I’m not sure whether it’s because July has a lot of food celebrations or if it’s because I’ve been craving the creativity of trying new recipes, but we’ve got a lot of posts about recipes this month. Today we’ll be celebrating that zesty root: horseradish. I like for my food to have a little kick, so I will often use horseradish on sandwiches in lieu of using butter or mayo. So here’s a recipe to take the flavor of some of your summer side dishes up a notch or three.

Lemon Horseradish New Potatoes

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, unpeeled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt butter in a 2 quart casserole dish in the oven. Stir in salt, pepper, horseradish and lemon juice. Place potatoes in dish and toss to coat with butter mixture.
3. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender.

Despite the rather sexist/silly name of this coffee cake, it is a super tasty way to celebrate National Blueberry Month. I did a take on the version by Cook’s Country, substituting some coconut oil for the butter and mixed berries for the blueberries.

Blueberry Boy Bait

Cake

• 2 cups flour plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugr
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup berries, fresh or frozen*

Topping

• 1/2 cup berries, fresh or frozen*
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

*do not thaw frozen berries

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9 x 13-inch baking pan
2. Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil, and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated. Reduce speed to medium and alternate dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
3. Toss berries with remaining flour. Using rubber spatula, gently fold into batter. Spread into prepared pan.
4. Scatter berries over top of batter. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and then sprinkle mixture over batter.
5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
6. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and pace on serving patter (topping side up)
7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Bon appetit!

Debra

Summer grilling is a great way to get together with friends and family to enjoy each other’s company and spend some time outdoors. Outdoor grilling can seem like a challenge when it comes to vegetarian options, but these grilled Portobello burgers can be great for those who don’t eat meat or are just looking for a change from the usual burgers. Unfortunately, I didn’t note where this came from.

Grilled Portobello Burgers

(serves 4)

• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves, halved
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tablespoons chopped rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Portobello mushroom caps
• 4 roasted red pepper halves
• 2 Kaiser rolls, toasted
• 6 ounces mozzarella, sliced

Balsamic glaze: Simmer vinegar, sugar, water and rosemary sprigs in small saucepan for 12 to 14 minutes, or until reduced to 2 1/2 tablespoons. Remove rosemary sprigs and allow the glaze to cool.

Garlic rub: In small, covered microwave-safe dish, microwave garlic and oil at medium-low power for 45 seconds, or until garlic is soft. Mash garlic and add broth, chopped rosemary and salt.

Burgers: Preheat grill pan or grill. Brush undersides of mushroom caps liberally with garlic rub. Grill 3 to 4 minutes. Brush tops, flip, and grill an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

Place roasted pepper halves on the bottom halves of the rolls and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic glaze. Top with Portobello caps and mozzarella slices, drizzle with remaining glaze and ser.