Soba noodles with tofu and vegetables

When it's hot outside, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. The only cooking required for soba noodles with tofu and vegetables is to boil a pot of water.

The vegetables for this dish include thinly sliced napa cabbage, shredded carrot and bean sprouts.
A soy and sesame based dressing is whisked together to go over the noodles, vegetables and cubed tofu.

After the noodles, vegetables and tofu are thoroughly coated in the dressing, some chopped cilantro adds a finishing touch.

This dish is good warm, at room temperature or cold. I loved the combination of flavors, and especially appreciated the fact that it didn't heat up the kitchen.

Roasted green beans with marcona almonds

This recipe was never supposed to be made. I ripped this particular page out of Bon Appetit for a different recipe that was on the front of the page. One day I was going through my recipe clippings, and the page was turned over so that the picture of these roasted green beans was facing up. I decided to give it a try, and I've made it a few times since then.

This is another really simple recipe that produces unique results. Green beans and onions are roasted at high heat and seasoned with lemon and herbs. Chopped marcona almonds finish the dish.

The first time I made the recipe, I tossed the raw green beans onto the pan and threw them in the oven. It tasted great, but the green beans turned an unattractive shade of drab green. I figured out that blanching the green beans before roasting allows them to keep their vibrant green color.

Three types of peas with bacon and leeks

My produce market stocks all their varieties of peas in one spot. Looking over the selection, I thought it would be fun to do a vegetable dish with three types of peas. I picked up some snow peas, english peas and snap peas. I shelled the english peas, then blanched each variety separately. You could skip the blanching if you’re in a hurry, I just like the way it preserves the color and ensures a perfectly cooked end product.

I decided to cook the peas with some leeks and bacon. I mean really, who doesn’t like bacon in their vegetables? Even with the small amount of bacon, this is a fairly healthy dish, and it was fun to taste the differences in the pea varieties.

Three types of peas with bacon and leeks
Serves 4

½ pound snap peas, trimmed
½ pound snow peas, trimmed
1 cup fresh or frozen English peas
1 medium leek, halved then thinly sliced
2 strips of bacon, sliced into ½ inch pieces
Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the snap peas for about 1-2 minutes, or until just tender. Transfer to an ice bath. Repeat the process with the snow peas and english peas. Pat dry with a paper towel.

Heat a large pan over medium, then add the bacon. Cook until the bacon is crisp and browned. Remove the bacon from the pan, drain on a paper towel. Discard most of the bacon fat from the pan until you’re left with a few teaspoons. Place the leek in the pan, season with salt and pepper and saute until the leek is tender and slightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add all the peas to the pan, toss to coat with the leek mixture. Cook until the peas are warmed through, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the reserved bacon over the top and serve.