Fare Exchange: Perfect meals to make for the month of picnics

Jane Henegar

Welcome to July and the month of picnics, never simply confined to the fourth day of the month. Today's requests include whole fried okra, food that travels well for a picnic, Betty Taylor's lemon chicken and any recipe that is do-able and not too obscure for a young man just beginning housekeeping.

Christine wrote, "I recently ate at The Public House restaurant and had whole fried okra. It was not fried in cornmeal. It was a light batter. I think I have heard of using cornstarch as a batter. Does anyone have a recipe for this?" We surely hope you do.

Here's a reminder that we are hot on the trail of foods that travel well in the heat, one of which arrived today from Carolyn Alexander. Her recipe, a potato salad without mayonnaise, reminded me of a recipe I was wishing for this very afternoon: Betty Taylor's lemon chicken. And remember too that there is a young man, just starting life as an adult, who needs some simple recipes for his initial foray into cooking.

NO-MAYO POTATO SALAD

Carolyn Alexander "noticed today that there was a request for outdoor picnic foods. I am submitting one I have been making since July 2011. The original recipe came from Cooking Light magazine. It is delicious and I made it for the Fourth of July."

Lemony Potato Salad

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into eighths

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 green onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Bring potatoes and salted cold water to a boil in large pan. Boil for 15-17 minutes or until tender. Drain and let cool 5 minutes.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, dry mustard and pepper in a large bowl. Add warm potatoes, green onions and parsley. Toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Serves 6.

EASY HASH

Margaret McNeil, well known as the author of Margaret's Morsels, "saw the request for a hash recipe and wanted to send in one that I've never shared on my blog. In fact, I haven't made hash in years. With teenagers in the house, I never had enough leftover roast beef."

Hash in a Flash

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes (use cubed potatoes or shredded)

3 cups finely chopped cooked roast beef

1/2 cup beef gravy

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat without stirring until browned, about 10 minutes. Turn and brown the other side.

VIETNAMESE FARE

As is their custom, Mr. and Mrs. Sunday lace their letters with cooking hints, recipes and restaurant recommendations. Today is no exception.

"At the end of the Vietnam War, many refugees settled in Houston, Atlanta and (especially) California. As a result, these places have a wealth of really good Vietnamese restaurants. We've eaten in a lot of them, enjoying the lightness and flavor of the cuisine. One of our favorites is the Banh Mi (technically Vietnamese for sandwich).

"You can get Banh Mi in many flavors (ours is marinated grilled pork) but there are usually a few common elements: a crisp but light baguette, jalapenos (you can pick them off if needed), mayonnaise and/or Maggi sauce, cilantro and pickled vegetables.

"To our taste, it's the pickled vegetables (carrots and daikon radish) that make the sandwich special and for some reason, no Vietnamese restaurant around Chattanooga uses them. The recipe for them isn't difficult (we'll supply one if it's wanted) and just needs to sit overnight so we're not sure why nobody uses them."

And now the restaurant recommendation. "The new restaurant on the North Shore, Sip (Velma at Kent Streets), has Banh Mi (grilled pork belly) and they DO use pickled vegetables, making their Banh Mi the best in town, at least for us. We've tried most things on Sip's lunch menu and while there's always some way we'd tweak things, they're minor and we've enjoyed everything. Well worth stopping in. We have no connection with them except enjoying their food."

FERMENTED VEGGIES

The mention of Vietnamese pickled vegetables led us, logically, to Korean fermented vegetables, and the popular dish Kimchi. There was a Chattanooga man whose nephew-in-law, who happened to be Korean, had introduced him to kimchi. And then that uncle died. At the family gathering after the memorial service, the man's kinsman brought a batch of his homemade kimchi. The aroma of that culture, and of that nephew's love, filled the room.

JAR MUSINGS

Just wondering this: Why aren't all canning jars wide-mouthed? In our cupboard are many of the jars that once held home-preserved food from friends, and the few wide-mouthed jars are our favorites for reusing. It seems like all jars ought to have such mouths.

MAIN-DISH SQUASH

Linda Leake offered another recipe credited originally to Southern Living magazine, and she noted that one may substitute zucchini or summer squash for the patty pan. This is, as you will note, not a side dish but a main dish, containing both bacon and ground beef.

Patty Pan Squash with Beef and Feta

Patty pan squash (which have a squat, round shape) can be found at many farmers markets in the summertime, but this savory filling works just as well with regular zucchini or yellow squash. Feta cheese and fresh dill add a Greek accent to stuffed squash. Trying to add more healthy whole grains to your family's diet? This hearty beef-and-feta filling can be made with a variety of grains. Swap out the white rice for an equal amount of cooked brown rice, quinoa, barley or farro.

10 large patty pan squash (4 to 6 inches wide)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces chopped bacon (about 5 slices)

1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

8 ounces baby spinach

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup cooked white rice

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, divided

5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut off top third of each squash, and scoop out pulp, using a serrated corer or melon baller, leaving a 1-inch shell intact. Coarsely chop pulp; reserve 1 cup of chopped pulp, and discard remaining pulp. Place squash bowls in an 11- by 13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with salt. Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes.

Place bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, 5 minutes. Add beef to skillet and cook, stirring to crumble, until starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Add onion, garlic and reserved 1 cup chopped squash pulp to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach; cover and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Uncover and cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 1 minute.

Transfer beef mixture to a medium bowl; cool 10 minutes. Stir eggs, cooked rice, pepper and 3 tablespoons of the dill into beef mixture. Gently stir in cheese. Spoon mixture into baked squash bowls.

Bake squash in preheated oven until tops begin to brown and squash is tender, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle squash with remaining dill.

Makes 10 servings.

That's it for today. Shall we meet again?