T HOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND AWHILE may recall Food Fest, a cross-blog collaboration in 2008 that lasted all harvest season long. This year, I’ve agitated and cajoled some of my favorite food-blogging friends into creating Summer Fest, a four-week celebration of fresh-from-the-garden food: recipes, growing tips, even tricks for storing and preserving summer’s best. I think we’ve assembled a pretty diverse team to treat you to the delights of the season, but there’s one thing missing, the secret ingredient to a successful fest of any kind: your participation. Here’s how the series will work this year, and how you can join in, starting tomorrow, when we kick off the festivities with Herb Week.
HOW OUR CROSS-BLOG SUMMER FEST WORKS:
Summer Fest 2009 is a four-week, cross-blog celebration co-created (alphabetically listed) by A Way to Garden, Matt Armendariz of Mattbites, Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen, and Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple, with guest appearances from Shauna and Daniel Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl, Simmer Till Done’s Marilyn Pollack Naron, and Paige Smith Orloff of The Sister Project. And from you—that’s critical. Your contributions are desired, and needed.
THE 2009 SCHEDULE:
- Tuesday, July 28: HERBS. Any and all.
- Tuesday, August 4: FRUITS FROM TREES (also known as stone fruits, but we won’t scream if you toss in a berry or another fruit, promise).
- Tuesday, August 11: BEANS-AND-GREENS WEEK (either or both, your choice).
- Tuesday, August 18: TOMATO WEEK. How do you like them love apples?
HOW YOU CAN JOIN IN:
So now it’s your turn: Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting tomorrow, Tuesday July 28, you can contribute in various ways, big or small. It’s up to you: Contribute a whole post, a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. The possibilities:
Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.
The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.
Or think bigger: Publish entire entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2009 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt Armendariz of Mattbites).
And in case I forget what week it is, won’t somebody remind me on Twitter? Thanks. We’ll be talking it up there, too.
Get in on the fun: Come comment, link to things from your own archives or the archives of your favorite blogs, post entire recipe in comments or on your blog.
That’s how a Summer Fest works. See you tomorrow.
Oh, hooray! Can’t wait for tomorrow to come!
Whisk a great idea with some seasoned food bloggers until smooth. Spread generously on…
Put it on my calendar. Know I’ll learn a few tips and tricks. Thanks!
Welcome, Chef Gwen. I am hoping to get some new recipes from these geniuses these next few weeks, so I don’t spend another year eating my same signature dishes (all of which are fine, but even I am getting bored). :) So happy that we will see you there (and hopefully get some of your goodies, too, in the process).
The recipe for vegetable spring rolls is looks great, that will be what I am making tonight. Will look forward to more.
What a great idea! I will have to go check out all the other contributors.
I love using fresh herbs in any of my recipes although the heat here in Umbria the past month has not done our herb garden any favors. This is my first visit to your blog but I know I’ll be back to check out all the information you have as gardening in the hot summer here with limited water has been challenging!
One of my recent favorite recipes I do for entertaining that uses herbs I found in Amy Sherman’s cookbook about appetizers.
Here is my version of Goat Cheese Mini Bites at http://tinyurl.com/lz7ku5
We also have rosemary bushes that are shoulder height growing like weeds on our property so I created this recipe for Apple Cake With Rosemary Syrup to use some of the rosemary. http://tinyurl.com/kpetve
Deborah
Welcome, Deborah, all the way from Umbria! We are so glad to have you, my collaborators and I, and with recipes to share, too. Thank you so much. Two of them (White on Rice Couple and Mattbites blogs) are in dry, hot Southern California, so they know from your pain, and Jaden at Steamy Kitchen is in Florida, which is just plain HOT. Do come visit again with more great suggestions.
Oooh, great idea – I’d love to play! I’m in Canada – bit of a contrast from Florida and southern California – but I do have a ton of fresh herbs growing in the back yard. I just learned how to do fresh calamari on the grill with tomato-basil salsa http://tinyurl.com/lygt5t, and I love making pesto out of roasted broccoli and a handful of basil – http://tinyurl.com/mho9gd.
Flat-leaf Italian parsley is my favourite to grow (ie- easiest to not kill), and I love it in lentil and barley salads (if you start with dry lentils, they cook along with the barley for the same length of time, plus make an inexpensive complete protein with tons of fiber) – cool and use as a base with a ton of parsley, crumbled feta, tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette.
