the Summer Heat

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By Stephanie Duscher

 

With the recent heat we have patiently been enduring, the last thing most people want to eat is hot food like soup. However, aside from being able to cook with all the delicious in-season fruits and veggies this season has to offer, enjoying a hot, spicy soup, like Mexican street corn soup, offers many practical health benefits. 

According to research, eating hot foods like soup in warm weather can benefit your body by cooling you even more than cold foods. Interesting, right? Eating hot food increases your body’s internal temperature, which causes you to sweat more. When your sweat naturally evaporates, your body becomes cooler than before. This effect is even more noticeable when eating a spicy soup, as spicy foods like peppers can cause you to sweat, making your body cooler. 

For this reason, hot soups like Mexican street corn soup are perfect for the heat. Not only is it super tasty, but you can enhance its flavor by using fresh, locally grown ingredients like peppers, cilantro, garlic, and onions from the farmers’ market. 

For this soup, the real spotlight is on fresh corn, and Gomez Veggie Ville has a plentiful supply this season. Their farming practices ensure that their corn is sweet and grown without using GMOs or harmful chemicals. So, whether you make street corn soup or use it in other seasonal dishes like grilled corn on the cob or a fresh summer salad, you’ll know that your food is grown with care and comes from a good place. 

Is corn not your thing? Plenty of other delicious in-season fruits and veggies are perfect for soup-making. Grab some soup supplies at the farmers’ market on Wednesdays or Saturdays. The market has plenty of watermelons, eggplants, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and many more summertime favorites. 

Don’t limit yourself to Mexican street corn soup either! The possibilities for soup-making are endless. Summer vegetable soup, zucchini soup, and even a creamy broccoli soup can be refreshing in the summer heat. Go ahead and raise your body temperature. Ultimately, it will cool you off!

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at High Rock Park in downtown Saratoga Springs. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Panzanella Salad

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Adapted from the Easy Panzanella Salad recipe by Holly Nilsson

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients 

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • 6 cups crusty bread*, torn into pieces
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound fresh tomatoes*
  • ¼ red onion* thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh herbs basil*, oregano*, and parsley*
  • 1 cup cheese curds*
  • 1 cup cucumbers*, sliced
  • ½ cup kalamata olives pitted

For the dressing:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
  • salt & pepper

Instructions 

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Place bread in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.
  3. Bake until lightly browned and dried, 10-12 minutes. Cool.
  4. Whisk together ¼ cup of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  5. Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl and drizzle with dressing.
  6. Gently toss and let sit 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.
  7. Top with herbs and fresh pepper. Serve.

Roasted Rainbow Vegetable Orzo

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Adapted from the recipe by Erica Baty

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes 6 servings 

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

For the vegetables:

  • 1/2 large red onion*, diced
  • 1 zucchini*, diced
  • 1 yellow squash*, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 orange bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

For the dressing:

  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley*, finely chopped

To assemble the dish:

  • ½ lb orzo
  • 1 cup fresh basil*, finely chopped
  • 4 scallions*, sliced
  • 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 8oz block feta or goat cheese*, cubed

Instructions

Roasted vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning and toss to coat. Roast vegetables for 25 minutes until crispy and golden brown around the edges.

 

To make the dressing: Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

To assemble the dish: Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet for 2-3 minutes, careful not to burn! Cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot. Toss with several tablespoons of the dressing immediately with the hot pasta. Add the roasted vegetables, fresh herbs, chunks of feta or goat cheese, and the rest of the dressing. Toss gently to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Notes

*Make it gluten-free: use gluten free orzo or other GF pasta

**Make it dairy free: omit the feta

Cooking fresh and flavorful summer meals

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By Julia Howard

Wednesday Market, photo by Pattie Garrett

At home, when the weather gets hot, we often turn to cool meals and eat al fresco outside on the patio. It’s time for hearty summer salads, refreshing chilled soups, cold drinks and smoothies, and grilling flavorful fish, seafood, meat, and poultry.

Summer eating becomes a way to connect with our immediate environment and the seasons – a ritual that we savor in Upstate New York. For inspiration, Diane Whitten, Food and Nutrition Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Saratoga County, reminds us that fresh food is the best food. “In the summer, it’s so much easier to eat healthy with fresh produce,” says Whitten. “At the farmers’ market, the produce is so fresh and flavorful that it calls out to you. You can’t get it any fresher,” she adds.

Produce sold at the farmers’ market is harvested sometimes within hours of being placed on market tables and sold to customers. “Because it’s so fresh, fruits, vegetables, and herbs are flavorful on their own with little added ingredients,” explains Whitten.

In following the farmers’ market tradition of eating fresh, Diane Whitten shares three of her favorite in-season summer recipes: chilled cucumber soup, green peanut butter and banana smoothie, and sesame snow peas. These recipes feature in-season ingredients available at this week’s markets.