It's already summer temps here in Northern California and I was wondering
about your favorite summer recipes or food preferences. As it gets hotter,
more and more of our meats and some vegetables are grilled just to keep from
heating up the house more.

Last night it was barbeque chicken with roasted acorn squash and a pear
salad. The pear salad was excellent but nothing exciting. I peeled, cored,
and sliced two very ripe pears, sprinkled them with crumbled blue cheese and
some honey toffee walnuts I ground a bit, drizzled it all with some balsamic
vinegrette and called it salad. Sometimes I add a sliced apple, sliced
strawberries, raspberries, whatever is in the fruit bowl and needs to be
used.

I made squash and zuchini with onions and cheese earlier in the week and it
became my lunches for four days. I don't get bored of that very quickly.

A bag of mixed greens with the left over chicken made into chicken salad is
probably supper tonight. It isn't written in stone but that's what is in the
fridge.

Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
heat the house up? I have gotten in the habit of baking a dozen poratoes
once a week then using them using them with dinner the first day as baked
potatoes with butter and sour cream, for potato salad later in the week, or
slicing and putting on the grill brushed with olive oil or butter alongside
whatever meat we are having.

Would love since great ideas. It has already reached high temps here and
getting around using the oven and stove this summer is going to be a big
goal.

Thanks all.

Cindi

On May 2, 11:19 am, "Cindi - HappyMamatoThree"
> wrote:

> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
> heat the house up? I have gotten in the habit of baking a dozen poratoes
> once a week then using them using them with dinner the first day as baked
> potatoes with butter and sour cream, for potato salad later in the week, or
> slicing and putting on the grill brushed with olive oil or butter alongside
> whatever meat we are having.
>
> Would love since great ideas. It has already reached high temps here and
> getting around using the oven and stove this summer is going to be a big
> goal.
>
> Thanks all.
>
> Cindi

Cindi,

Also being in CA, the grill is the go-to for summer cooking. I tend
to purchase chicken or pork when it's on sale and package into family
size servings in a ziploc with marinade and freeze them. Break them
out in the morning, grill in the evening. Boil up some pasta when I
get home from work, and throw in whatever suits the family's fancy and
goes with the marinade du jour. Throw in some frozen veggies (corn,
peas, green beans) still frozen. Add chopped grilled meat and top
with a dressing of choice. Quick easy, and usually plenty of
leftovers for lunch at work.

Some favorite combos include:

Chicken marinated in italian dressing, tri-color rotini, diced bell
pepper, onion, provolone, tomato, vinaigrette

Chicken in mojo criollo, penne, diced red pepper, green onion, corn,
jicama, tomato, cilantro, a creamy dressing or a lime garlic
vinaigrette

Pork in teriyaki, soba, shredded carrot, julienned snow peas, green
onion, diced bell pepper, chopped water chestnuts in a tariyaki sauce
or a ginger peanut sauce.

Pork in jerk seasoning, orzo, pineapple/mango, green onion, cilantro,
diced bell pepper, no dressing, or a vinaigrette using the fruit
juice.

"Cindi - HappyMamatoThree" > ha scritto nel
messaggio ...
> It's already summer temps here in Northern California and I was wondering
> about your favorite summer recipes or food preferences. As it gets hotter,
> more and more of our meats and some vegetables are grilled just to keep
> from heating up the house more.
>
> Last night it was barbeque chicken with roasted acorn squash and a pear
> salad. The pear salad was excellent but nothing exciting. I peeled, cored,
> and sliced two very ripe pears, sprinkled them with crumbled blue cheese
> and some honey toffee walnuts I ground a bit, drizzled it all with some
> balsamic vinegrette and called it salad. Sometimes I add a sliced apple,
> sliced strawberries, raspberries, whatever is in the fruit bowl and needs
> to be used.
>
> I made squash and zuchini with onions and cheese earlier in the week and
> it became my lunches for four days. I don't get bored of that very
> quickly.
>
> A bag of mixed greens with the left over chicken made into chicken salad
> is probably supper tonight. It isn't written in stone but that's what is
> in the fridge.
>
> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
> heat the house up? I have gotten in the habit of baking a dozen poratoes
> once a week then using them using them with dinner the first day as baked
> potatoes with butter and sour cream, for potato salad later in the week,
> or slicing and putting on the grill brushed with olive oil or butter
> alongside whatever meat we are having.
>
> Would love since great ideas. It has already reached high temps here and
> getting around using the oven and stove this summer is going to be a big
> goal.
>
> Thanks all.
>
> Cindi

Don't I! We don't have much air conditioning in Italy, so we cook early and
eat it cool later.