Welcome, Julie. The broccoli pesto is a particularly lovely idea for vegetarian me, thank you; I bet the calamari salsa would be good on other things, too. I hope to see you soon again, or at least for next week’s installment of Summer Fest.
I have more!
My favourite rosemary recipe, if I was put up against a wall and forced to pick one, is homemade rosemary-raisin pecan crisps (Raincoast Crisps, to which I am addicted): http://tinyurl.com/mab2jl
And I’ve always felt parsley needs to be an ingredient in its own right- more than just garnish. Today I loaded up a lemony new potato salad with peas: http://tinyurl.com/lfkhby
I love the whole idea of the summer fest. I came here through Jaden’s and then Matt’s and then White on Rice… :) I love herbs and this year is the first time we are trying our hand on growing our own in our little garden. We live in Holland (or the netherlands) so the climate can be a bit up and down at times. Sofar our herbs (oregano, dill, cilantro, thyme and basil) are doing great, but the basil seems to be plagued by something that eats it. I haven’t been able to see what it is, but it’s leaving small holes. Looks like some kind of mini caterpillar… Maybe you have an idea on how to solve this?
In the meantime I would like to share my dill, feta and smoked chicken quiche!
http://junglefrog-cooking.com/smoked-chicken-feta-quiche/
I love this Summer Fest idea. My wife and I grow pretty much all our own herbs and friends in our tiny backyard from Cilantro to Mint to Thai basil and a few in between, including peppers and strawberries. It’s really easy to do and just being able to go out and pick fresh herbs is great.
Here’s one of my recipes where I did just that.
http://thehealthyirishman.com/2009/07/mango-jalapeno-crabcakes-gluten-free/
Looking forward to the next few weeks.
Welcome, Simone. Hmmm…so many things can eat foliage of herbs (and other plants!). Various caterpillars and also slugs eat basil here, and whole leaves can disappear. Have you seen the pest? Best to look early morning and also look for droppings around the plant and try to ID the thing. Hard to guess otherwise. I do a lot of hand-picking of pests, I have to say, because I don’t use chemicals. Here’s my slug routine, for instance.
I mostly try to stay somewhat ahead of them or grow susceptible crops under fabric row covers. See you soon again I hope.
Welcome, Gavan. Those sound like some very delicious crab cakes. You and your wife will fit right in with this crowd, so I’m glad to see you here, and look forward to the next time.
***PS to ALL: Want to make sure you know that lots and lots of herb recipes and tips are actually over on the next post, at this link.***
What a great idea! I am game! My mother has an herb garden, and there is nothing like sweet summertime Basil on all things tomato…I am currently in Arkansas, and they have the best tomato crop this year…at least my mother’s are! Love the website…found you via http://www.glutenfreegirl.com
I’m so happy to have found this blog (via Julie at dinnerwithjulie.com) Great idea, this “cross pollination”. I am excited about now having a method of saving some of my summer’s herb harvest, considering the cost of those teeny, often going-moldy, plastic clamshells hanging in the produce section in mid-December! Would using a vacuum sealer for the parsley rolls get even more air out? I’m amazed that the greenery doesn’t turn black as has been my previous experience. How long might these rolls keep in the freezer? Thanks for all the information. Now I’m off to visit the other contributing blogs!
YAY! This is a fabulous idea. Here’s a link to our recipe for salsa verde from our much loved, and rather prolific Tomatillo plant.
http://ourorganicurbangarden.blogspot.com/2009/07/tomatillo-this-years-great-love.html#links
Haha… just read your slugroutine… We don’t have any snakes around here so that’s gonna be hard, but I am not sure they are slugs. I have tried to find them, but sofar haven’t spotted a single animal on the plant. I also don’t use chemicals, but I guess I will have to find the little buggers first… On to serious critter searching now.
Welcome, Stacie. Any friend of Shauna’s is a friend of ours. My “other” blog, The Sister Project, profiled her recently, and I am a big fan of her, Danny and the world’s cutest baby, her daughter Little Bean. I am happy to hear that tomatoes are thriving somewhere (not here) and yes, basil….which I am about to replant for a better crop now that we have some heat, finally, after a very cold, wet season so far. See you soon!
Welcome, Vivian. I think a vacuum sealer would be brilliant, yes. I use the logs till they’re gone, all winter long, really. It’s not perfect, but the taste is SO much better than dried, and the price if RIGHT, so I’m happy. The “pesto” method is also really long-lasting, so I do both for different uses. See you soon.
