This year, as the wealth of tomatoes, zucchini, and corn starts to pour in, I am falling back on some of my tried and true favorites, including zucchini fritters with a raw tomato summer sauce, and adding some new ones to the lineup, including a zucchini bread with cardamom and ginger, served with a lemon blueberry basil sauce.

I also gathered some tips, tricks, and recipes from friends, and those are offered here as well. If you have one you’d like to share with your fellow readers, write to me at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com.

Zucchini Fritters with Raw Tomato Summer Sauce

Pem McNerney

Ingredients

Fritters

Zucchini

1 or 2 eggs

1 or 2 garlic cloves

Cheese, either grated, or cut into very fine dice

Panko bread crumbs

A chunk of parm, salt and pepper to finish

For the Sauce

Three to four large tomatoes

About a half cup to a cup of fresh basil

1 or 2 garlic cloves, sliced

A teaspoon to tablespoon of sugar

• A note on ingredients: the amount of each ingredient will depend in large part on how many zucchini you have, how watery they are, and the kind and amount of cheese you decide to use. Start with however much zucchini you want to use, wring it out, and adjust the amounts of the other ingredients accordingly.

• A note on the cheese: both Parmesan and feta work well, as does a combination of the two, but make sure it is high quality Parmesan and feta. A visit to the local cheesemonger is a good idea. If you are grating it yourself, use the side of the box grater with the medium holes. You do not want to grate it too finely. Do not use the yellow dust that tries in vain to pass for Parmesan on the shelves of the supermarket for this recipe, or at all, for that matter.

Directions

1. Grate the zucchini in a food processor or with a box grater, using the side that has medium-sized holes. After all of the zucchini is grated, place it in a clean tea towel, and wring it out over your sink. Get as much moisture out as you can. If you have the time and inclination, spread it out on a sheet pan and blitz it under the broiler until is caramelized, which will add flavor and further dry it out, but that’s optional.

2. Place the zucchini in a large bowl and add one or two eggs. Grate in one or two cloves of garlic. Mix it all together and add the kind and amount of cheese you desire, making sure the cheese is grated or cut into a small dice (like teeny tiny cubes). Mix well.

3. Add in panko bread crumbs just until it starts to come together easily, so that you can shape it into small patties. Just eyeball it and keep testing it to see if it holds together when you take a pinch in your fingers to test it. The amount of panko used will depend on the zucchini and other ingredients. You don’t want the mixture to be too dry; err on the side of a wet mixture that just holds together when you pinch it together.

4. Shape the zucchini mixture into small flat fritters, using about one to two tablespoons of the mixture for each fritter.

5. Fry the fritters in a pan with a small bit of grapeseed oil or another neutral oil with a comparable smoke point. You can use olive oil, but watch it carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. You also can bake them, spritzing them first with a small bit of olive oil on top. This year I used my new toaster oven/air fryer on the air fryer setting, and it worked out great. I only had to use a small bit of oil; they cooked up quickly, and the tops were nicely browned. If you have that option, I recommend it. Fry or bake until cooked through and nicely browned.

6. If you have a good quality parm, grate a bit over the top of the fritters just when they come out of the oven, and finish with salt and pepper.

7. For the sauce, put all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and pulse until you get a chunky mixture. If you’re sensitive to raw garlic or find it overpowering, you can just skip it. Taste the sauce and if it’s too sharp, you can add about a scant teaspoon to a tablespoon of sugar to sweeten it up.

Serve fritters over a bed of sauce. Good warm, room temperature, or even as a snack right out of the fridge.

Cardamom Ginger Zucchini Bread with Lemon Blueberry Basil Sauce

Adapted from a recipe by Lena Sareini

in Bon Appetit June/July 2021

To check out the original recipe by nationally renowned pastry chef Lena Sareini, which is well worth reading, visit the Bon Appetit website and search for “Streusel, Spice & Everything Nice.” Sareini’s original recipe called for turmeric in the streusel topping. While it was a cool idea and some of my friends really liked it, for my personal tastes, the turmeric was a bit overpowering. I just think turmeric rarely plays well with others and prefers to always be the star of the show. I omitted it in my second batch.

I also upped the amount of vanilla extract. Sareini’s tip about adding the vanilla extract to the zucchini, which essentially transforms the zucchini by infusing it with all of that vanilla goodness, is a bit of brilliance. When I make it again, I might experiment with lemon extract instead, and maybe try a lemon glaze on top instead of the streusel.

