There’s a lot to love about the summer. The longer spans of sunlight that make you feel like hours have been added to your days. Inhaling the sweet smell of the outdoors after a summer rain or feeling the sun warm your cheeks as you step outside on a bright day. The change in your schedule as school goes on break and activities shift – maybe even slow – for a few months. And of course, there’s the fresh produce full of flavor and bright with color.
Sure, you can pick up any assortment of fruits and vegetables in the supermarket any time of year, but there’s something extra special about the locally grown crops you can pick up at the weekend farmer’s market, or even better, harvest from your own backyard. What do you do with an abundance of lush greens, deep reds, full-bodied purples, and rich yellows? More importantly, how do you use your veggie and fruit haul in a way that’s allergy-friendly?
Keep It Simple Zucchini
If you’ve ever grown zucchini, you know that one day you have no zucchini and the next you have more than you know what to do with it. Bread and muffisn are popular fallback recipes for a trove of this veggie, but if you’re avoiding flour, dairy, and egg, you may have to work a little harder for a good recipe (more on that in a bit). You can also just slice up a few into ½ inch pieces and grill them up for a smokey dish. This article from Serious Eats describes the technique, and, perhaps more importantly, explains why it works.
Eggplant Burger
Eggplant can be a wonderful meat substitute whether you’re looking to up your veggie intake or just use up the stash you harvested. However, recipes for a scrumptious burger-style dish using eggplant and other veggies can also include a mix of wheat, egg, and nut-based ingredients. It can take a little extra leg work to find one that is full of flavor, holds together well on the grill, and is allergy-friendly to boot. This recipe from Veganlovelie may fit the bill. The primary recipe does include a few ingredients that may need to be swapped out, but Teenuja & Kevin provide suggested alternatives right in their recipe.
Stuffed Peppers
A dish like stuffed peppers can dip into your excess harvest of a few different crops. This recipe from Carla Hall, for example, uses up both your bell peppers, carrots, and zucchini. The filling of quinoa, chickpeas, and warm spices will excite your taste buds and fill you up. Even better, this recipe is a good starting point for you to build from.
Experiment with different flavor profiles and combinations to find a filling that your family loves best. The core principles in prepping and cooking the pepper is built into this recipe. Make it as is or adapt to make it your own.
Chill with Soup
Okay, yes, you hear “soup” and you’re probably not thinking of a hot summer day meal. You might think that, but you’d be wrong. We’re not talking about a hearty, steaming hot bowl of something that’s slowly cooked for hours. We’re talking about Gazpacho, a cold, blended vegetable-based refreshing summer soup. Most of the work for this dish will be done by your blender.
There’s no need to pull out the big pots or turn on the stove. Load your veggies into your blender, puree it all down, and then chill for hours. The longer the mixture sits, the fuller the flavor gets, so this is a great option to make ahead of time and enjoy later in the day as the temps start to pull back from the day’s high. Even better, you can make it without allergens. Get started with this classic tomato-based gazpacho from Love and Lemons. For a different twist, this recipe from Plant-based Jess uses cucumbers and avocados.
“Free-From” Zucchini Bread
When you’re thinking about a delicious treat using your garden haul, bread may not be high on your list of “I can do that without allergens” recipes. It could be, however, if you use this recipe from Katie Spring. As written, this recipe is built to use gluten-free flour blends that leave the wheat behind, flax eggs, and coconut milk. It also uses up a hefty bit of zucchini!