Welcome, Samantha. I forgot to plant a tomatillo, so stupid. What a great plant, and what a nice recipe, thanks. And of course the word “organic” in your url makes me happy, as a longtime hippie chick over here. Thanks, and see you soon.
***PS to ALL: Want to make sure you know that lots and lots of herb recipes and tips are actually over on the next post, at this link.***
I find I am delirious with my terrace herbs at the moment and do this sort of thing quite often:
http://66squarefeet.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-garlic-crop.html
Handfuls of mixed parsley, thyme, lemon thyme, summer savoury, chopped and rubbed as a wet marinade for meats such as lamb, or baby back ribs.
Welcome, Marie. What an amazing herb garden in such a small spot! (I went for a quick visit.) Thanks for the link, and the visit…see you soon.
Perfect timing to get me to use the mallow from my CSA.
Red Quinoa and Mallow tabbouleh. Find it here:
http://backseatgourmet.blogspot.com/2009/07/taste-adventure-mallow.html
Welcome, Cheryl. This is a totally new one on me: eating mallow foliage. I thought I had heard it all, but this on escaped me. Fascinating…and of course now I need to go plant some and find out what it tastes like for myself. Thank you, and come see us soon again, won’t you? (PS–hilarious photo on the blog of the mallow-eating bu one small person.)
What a great blog and what a nice idea. I found you on http://mattbites.com/ We were looking for a blog like yours for a long time because we started our food garden this year. First we looked for blogs in German language and didn’t find any we liked and most international blogs looked so professional and I felt awed. In the meantime we started http://trivialbliss.com/ where we write about our experiences with garden and food. While I was looking at Matt’s site I saw this and I’m so happy we found you. Thanks for sharing this!
Welcome, Kristina. Matt and I met last year when we were both on the same ‘Martha’ show, and it has been so much fun getting to know him better. Thanks for your kindness, and also for the link to you site, where I am heading now…
The garden is a source of inspiration in my kitchen. Summer Fest 2009 is a wonderful additional element to keep the inspiration flowing~Week one I have already discovered new ideas for using my herbs. Thanks!
Check out my blog at alwaysravenous.com for my contribution to week one of Summer Fest 2009 with LAVENDER.
Can’t wait for the next three weeks.
I’m back with a drink inspired by the Summer Fest. I have a lot of sunny herbs on my tiny terrace, but I’ve never used my hyssop in anything more than a simple meadow flower arrangement. It’s perfect in this cocktail! I called it a Late July, but call it what you like…
Thank you for the goad.
http://66squarefeet.blogspot.com/2009/07/late-july-with-hyssop.html
Welcome, Jane. Thanks for covering Lavender this week…only a biscotti otherwise on that topic, think, in the comment stream on my parsley post. Nice to see you here, and do hope to again soon.
Summer Fest is a great idea! Thanks to all of you for putting this together. Here’s my entry: These Rosemary Sage Chops use not one, but two fresh herbs for a quick, flavorful, tomato-free Italian main course.
Welcome, Terry B. A double order of herbs in one entree: good idea. Hope to see you again tomorrow for Tree Fruits (and all the other Tuesdays, too).
I love this idea of blog event. Living in an apartment, I really miss being able to enjoy fresh produces from a garden (well… still have my parents’!), but I’m so happy to have at least some fresh herbs and some cherry tomatoes to cook with. I love to use mint in the summer, and it is so easy to grow (maybe a little to easy. it’s everywhere!). So I posted some recipes to use it : http://melaskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/08/last-call-for-summer-fest.html#more
Welcome, Melanie. Mint certainly is prolific, and delicious…heading over now to see what’s up in your kitchen, if not your garden. See you soon again, I hope.
We made Peaches and Berries Flambe with rum and served it with vanilla bean ice cream! Thanks for a great idea to share these recipes!
Welcome, Ravenouscouple. How festive…a flambe! Thank you for the unique contribution and for the positive words of encouragement. Much appreciated.
@Susan: You could just drive north and I will toss my remaining 3/4 peach clafoutis out the window into your moving car… :)
Quick Tomato Mint Salsa:
2-3 medium size tomatoes
1 handful of fresh mint
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
optional: 1 fresh green chili pepper
No exact measurements are needed. Thrown in everything in food process and pulse to a bit coarse sauce. Enjoy on top of cooked lentils, dip pita or enjoy with oven fried potatoes.
Welcome, Sumeera. I love recipes that say, “No exact measurements are needed.” My kind of cooking! Thanks for your addition to Summer Fest, and hope to see you soon again.