As the summer heats up and the days are stretched, finding the time or motivation to enter the hot kitchen to prepare a meal gets harder. I like to do my summer cooking in blocks of time, once or twice a week. This way, when it comes time to eat or pack a meal, I have prepared food items to repurpose into flavorful, healthful meals. This is a great way to cook if you have a community-supported agriculture share, or if you pick up a beautiful bounty of produce at the farmers’ market.
Another bonus for July: batch cooking is a great way to cook if you are sharing space on vacation with other families. Put the work in, and you can enjoy the freedom of no-cook dinners throughout the week.
Break down all of your veggies in one shot. This is the only way I make it through my weekly community-supported agriculture share. I devote an hour or two to cleaning and prepping my veggies. Wash greens in deep water and spin dry. Store clean salad or sauté-ready greens in Ziploc bags with a paper towel inside. Greens will last longer this way, plus they are ready to use on a whim.
Cook pasta, grains, and legumes in a big batch and use for simple assembled dishes throughout the week. Some examples of dishes you can assemble using pre-cooked grains and legumes are: quinoa lentil salad, baked ziti, couscous salad, and Thai rice salad. These pack well for a picnic, or you can add a piece of grilled meat, fish, or soft-boiled, pasture-raised eggs to make an elegant weeknight supper in minutes.
Cook extra meat on the grill when you have it going for meals later on. Chicken salad, steak tacos, and sausage-topped flatbread pizza are great meals that are easy to throw together with pre-cooked meats. Just make sure the meats are cooled properly after cooking and wrapped tightly in the fridge.
Stock the freezer with wholesome, nutritious snacks and side dishes for dinners on the go. Frozen cheese sticks, individual thaw-and-serve edamame packets, and yogurt squeezers all can help keep the cooler bag cold and are great for a Fourth of July fireworks picnic. Freeze single-serve homemade salad dressings in bags or containers, too, for a quick flavor boost on your picnic salad.
Don’t forget dessert! While you are busy in the kitchen on your cooking day, make sure to blend up some fresh fruit and simple flavorings for homemade ice pops. Ice pop molds are widely available online and at various retailers. No time to blend fruit? Simply freeze your family’s favorite juice or coconut water in the molds for a refreshing summer cooler!
Joanna DeVita is executive chef at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School, and she’s the mother of two (ages 5 and 2). DeVita loves nothing more than spending time outdoors with her children, and sharing with them her love and respect for nature, good ingredients, and the joy of cooking.
Sour cherry ice pops
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
2 pints sour cherries, sweet cherries, or a mix of both, cleaned and pitted
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
Small pinch of salt
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Sanitized ice pop molds
DIRECTIONS: Heat water and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear. This is simple syrup. Add the vanilla and let cool. Puree the pitted cherries in a blender or food processor until desired consistency. (I like chunks, my kids do not!) Mix cherry puree with simple syrup. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze. Enjoy when frozen solid!
