The perfect summer meal....

[Liberal Veteran]

Spaghettini with Checca Sauce

8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta
4 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (12-ounce container) cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan, coarsely chopped
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the next 7 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree).

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture and fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Add some of the reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce looks dry. Serve immediately.

[stilpist]

1. When it's too hot to cook

Lotsa fresh fruit, cut up bite-sized
Plain yoghurt spooned over the fruit
Post Grapenuts on top

We especially like mango, bananas, nectarines, melon, and fresh pineapple

That pasta recipe sounds excellent! Thanks, I'll try it soon.

[Liberal Veteran]

2. That's why I like this one....just gotta boil some pasta for 8 minutes.

Everything else is food processor.

And it's a "room temperature" dish that just bursts with flavor.

[RoeBear]

3. Mmmmm....

...that and a big juicy steak and we're in business.

[mike_c]

4. yummy-- here's another EXCELLENT summertime dish....

Som Tum (green papaya salad)

This recipe is from http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Rshow.asp?C='Thai'&R='Green%20Papaya%20Salad'

It's nearly identical to my own-- I omit the dried shrimp when making this for guests, and I never use the peanuts. Be sure to use fresh Thai birdseye chilis if you can get them (and if you can find green papayas you can almost certainly find the chilies). This is what I'm taking to a potluck BBQ tonight!

Here's the recipe copied from www.thaitable.com

2 Servings
1 1/2 tablespoons palm sugar
3/4 lime
2 cups green papaya, shredded
6 green beans
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
2 chili peppers
5 cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons peanuts, toasted (Optional)

The balance of fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar and peppers listed here are guidelines. Som tum is an individual dish that you will find you might like your with more, say, lime juice than what the recipe calls for.

Many Asian supermarkets have shredded green papaya and that is what I use. However, if you can only find whole green papaya, the papaya can be peeled and shreded using a regular cheese grater. When you get closer to the center, you will see the white immature seeds inside, discard the seeds.

In Thailand, green papaya salad is made using a clay mortar, wooden pestle and a spatula. Smash a clove of garlic first. Then add green beans and halved cherry tomatoes. Pound a few times just to bruise the beans and get the juice out of the tomatoes. Add chili peppers and crush them just enough to release the hotness, unless you like your salad really hot. Add the green papaya, dried shrimp, toasted peanuts, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. Use the pestle to push the mixture up in the mortar and the spatula to push it down so that the mixture is mixed well.

However, if you do not have a big enough mortar you can crush garlic, tomatoes, green beans. Set them aside in a large bowl. Add dried shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar to the bowl. Add green papaya and mix well. Serve with sticky rice and a sliver of cabbage and green beans.