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Winging It

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Winging It

Author: Bevin Wallace

We are in the midst of week two of summer vacation, and I’m still trying to figure out the summer. I’m sure I’m not alone in finding that it takes a bit of time to switch gears from the end-of-the-school year mayhem into summer mode. I’ve yet to crack the code on how to slow down while driving one kid to soccer camp and the other to golf practice—and then trying to do something useful with the free hour or two I end up with in between. One thing I do almost immediately, however, is punt the whole meal-planning routine and let our full-on sit-down family dinners take a hiatus for a couple months.

In the summer, I’m a big fan of winging it dinner-wise. One night, dinner might be something inspired by a bike ride to the farmer’s market or friends dropping by. Dinner might be a delicious pressed sandwich on the way home from losing a tennis match, or a burger at the pool. It might be hummus. I find that if I do my usual plan-shop-cook thing, I end up staring down a fridge full of wilting vegetables and getting stressed out—not how I want to spend my summer afternoons.

All that being said, I do love to create delicious, beautiful, and healthy dishes with all the gorgeous produce that’s currently in season. I just don’t like to be tied down to when and how I’ll eat what I make. This Summer Fruit & Vegetable Ceviche Salad uses some of my favorite summer things—fresh corn, nectarines, and fancy little tomatoes—and is great because it can be either a lovely appetizer (with chips), a side dish (a great addition to a pot luck or barbecue), or a light vegetarian supper (served with warm tortillas). It’s a really tasty option when it’s 95 degrees at 6 p.m. and the stove is off limits.

Summer Fruit & Vegetable Ceviche

Ingredients

  • 1 cup frozen organic edamame (soy beans without the pods)
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes’ worth)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
  • Sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears)
  • 2 nectarines, cut into thin wedges
  • 1 large avocado, cut into 1/2? cubes
  • 1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1? slices (or red bell pepper)
  • 1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Boil edamame for 5 mins. in salted water; rinse under cold water. In large bowl, whisk lime juice with olive oil, scallion, jalapeño, and shallot; season dressing with salt. Gently fold in edamame, corn, nectarines, avocado, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours. Stir in cilantro before serving. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve chilled. Eat outside.



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