Summer Snack Recipes

It’s hot. There is no getting around it. So if you are water skiing or hanging around a swimming pool or out fishing, you probably want to have delicious meals without heating up the house. That means that it is the wrong time of year to bake a ham or turkey.

But this is also the time of year when produce is bursting with flavor, and taking advantage of that is just as important as fishing. Try making tomato soup with warm tomatoes fresh from the garden. It can be quick and painless, while still tasting really sharp and sweet. That is one of the best things about summer. It brings out the sweetness and the special mineral-y flavors of the tomato. Try our recipe with a grilled cheese sandwich made with your favorite cheese and great bread.

Be ready for pancakes or French toast with orange syrup that you can make, pop it into the refrigerator, and it is ready for a Louisiana-flavored breakfast. If you are up for it, make beignets and drizzle this syrup over the hot dough just as it comes from the pot. With a cup of coffee you will be quite happy to face the day.

Spicy pecans are ready for you anytime you need a snack. They are good with drinks or chopped on a salad. They are easy to make. And they take advantage of an abundance of pecans. Getting Louisiana pecans that haven’t traveled very far is the best.

Twice-cooked sweet potatoes uses yet another local product. You can bake the sweet potatoes ahead of time and refrigerate them for up to three days before making twice-cooked sweet potatoes. You can cook twice as many sweet potatoes as you may need for a meal, and use half immediately and the other half to make the twice-cooked ones. For dinner you could pair the sweet potatoes with the tomato soup and add a salad.

Louisiana is so rich in exciting things to do during the summer, even though it is indisputably hot, and it is so rich in delectable home-grown foods, there is nothing better than combining those things and making the most of summer. If you are hot, eat a slice of chilled watermelon to rehydrate and savor the sweetness, the crispness and slightly acidic freshness. Go ahead, eat another one, and maybe have a watermelon seed spitting contest while you are at it.

You will eat this fig jam so quickly that there is no need to can it. But don’t leave the jam on your cupboard shelf. Keep it in the fridge. I personally love fig jam on cornbread. And it makes a special open-faced sandwich — your favorite bread spread with soft blue cheese, bacon and fig jam. Yum!

Quick Fig Jam

2 pounds figs, stemmed and chopped
1 ½ cups sugar
Generous ¼ cup of lemon juice

1. Place the figs in a stainless steel or enameled pot. Stir the sugar into the figs and make sure that the figs are well coated. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to allow the sugar to force the figs to release liquid.

2. Add the lemon juice and ½ cup of water. Place over a low burner and stir. Cook about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into 3 8-ounce jars. Cover and keep in the refrigerator.

Spicy Pecans

1 teaspoon sea salt or your favorite finishing salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 pounds pecan halves
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mix salt, cayenne and sugar in a small jar. Cover and shake to mix thoroughly.

3. Place nuts into a bowl and coat with oil. When all of the nuts are oily and shiny, sprinkle with spice mix and stir well to coat.

4. Place about half of the nuts on the baking sheet and spread the nuts into 1 layer. Place into the prepared oven and cook for 7 minutes. Stir well, making sure that the nuts are again in a single layer. Place back into the oven for another 7 minutes.

5. Remove the nuts from the baking sheet onto a tray and allow them to cool completely. While the first batch is cooling, cook the second batch. Repeat the instructions and cool the second pan.

6. When completely cool, store in an airtight can or jar.

Orange Syrup

1 cup cane syrup
Peel from 2 oranges, cut into strips
1 2-inch piece cinnamon

Place all of the ingredients into a pot and bring to a simmer with ½ cup of water. Cook together until the syrup begins to boil. Remove from the stove and allow to cool. Remove the cinnamon stick. Store in a jar with the orange slices in the refrigerator.

Use as a sweetener for tea, syrup for pancakes or to top vanilla ice cream. And it is a magical surprise instead of sugar in bread pudding.

Double-Cooked Sweet Potatoes

4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces plain chevre at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Freshly ground black pepper for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Cut 4 sheets of aluminum foil. Cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise. Keep each potato together.

3. With a brush, spread oil over all of the skin of each potato. Then wrap each potato with a piece of the foil. Be sure that the foil completely covers the potato. Place the potatoes into the oven. Cook for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the aluminum foil.

4. When cool enough to manipulate the sweet potatoes, separate them into halves. With a spoon, scoop out the flesh leaving a ¼ to ½ inch wall around the skin making a boat. Reserve these boats for later. Place the scooped-out flesh of all of the potatoes into a bowl. Mix in the chevre, salt, and pepper into the bowl with the cooked potato. Mash it all together with a potato masher. Leave it lumpy, if you like it rustic.

5. Divide the potato mixture among the 8 potato boats and place on a cookie sheet. Place them back into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and grind fresh black pepper over the tops of the potatoes. Serve hot. Serves 8