Among my favorite summer pleasures is Ligurian tomato salad. Wash and chunk
good ripe tomatoes, add minced garlic, finely sliced basil leaves, some salt
and really good olive oil. Put a clean kitchen towel over it and leave to
marinate at room temperature. Eat it with crusty bread instead of pasta or
instead of salad.

Some other summer favorites are tacchino tonnato (takes less heat than
vitello tonnato) farro (spelt) salad, white bean (canellini) salad and
tsatsiki. A special place on the list for hummus with flat bread.

I often butterfly chickens, devil them and roast quickly at high
temperature, then chill and serve cold later. Leftovers get made into a
favorite salad with Bing cherries.

On May 2, 11:19*am, "Cindi - HappyMamatoThree"
> wrote:
> It's already summer temps here in Northern California and I was wondering
> about your favorite summer recipes or food preferences.
> [snip]
> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
> heat the house up? [snip]

Foodwise, it's not real summer for us until tomatoes ripen. At some
point I'll pick a ripe tomato and have it half eaten before I get back
in the house. That's summer.

As you say, the grill is the summertime mainstay. Another thing I do
when it's going to be uncomfortably hot is cook in the morning and eat
it cold in the evening. Good things for that approach are standard
picnic fare like fried chicken and potato salad, as well as red-
cooked chicken and zaru soba cold noodles.

Oddly, we also eat a lot of spicy hot food in the summer. Not sure I
buy the theory that spicy food cools you by making you sweat, but
certain dishes seem to fit summer for us. It may be that they are
"light" as well as spicy. Things like ma po tofu.and a chicken liver
stir fry I do with curry paste. Stir fries use high heat but they're
quickly done so they don't overheat the kitchen.

All that said, the single thing we eat most often in the summer is
probably carne asada tacos. The local ethnic market sells marinated
skirt steak that grills realy fast. Set the accompaniments out on the
patio table, warm the tortillas on the grill as you go.....I think I
just decided on today's supper. -aem

In article >,
"Cindi - HappyMamatoThree" > wrote:

> It's already summer temps here in Northern California

I don't know where you live (and Northern California is big), but where
*we* live in Northern California, we lost most of our tomato plants due
to frost last week, and we've had two frost warnings this week. We are
about 10 feet above sea level, so we don't have it so bad, but within 30
miles of us are some prime vineyards, some up the mountain a piece.
There could be some big losses due to frozen grape buds.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

"Dan Abel" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Cindi - HappyMamatoThree" > wrote:
>
>> It's already summer temps here in Northern California
>
> I don't know where you live (and Northern California is big), but where
> *we* live in Northern California, we lost most of our tomato plants due
> to frost last week, and we've had two frost warnings this week. We are
> about 10 feet above sea level, so we don't have it so bad, but within 30
> miles of us are some prime vineyards, some up the mountain a piece.
> There could be some big losses due to frozen grape buds.
>

We haven't had any low drop in temps at night for several weeks. It is a
little cloudy today, so we may yet see a little more of wet stuff before the
dry season hits again. But the heat seems to have arrived unfortunately. Our
kids have been in shorts most afternoons. I hate the prospect of 100 degree
days for weeks on end but I guess I live in the wrong place to complain very
much.

We live in Modesto. Our tomato plants are thriving as is the rest of the
garden. I think we will lose a couple of pumpkin plants and one of the
cucumber seedlings is looking sickly. Our peppers and eggplants look better
already than they did at the peak of the season last year. We are still
trying to work out what works best here. Only having lived here a couple of
years we are still learning. Our apricot tree is already fruiting out and
the pomegranate is coming along.

Hard to believe it is only the first week in May and our roses are
completely flowered. They look and smell wonderful this year. It's going to
be a long summer.

Cindi

> --
> Dan Abel
> Petaluma, California USA
>

Cindi - HappyMamatoThree wrote:

> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
> heat the house up?

