What Says Summer to You?

What is the essence of summer?  Spending time on a lake, watching fireflies, mowing the grass . . . .  All these say "summer" but, for me, food is one of the most notable marks of summer.  Burgers on the grill, fresh sweet corn on the cob, luscious vine-ripened tomatoes, and fruit salad.

When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle often hosted family picnics.  They lived at the old "home place" (although the old home had been sold and moved and they built a new house), and we ate outside under the big oak trees near where the barn used to be.  I come from big families on both sides.  This was my mother's family.  There were eight children in her family, and many of them would come to the picnics.  Looking back, there was something comforting about the predictability of those picnics.  The hostess usually made chess pie, my childless aunt and uncle always brought a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, at least one person made potato salad, and there was almost always watermelon.

My favorite fruit salad mixture -- watermelon, strawberries, and seedless grapes.

Watermelon is my ultimate summer food.  I have loved it all my life.  I remember eating it in the yard when I was about six years old with my friend and neighbor, Tracy, whom my dad called Betty because he said she looked like a girl he used to know.  Tracy was a year younger than I was and kind of shy, so she never told my dad he couldn't call her Betty.  I think she kind of liked it anyway.

We also had occasional picnics at home -- cook-outs.  We had a spindly three-legged charcoal grill. No one we knew had a Weber in those days and, while the internet tells me the gas grill was invented in 1960, in the mid '60s, I'd never heard of such a thing.  Nope, we had a shallow pan grill -- at least until my mother burned it up by building a wood fire in it one time so all the neighborhood kids could toast marshmallows.  We ate on a fabulous redwood deck that had built-in benches all around as well as the ultimate 1960s wrought iron table and chairs.

These days, we still cook outside as much as possible during the summer, only now we use a gas grill for instant heat and easy clean-up.  Our menu has expanded as well.  We still grill burgers, hot dogs and steaks, but also chicken, bratwurst, pork loin, fish, and shish kabobs.  And when I can find flank steak, I like to make this grilled flank with spicy corn relish.  Boy, this would have knocked their socks off under the oak trees back in the day.

Full disclosure: When I took my plate outside to take the picture in sunlight, another sign of summer came along. I certainly remember these pesky guys from my childhood picnic days!

The flank steak recipe comes from Country Living.  It is super easy, just a marinade of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic.  You can find the recipe on their website.  I changed their relish recipe slightly to make it less spicy and more colorful.  The original is here.  My version is below.

Corn Relish

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced onion

1 cup chopped colorful bell peppers

1 cup frozen corn kernels

Sprinkle of salt, to taste

Couple of grinds of pepper mill

1/2-3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

Heat oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and peppers, cook about two minutes, stirring frequently.  Add corn, salt, pepper and cayenne, and cook until vegetables are slightly soft, about 4-5 minutes.  Add lemon juice and honey, stir to combine and dissolve honey.  Remove from heat.  Serve at room temperature.

Printable recipe

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