Good Food Reads: Minnesota Summer (There is Nothing Like It!)

Hello Summer, beautiful Minnesota Summer!  After surviving the months of frigid cold and snow, Minnesota shows it’s amazing summer beauty with gorgeous temperatures, amazing greenery and sunny days.  And ya you betcha- these long Minnesota summer days come with glorious Minnesota summer food!  Grilling, farmer’s markets, backyard gardens…all of the fresh flavors of summer!

I decided for this one I would get a little help from my friends. Read on for a sampling of Minnesota summer food, highlighting some amazing summer ingredients.  All of the recipes in this Good Food Reads are from fellow food bloggers based in this amazing state!

Thank you to all of my Minnesota Blogger friends who have graciously allowed me to showcase their recipes along with their photos to demonstrate the beauty of Minnesota Summer!  Make these recipes, then head on over to their blogs and explore, each one of them has so much greatness to offer!

(and if you like what you see, by all means head to the right of your screen-that’s the bottom for those of you reading this on mobile-and SUBSCRIBE!)

Vegan Blueberry Wild Rice Pancakes by The Artful Appetite.  Using the wild rice Minnesota is known for and plump blueberries that grow wild.  Top it with some Minnesotan maple syrup and you have an amazing breakfast!

 

Cucumber Avocado Soup with Ginger by Organically Mandy.  Health is what Mandy is all about, and this soup, using the cucumbers, that are so abundant in the summer is an awesome place to start! (and look at that beautiful garnish!)

 

Everyone always asks me what to do what the zucchini explosion that happens midsummer.  Well Girl Meets Kitchen has your answer.  These Parmesan Zucchini Rounds by Girl Meets Kitchen are the perfect use for all of your garden zucchini!

 

Let’s just stop a second and contemplate this one.  Cantalope, Blueberry, and Proscuitto Summer Salad by Greens & Chocolate, is all that is delicious about the summer.  Sweet fruits.  Salty prosciutto.  Creamy mozzarella.  YES PLEASE!

 

Anyone that has been following our blog, knows we love quinoa.  Caprese Quinoa Salad with Sweet Corn by A Kitchen Addiction is the perfect summer quinoa salad!  This salad takes advantage of all of the amazing sweet corn you can find at any roadside stand and combines it with delicious cherry tomatoes. YUM!

 

Raspberries also grow everywhere around here.  This Raspberry Walnut Avocado Salad by Ways to My Heart takes advantage of this sweet fruit, using it both in the salad and in the viniagrette!  Bonus: salad greens are easy to grow in your backyard garden!

 

Easy Black Bean Corn Salad by Cooking on the Front Burner.  I’m pretty sure I could eat this salad for every meal!  Peppers, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, and cilantro-all ingredients you can grow in your back yard (or get from your farmer’s market)!

 

Be still my heart.  Strawberry Pesto Caprese Salad by Heartbeet Kitchen.  Featuring strawberries, pesto made from the abundantly growing basil (I grow it on pots on my deck) and creamy Mozzarella.  Amanda also wrote a fabulous book Smitten with Squash.  Check it out for more ideas on how to use summer squash!

 

Quintessential Minnesotan right here.  Stir Fried Wild Rice aka Minnesota Wild Rice by BaconFatte. Everyone that grew up in Minnesota has eaten lots and lots of wild rice, and this dish certainly elevates it!  Minnesota comfort food right here!

 

My favorite of the end of the summer treats is the jewel like tomato.  They are so good they spoil tomatoes for me the rest of the year!  Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Tart by WithTwoSpoons takes these tomatoes, roasts them to intensify their flavor and then pairs them with a creamy herb ricotta filling and a crispy crust.

 

You guys.  We’ve already featured this one on our Facebook page and in another episode of Good Food Reads, but that is how excited we are about it!! Grilled Chicken Skewers with Green Curry Yogurt Sauce by A Farmgirl’s Dabbles.  Warm up the grill, pick all of the herbs from your garden and mix up this amazing sauce.

 

Everyone is always asking how to use rhubarb and this may be the most perfect way ever!  Rhubarb Slush by Tornadough Alli will use up all of the early summer rhubarb you are harvesting from your back yard!  (and if you don’t have any rhubarb in your backyard, ask your neighbor, it seems like it is growing everywhere up here!)

 

One of the best ways to use up the beautiful end of summer fruit is by making crisps.  This Cherry Berry Crisp by The Bitter Side of Sweet is the kind of crisp my family loves.  Top this will a little ice cream and I’m in heaven!

 

And since the strawberries are ripe for picking right now, how about these No Bake Mini Vegan Strawberry Cheesecakes by A Simple Pantry?  Full of healthy ingredients and seasonal strawberries, this dessert will please your most picky eater!

 

Last but not least.  Here in the land of 10,000 lakes, S’Mores around the campfire are iconic.  This S’Mores Ice Cream Cake by The Vanilla Bean Blog takes that Minnesota tradition to a whole new level.  For more baking ideas, get Sarah’s book, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book!

Hopefully you’ve found a ton of great ideas to help you enjoy your summer.  And if you haven’t visited Minnesota yet, well, what are you waiting for?

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Below is a photo of the sun just before a storm, taken from the back of my boat at my cabin.  Minnesota Heaven!