We love what we call caprese sandwiches. Good rolls, olive oil,
summer tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella. Yum.

Other stuff we eat in the summer:

Cold grain salads (our faves are tabouli and wheatberry salad -- the
latter is in my signature dishes on the rfc site)
Lots of sandwiches
Pressure-cooked foods (chuck roast is a family fave, and it takes
less than an hour and doesn't heat up the house the way roasting would)
Big taco salads and other salads with lots of greens and a little
protein
Gazpacho

We also often, in the summer, decide to just buy a bunch of good
meat, cheese, fruit, olives, whatever, and have what we call a
"little feast" -- pics at
http://pics.livejournal.com/serenejo...llery/0000pch4

Serene

Serene wrote:
> Cindi - HappyMamatoThree wrote:
>
>> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
>> heat the house up?
>
> We love what we call caprese sandwiches. Good rolls, olive oil,
> summer tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella. Yum.

Pic at http://pics.livejournal.com/serenejo...ic/0001chgf/g5

Serene

Giusi wrote:

> Among my favorite summer pleasures is Ligurian tomato salad. Wash and chunk
> good ripe tomatoes, add minced garlic, finely sliced basil leaves, some salt
> and really good olive oil. Put a clean kitchen towel over it and leave to
> marinate at room temperature. Eat it with crusty bread instead of pasta or
> instead of salad.

My mother and I do that every summer, but we never knew it had a
name. :-)

Serene

"Jason Tinling" > wrote in message
...
> On May 2, 11:19 am, "Cindi - HappyMamatoThree"
> > wrote:
>
>> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and
>> not
>> heat the house up? I have gotten in the habit of baking a dozen poratoes
>> once a week then using them using them with dinner the first day as baked
>> potatoes with butter and sour cream, for potato salad later in the week,
>> or
>> slicing and putting on the grill brushed with olive oil or butter
>> alongside
>> whatever meat we are having.
>>
>> Would love since great ideas. It has already reached high temps here and
>> getting around using the oven and stove this summer is going to be a big
>> goal.
>>
>> Thanks all.
>>
>> Cindi
>
> Cindi,
>
> Also being in CA, the grill is the go-to for summer cooking. I tend
> to purchase chicken or pork when it's on sale and package into family
> size servings in a ziploc with marinade and freeze them. Break them
> out in the morning, grill in the evening. Boil up some pasta when I
> get home from work, and throw in whatever suits the family's fancy and
> goes with the marinade du jour. Throw in some frozen veggies (corn,
> peas, green beans) still frozen. Add chopped grilled meat and top
> with a dressing of choice. Quick easy, and usually plenty of
> leftovers for lunch at work.
>
> Some favorite combos include:
>
> Chicken marinated in italian dressing, tri-color rotini, diced bell
> pepper, onion, provolone, tomato, vinaigrette
>
> Chicken in mojo criollo, penne, diced red pepper, green onion, corn,
> jicama, tomato, cilantro, a creamy dressing or a lime garlic
> vinaigrette
>
> Pork in teriyaki, soba, shredded carrot, julienned snow peas, green
> onion, diced bell pepper, chopped water chestnuts in a tariyaki sauce
> or a ginger peanut sauce.
>
> Pork in jerk seasoning, orzo, pineapple/mango, green onion, cilantro,
> diced bell pepper, no dressing, or a vinaigrette using the fruit
> juice.
>

All sound really good. Saved them for ideas as I plan my grocery shopping
list this week, and as our summer visit with 4 of hubby's family approaches.
With five extra people arriving for over two weeks simpler meals and plan
ahead dinners are high on my planning list. I don't work outside the home so
all of these are very doable wven when the extra family isn't here.
Leftovers for a lunch the next day, or a replay in a little different way
for a second dinner are one of the ways we save on the crush of the heat.
Thanks for the suggestions.

Cindi

>>snippage<<
> Don't I! We don't have much air conditioning in Italy, so we cook early
> and eat it cool later.
>
> Among my favorite summer pleasures is Ligurian tomato salad. Wash and
> chunk good ripe tomatoes, add minced garlic, finely sliced basil leaves,
> some salt and really good olive oil. Put a clean kitchen towel over it
> and leave to marinate at room temperature. Eat it with crusty bread
> instead of pasta or instead of salad.
>

Sounds very good. Since the hubby and the children think it isn't a meal
without meat, perhaps a grilled chicken breast sliced would be an okay
addition. If I grilled several extra at the first of the week they could be
served cool and no heat needed.

