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stux the tribune juesdav august 19 1997 p 9 drink theyre the perfect summer whether its a patio dinner on a warm summer evening or a picnic dinner packed for a walk in the park or a stroll to the waters edge the best summer meals cut kitchen time so that you can enjoy sum mers charms and with so much fresh ontario produce to choose from your summer dining options are virtually unlimited in taste and variety broccoli and cauliflower are at their peak of perfection and they go well together in lots of ways try these summer dinner win ners go italian a good wine some crusty bread and an antipasto plat ter can add european flair to your summer table your platter can include ontario tomatoes zucchini green onions and parsley all dressed in olive oil blended with white wine vinegar garlic thyme and a little honey steamed ontario cauliflower with olives red pepper carrot strips and capers dressed in olive oil and white vinegar steamed ontario broccoli with sun dried tomatoes fresh basil olives and prosciutto dressed in olive oil and garlic and hardboiled eggs steamed ontario green beans and a selection of cold cuts finish the meal off with fresh ontario peaches or melon cheese and strong coffee for a genuine italian touch summers salad days there are as many salads as there are cooks to prepare them opt for traditional lettucebased salads dressed with grilled chick en beef pork or fish if pasta salad is your favorite summer pleasure try penne with ontario tomatoes cucumber fresh basil and tarragon olives and diced mozzarella driz zled in olive oil and white wine vinegar or rotini with roasted red peppers garlic tomatoes and zuc chini in a dressing of red wine vinegar mint olive oil salt and pepper or try the tasty and colorful sicilian cauliflower recipe below or the succulent broccoli cauli flower casserole if youre a vegetable purist fresh ontario broccoli and cauliflower gently steamed to perfection is a great option steaming stacks up well against boiling more of the vitamins stay in the vegetable rather than ending up in the water and proponents say texture is firmer and taste isnt as watered down use a simple steaming basket available for a few dollars or opt for specialpurpose steaming pots or stackable chinese bamboo steamers steaming is surprisingly fast keep a close eye so water doesnt boil dry and veggies dont end up over cooked and if youre a little more adventurous than the purists boost the flavor of your ontario steamed veg etables this way add a little wine to your steaming water try a seasoned butter dabbed lightly over your juststeamed vegetables zing it up with a vinai grette dressing over hot or cold steamed vegetables for some asian flair try a little sesame oil and some soy sauce over stillhot veg gies mmm good frank hulshof shows off the broccoli cauliflower and assorted cab bages he and his sons produce on their 50- acre spread north of stouffville on bloom- ington road photo by sjoerd witteveen cauliflower sicilian style this colorful red white and green dish tastes as igood as it looks serve with egg noodles and fresh fruit salad for a fast easy meal preparation time 20 min cooking time 25 min tbsp 15 ml vegetable oil whsmili thinlv sliced i garlic clove minced 1 small head ontario cauliflower broken into florets p 12 ml iwat 2 medium tomatoes diced 1 small green pepper cut into chunks mmms broccoli and cauliflower casserole ml 2 12 625 ml cups fresh broccoli 2 12 cups 625 ml fresh cauliflower 1 cup 250 ml processed cheese 1 can cream of celery soup 8 oz 2 tsps 10 ml prepared horseradish fife jm 1 tsp 5 ml dried basil 12 tsp 2 ml dried oregano 12 tsp 2 ml salt wmmssm i fresh parsley or 2 tsp 10 ll cu ml canned fried onions lightly grease a 2 qt 2l casserole co i iflower until tender crisp drain and run under cold water place in the casserole mm conventional method hpl in a saucepan heat the soup over medium heat add the cheese stir until it has melted completely stir in rtiiorseradish stir the sauce into the vegetables until they are com pletely coated bake the uncovered casserole in a preheated350 degree f 180 degree c oven for 20 minutes sprin- j kle on the topping bake 5 minutes mi r method in a large bowl micro the cheese and soup on high for 5 1 minutes until the cheese is completely melted stir in the horseradish stir the sauce into the vegetables until they are com- pletely coated cover the casserole with wax paper micro on high for 8 minutes stir once sprinkle on the topping micro uncovered on high for 2 minutes hint using frozen vegetables means you can eenjoy this all year use 1 package 20 oz of bothj frozen broccoli and cauliflower and cook according to l 1 lb 500 g lean ground beef 13 cup 75 ml fine dry bread crumbs 13 cup 75 ml skim milk 12 tsp 2 ml salt 12 tsp 2 ml dried basil 14 tsp 1 ml pepper 14 tsp 1 ml garlic powder com in m tballin li i mediu ibo form into about 16 2inch 5cm meatballs meatballs can be made to this point and refrigerated heat oil in a large deep skillet or pan over medium heat add meatballs and cook 8 to 10 min or until done turn meatballs frequently to brown all sides remove meatballs to a separate dish and keep warm drain all but 1 tbsp 15 ml fat from pan add onion and garlic saute 2 to 3 min add cauliflower and water ewer and steam over low heat 5 to 6 mirii until tender add tomatoes green pepper and season ings cook and stir 45 min until pepper is tender- crisp return meatballs to pan with vegetables and tossserves4 try exotic fruits for appetizing variety its a running joke at my aunt and uncles house- my lunch is so big we need a crane to lift it out consisting mainly of traditional fruits like apples and grapes i often think i would like to try more exotic fruits the following is a guide to dif ferent fruit from evan macdon- ald owner of the village grocer starfruit is grown in the west indies and is available all year starfruit is ready when it looks like its ready to be thrown out when the fruit is yellow the flesh is tart starfruit is the sweetest when the points are brown the whole starfruit including the pits can be eaten mangoes grow in any tropical temperate climate the fruit is large oval and slightly flat the fruit can be green with red hues yellow or red this sweet and juicy fruit tastes like a cross between pure vanilla peach pineapple and apricot mangoes which are reaching their peak should be peeled and the hairlike seed taken out the flesh food for thought lisa cartjvright is then eaten the fruit shouldnt have any soft spots but should give when touched you can also tell this fruit is ready by the smell papayas the best papayas come from hawaii and are available all year theyre pearshaped and ripe when bright yellow and soft they can be eaten whole or with white meats papayas have a natural ten derizing ingredient figs come from italy greece and california black and green figs are now available and are squat and tapered to the stem the figs are ready to eat when they are soft to touch and nectar comes from the bottom figs should be slit open and the insides eaten the skin can be eaten but most people dont figs are good with ham or cured meats wmmju jssm9