And I opted for four small loaf pans, 6 x 3.5 x 2, instead of one 9 x 5 loaf pan, as specified in the original recipe. The mini loaves cook more quickly, and I can give it away to more people when I make more loaves.

I also have simplified the steps to make it, but there is definitely merit to reading the original instructions, as they are very detailed and useful.

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

2 to 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

¼ cup old-fashioned oats

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground turmeric (optional, don’t say I didn’t warn you)

¼ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of kosher salt

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Whisk dry ingredients together, drizzle butter over, and mix thoroughly until butter is absorbed.

Breads

Nonstick vegetable oil spray, or oil with a paper towel to prep bread pans

About 1 pound of zucchini (about 2 ½ medium zucchini), trimmed, grated, and water pressed out

1 to 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

Zest of one lemon

3 large eggs

¾ cup grapeseed oil

1 ¾ to 2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

2 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Lemon Blueberry Basil Sauce

2 quarts blueberries

1 to 2 teaspoon sugar

juice and zest from one lemon,

½ cup to a cup of basil, finely chopped

Put one quart of blueberries in saucepan, add a bit of water and the sugar. Cook over medium low heat until mixture is syrupy, about 20 minutes or so. Turn heat off, add lemon juice and lemon zest, basil, and remaining quart of blueberries and let it sit on burner as it cools.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat loaf pans with vegetable oil.

Put prepared zucchini into a bowl and mix in vanilla extract. Mix sugar with lemon zest and add that to the bowl. Add eggs and mix to combine.

2. Make a well in the center of the zucchini mixture, and add in 1 ¾ cups of flour, the cardamom, ginger, baking powder, and salt. Working carefully, whisk the dry ingredients together, and then mix all of the ingredients together making sure everything is mixed well. If mixture seems too soupy, add a bit more flour until it just comes together.

3. Pour mixture, dividing it equally, into the four mini loaf pans.

4. Scatter streusel on top.

5. If using four mini-loaf pans, bake for about 45 minutes or until the interior is about 200 degrees as measured by an insta-thermometer. If using one large loaf pan, bake for about an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters. Transfer to a wire rack and cool before serving. Serve with lemon blueberry basil sauce, and a sprig of basil.

Kale and White Bean Soup

From Kelly and Kingsley Goddard

Barberry Hill Farm

Ingredients

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bruschetta

6 to 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, plus 1 or 2 more whole cloves

2 teaspoons dried or fresh oregano

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 quarts chicken stock, water, or a combination

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch kale, large ribs removed, chopped

1 baguette

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add garlic and oregano and cook no more than a minute. Add tomato paste and vinegar, and cook another minute.

Add beans and stock and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add kale and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. Season to tast, again with salt and pepper before serving.

2. Slice baguette on a heavy angle to create long slices. Toast in a toaster or in the conventional oven. Rub once or twice with half a garlic clove. Season a shallow plate of extra-virgin olive oil with salt and dip each side of bread into the oil. Serve as an accompaniment to the soup.

Tomato Tips and Ricotta Spoonable

Dorie Greenspan

In a recent column, award-winning cookbook author Dorie Greenspan, who has a home on the shoreline and has another cookbook (Baking with Dorie) coming out this fall, provided several tips and tricks to make the most of the summer’s tomato harvest.

She recommends using a serrated knife to get perfect tomato rounds. Don’t salt them too early, because the salt will draw out their juices. If you’re using the tomatoes in a salad, dress it at the very last minute since the vinegar in the dressing will pull juice from the tomatoes and soften them up. She says tomatoes and basil and tomatoes with oregano are two common pairings, but she also recommends trying them with tarragon, chervil, and chives.

And, yes, mozzarella and tomatoes go great together, but she also recommends serving tomatoes with her recipe for this spoonable ricotta dip, from her cookbook, Everyday Dorie. Visit doriegreenspan.com/recipe/ricotta-spoonable-from-everyday-dorie for additional details about this recipe and a website that will provide you with many more great recipes.