> Some other summer favorites are tacchino tonnato (takes less heat than
> vitello tonnato) farro (spelt) salad, white bean (canellini) salad and
> tsatsiki. A special place on the list for hummus with flat bread.
>

Hummus is a favorite since I make my own lavash which hubby can to love
while in the middle east. I really do forget it though. Hummus ingredients
are always in my pantry so there is very little extra work involved. I need
to put it high on my list. I will have to look up the details on the other
items you mentioned. I am a relatively old Southern cooking girl, but am
teaching the family (slowly mind you) to broaden their interest. Summer cool
ideas are so very welcome. Finding different meats that I can prepare
several meals worth makes good sense.

> I often butterfly chickens, devil them and roast quickly at high
> temperature, then chill and serve cold later. Leftovers get made into a
> favorite salad with Bing cherries.

I need to concentrate of the preplanning, premenu writing, and better
changing to a summer dinner menu. I appreciate the help. Bing cherries are
pretty abundant here in the summer as are grapes. Thank you for the
suggestions.

Cindi

>
>

"aem" > wrote in message
...
On May 2, 11:19 am, "Cindi - HappyMamatoThree"
> wrote:
> It's already summer temps here in Northern California and I was wondering
> about your favorite summer recipes or food preferences.
> [snip]
> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
> heat the house up? [snip]

>Foodwise, it's not real summer for us until tomatoes ripen. At some
>point I'll pick a ripe tomato and have it half eaten before I get back
>in the house. That's summer.

Hubby was checking our tomato plants this afternoon and they are all covered
in blooms. We have five types in the garden so that we have some choice and
so I have the chance for pickled green tomatoes. Though I will probably just
by those at the produce stand and let our tomatoes feed our summer tomato
habit.

My grandfather used to bring fresh tomatos from the garden before breakfast,
slice them warm the sprinkle them with sugar. There is nothing like that
flavor, I hope there will be a good supply to eat tomatos both for breakfast
and during the day too.

>As you say, the grill is the summertime mainstay. Another thing I do
>when it's going to be uncomfortably hot is cook in the morning and eat
>it cold in the evening. Good things for that approach are standard
>picnic fare like fried chicken and potato salad, as well as red-
>cooked chicken and zaru soba cold noodles.

I have not gifted in the fried chicken thing. I love it and no one can make
it like my Mama and since I can't achieve her standard I don't try often. I
need to add baking biscuits early in the day so we can tomato biscuits with
salt and pepper cold.

>Oddly, we also eat a lot of spicy hot food in the summer. Not sure I
>buy the theory that spicy food cools you by making you sweat, but
>certain dishes seem to fit summer for us. It may be that they are
>"light" as well as spicy. Things like ma po tofu.and a chicken liver
>stir fry I do with curry paste. Stir fries use high heat but they're
>quickly done so they don't overheat the kitchen.

We are not typical spicy food eaters more in the summer than in the winter.
But Chinese/Japanese etcetera meal ideas are good suggestions. I have never
made curry but so many rave about it I need to give it a try.

>All that said, the single thing we eat most often in the summer is
>probably carne asada tacos. The local ethnic market sells marinated
>skirt steak that grills realy fast. Set the accompaniments out on the
>patio table, warm the tortillas on the grill as you go.....I think I
>just decided on today's supper. -aem

Tacos are an excellent idea. I can fry up enough ground beef or ground
chicken and freeze it for use later. I have never really looked for ethnic
grocery stores that are convenient to our house. I need to look harder. Our
grocery stores usually have thin sliced steak ready for carne asado. It
isn't usually premarinated. That would be easy for me to do ahead of time.
Great ideas.

Cindi

"Serene" > wrote in message
...
> Cindi - HappyMamatoThree wrote:
>
>> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and
>> not heat the house up?
>
> We love what we call caprese sandwiches. Good rolls, olive oil, summer
> tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella. Yum.