Ricotta Spoonable

By Dorie Greenspan from Everyday Dorie

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups (492 grams) whole-milk ricotta, drained if there’s liquid

1 large lemon, or more to taste

3 tablespoons minced shallots, rinsed and patted dry

2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

About ½ teaspoon fleur de sel or ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

⅓ cup (13 grams) minced mixed fresh herbs, such as dill, parsley, tarragon, thyme, cilantro, and/or basil

Directions

Put the ricotta in a medium bowl. Finely grate the zest of the lemon over it, then halve and squeeze the lemon and blend in the juice. Stir in the shallots, scallions, olive oil, salt, and a healthy pinch of pepper. Taste for salt and pepper, then stir in the herbs. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before adjusting for salt, pepper, and lemon juice and serving.

The spoonable is best the day it is made, but you can keep it for up to 2 days tightly covered in the refrigerator. Stir well before using.

Grandfather’s Gazpacho

From Alex Province of Madison: “Here’s my grandfather’s Andalusian Gazpacho recipe to use up all those delicious tomatoes ripening in the garden!”

Ingredients

1 clove garlic

1 peeled and chopped cucumber

1 chopped green pepper

3 to 4 tomatoes

2 teaspoons sea salt

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup ice cubes

Directions

In a blender, mince the garlic followed by the cucumber and green pepper. Pulse. Pulse.

Add the quartered tomatoes and pulse. Then add salt and vinegar. Pulse. Pulse.

Now, with the blender running, carefully stream in the olive oil (through the little opening); the color will change from reddish/pink to a beautiful creamy coral color as the oil emulsifies. Let it go about a minute.

Finally with the blender stopped, add the handful of ice and again...pulse, pulse.

Serve chilled!

Makes about 4-6 servings.

“My mom calls it “liquid health”—each cup is about 150 calories and full of vitamins, minerals, and good fat, perfect after working in the yard on a hot summer day, or put it in a thermos and bring down to the beach.

Enjoy!” says Province.

Fresh Corn Salad

Recommended by Liz Morrison Dickinson of Madison

Dickinson says this is an Ina Garten recipe that is simple to make and just divine when you use fresh local corn. It calls for about five ingredients plus salt and pepper.

To read the original recipe, visit /www.foodnetwork.com/recipes.

Ingredients

5 ears of corn, shucked

½ cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 tablespoons good olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup julienned fresh basil leaves

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

Grilled Sea Scallops Corn Salad

From Food and Wine magazine

Recommended by Liz Bartek of Deep River, who works in Madison

“This is my go-to corn salad recipe,” says Bartek. “However, I do NOT cook the corn. Summer/native corn is so delicious there is no need to cook it! Scallops optional.”

Read the original recipe by visiting www.foodandwine.com.

Ingredients

6 ears of corn, shucked

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

3 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

⅓ cup basil leaves, finely shredded

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small shallot, minced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons hot water

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons safflower oil

1 ½ pounds sea scallops (about 30)

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool.

Stand the corn in a large bowl and slice off the kernels.

Add the tomatoes, scallions, and basil and season with salt and pepper.

In a blender, purée the shallot with the vinegar, hot water, and mustard. With the blender on, slowly add 6 tablespoons of the safflower oil until combined. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper, then toss with the corn salad.

In a large bowl, toss the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil with the scallops; season with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan. Add half of the scallops at a time to the pan and grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned, about 4 minutes per batch.

Mound the corn salad on plates, top with the scallops and serve.

Fresh Tomato Tart

From Kim Butler Yahara of Madison

serves 4

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2-3 ripe large tomatoes sliced into 1/4 inch slices

½ cup grated or shredded Asiago cheese, or your favorite cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and on a parchment paper lined sheet pan place thawed puff pastry sheet. Along the edges of the pastry sheet, fold 1 inch of dough up and onto itself to create a raised edge around the sheet.

Bake the dough for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and with a fork press down on the inside of tart dough so the center falls; let cool. Once dough is cooled, spread Dijon mustard over the bottom of the inside of the tart.

Next arrange tomato slices evenly over the bottom, then sprinkle oregano, parsley, and basil evenly over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the top and add Asiago cheese over the whole tart. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until dark golden brown. Carefully with spatulas move to a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

Cowboy Caviar

From Kathy Mannix DeBurra of Madison

“Mix black beans, black-eyed peas, uncooked corn cut off of the cob, finely diced garlic, red onion, diced red and green peppers, olive oil and vinegar, a sprinkle of sugar, and fresh parsley. Delicious!”