That sounds like especially a good idea for lunches for me. I needed to
plant basil for summer time but I just realize it got forgotten. Bubba (my 8
year old and NOT his real name. I am a Southerner but none of my children
_______Joe or _____Bob. Bubba is just a nickname.) We have a Greek Market
close by where I buy feta and mozzarella plus a variety of olives.

>
> Other stuff we eat in the summer:
>
> Cold grain salads (our faves are tabouli and wheatberry salad -- the
> latter is in my signature dishes on the rfc site)
> Lots of sandwiches
> Pressure-cooked foods (chuck roast is a family fave, and it takes less
> than an hour and doesn't heat up the house the way roasting would)
> Big taco salads and other salads with lots of greens and a little protein
> Gazpacho

Grain salads aren't something I have tried on my family but with the heat
already setting in I will try them soon. I don't have a pressure cooker. It
was used a lot when I was growing up, but I just haven't bought one. Need to
think about that this summer too.

>
> We also often, in the summer, decide to just buy a bunch of good meat,
> cheese, fruit, olives, whatever, and have what we call a "little feast" --
> pics at http://pics.livejournal.com/serenejo...llery/0000pch4

That sounds and looks most appetizing. I love so many different cheeses and
hubby has begun to appreciate them, so this seems like the perfect way to
have variety, no cooking, and nothing has to be purchased specifically for
that meal. I can choose what looks good or sounds good at the moment. Thank
you. And the pictures look so good I want to have the ingredients for this
meal whenever the mood hits me.

I appreciate the idaes very much.

Cindi

>
> Serene

On May 2, 1:19 pm, "Cindi - HappyMamatoThree"
> wrote:
> It's already summer temps here in Northern California and I was wondering
> about your favorite summer recipes or food preferences. As it gets hotter,
> more and more of our meats and some vegetables are grilled just to keep from
> heating up the house more.
>

In the South summer outdoor grilling is highly over-rated. At 7:00PM
it's still over ninety with pudding-like humidity. I don't mind
flipping a burger or two while greasing the axles on my double-wide
but if I'm having Madonna over for dinner I don't want to look like a
sweathog. Thanks for the summer ideas which I'll try indoors.

"Cindi - HappyMamatoThree" > wrote in message
...
> It's already summer temps here in Northern California and I was wondering
> about your favorite summer recipes or food preferences. As it gets hotter,
> more and more of our meats and some vegetables are grilled just to keep
> from heating up the house more.
>
> Last night it was barbeque chicken with roasted acorn squash and a pear
> salad. The pear salad was excellent but nothing exciting. I peeled, cored,
> and sliced two very ripe pears, sprinkled them with crumbled blue cheese
> and some honey toffee walnuts I ground a bit, drizzled it all with some
> balsamic vinegrette and called it salad. Sometimes I add a sliced apple,
> sliced strawberries, raspberries, whatever is in the fruit bowl and needs
> to be used.
>
> I made squash and zuchini with onions and cheese earlier in the week and
> it became my lunches for four days. I don't get bored of that very
> quickly.
>
> A bag of mixed greens with the left over chicken made into chicken salad
> is probably supper tonight. It isn't written in stone but that's what is
> in the fridge.
>
> Anyone else have some summertime standbys that can be fixed easily and not
> heat the house up? I have gotten in the habit of baking a dozen poratoes
> once a week then using them using them with dinner the first day as baked
> potatoes with butter and sour cream, for potato salad later in the week,
> or slicing and putting on the grill brushed with olive oil or butter
> alongside whatever meat we are having.
>
> Would love since great ideas. It has already reached high temps here and
> getting around using the oven and stove this summer is going to be a big
> goal.

It's summer here in MD, too. We've been grilling quite a bit lately.

I love to marinate chicken, pork, and beef in citrus (lemon and/or lime),
oil, garlic, and seasonings. Another favorite simple marinade is pureed
chipotles in adobo sauce (this is very good using pork). I also like to
stuff portabellos and grill (one of my favorite stuffings is sauteed onion,
garlic, spinach, bacon, and feta). And a favorite no-cook dinner for us is
to dice and seed a humongous amount of plump tomatoes and put in a bowl with
lots of chopped fresh basil, capers, and s/p, and serve atop hot angel hair
pasta (with some good Italian bread and a nice salad alongside).

Mary

This is a great salad called Farmer's Chop Suey:

The base is as much cottage cheese as you like and a couple of dollops
of sour cream. Add any and as much crunchy veggies as you like,
chopped: carrotts, cucs, radishes, celery, peppers, etc. I have tried
broccoli and cauliflower but don't like those. Season with salt and
pepper and chill. Delicious!
A good weekend to you,
Ellie

"Cindi - HappyMamatoThree" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Serene" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> We also often, in the summer, decide to just buy a bunch of good meat,
>> cheese, fruit, olives, whatever, and have what we call a "little
>> feast" -- pics at
>> http://pics.livejournal.com/serenejo...llery/0000pch4
>
> That sounds and looks most appetizing. I love so many different cheeses
> and hubby has begun to appreciate them, so this seems like the perfect way
> to have variety, no cooking, and nothing has to be purchased specifically
> for that meal. I can choose what looks good or sounds good at the moment.
> Thank you. And the pictures look so good I want to have the ingredients
> for this meal whenever the mood hits me.
>
> I appreciate the idaes very much.
>
> Cindi

We've started to do this type of thing for dinner once a week or so. My
5-year-old calls it a "feast" and always looks forward to it. I typically
set out a variety of cheeses, salami, olives, pickled/marinated veggies,
decent bread (ciabatta, etc.), tomato salad, fruit, and sometimes shrimp
cocktail and/or hummus and pita. Casual and low-key.

Mary

"MareCat" > wrote in message
...
> "Cindi - HappyMamatoThree" > wrote in
> message ...
>>
>> "Serene" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> We also often, in the summer, decide to just buy a bunch of good meat,
>>> cheese, fruit, olives, whatever, and have what we call a "little
>>> feast" -- pics at
>>> http://pics.livejournal.com/serenejo...llery/0000pch4
>>
>> That sounds and looks most appetizing. I love so many different cheeses
>> and hubby has begun to appreciate them, so this seems like the perfect
>> way to have variety, no cooking, and nothing has to be purchased
>> specifically for that meal. I can choose what looks good or sounds good
>> at the moment. Thank you. And the pictures look so good I want to have
>> the ingredients for this meal whenever the mood hits me.
>>
>> I appreciate the idaes very much.
>>
>> Cindi
>
> We've started to do this type of thing for dinner once a week or so. My
> 5-year-old calls it a "feast" and always looks forward to it. I typically
> set out a variety of cheeses, salami, olives, pickled/marinated veggies,
> decent bread (ciabatta, etc.), tomato salad, fruit, and sometimes shrimp
> cocktail and/or hummus and pita. Casual and low-key.
>
> Mary

Casual is sort of a standard around here and this is definately going on the
menu. With our house holding 9 people during my inlaws visit, this seems
like a workable option. Thank you

Cindi

> I love to marinate chicken, pork, and beef in citrus (lemon and/or lime),
> oil, garlic, and seasonings. Another favorite simple marinade is pureed
> chipotles in adobo sauce (this is very good using pork). I also like to
> stuff portabellos and grill (one of my favorite stuffings is sauteed
> onion, garlic, spinach, bacon, and feta). And a favorite no-cook dinner
> for us is to dice and seed a humongous amount of plump tomatoes and put in
> a bowl with lots of chopped fresh basil, capers, and s/p, and serve atop
> hot angel hair pasta (with some good Italian bread and a nice salad
> alongside).

The stuffed portabellos sound especially good. Thank you for the marinade
ideas too.

Cindi

>
> Mary
>

> wrote in message
...
>
> This is a great salad called Farmer's Chop Suey:
>
> The base is as much cottage cheese as you like and a couple of dollops
> of sour cream. Add any and as much crunchy veggies as you like,
> chopped: carrotts, cucs, radishes, celery, peppers, etc. I have tried
> broccoli and cauliflower but don't like those. Season with salt and
> pepper and chill. Delicious!
> A good weekend to you,
> Ellie
>

I always have cottage cheese and sour cream in the fridge, and typically a
pretty good assortment of fresh veggies. If you're going for crispy
cauliflower and broccoli might be too "soft" I wonder if mushrooms would
work? I love them but wonder if their decided not crispiness would clash. I
will have to try this.

Cindi