Summer’s here and a heat wave is waiting on the wings here in Northern California!   Here’s a round up of recipes with our favorite summer ingredients – Juicy tomatoes, spicy bell peppers and fragrant herbs!

For the tomatoes & peppers, make sure they are organic (or grow them yourself) as both notoriously appear on the Dirty Dozen list every single year.  I must confess that I don’t have much luck growing peppers myself, but tomatoes grow well.   Mint and basil are pretty easy to grow as well, without even trying a whole lot, but again cilantro is another story!   It either bolts or stays unproductive.  In any case, it is easy to find huge bunches of herbs in the market for less than a dollar!  That’s what I love about this time of year!

Here are bunch of unique accompaniments – spreads, chutneys and salsa and a couple of thirst quenching beverages:

1. Spicy Fermented Tomato Salsa – You can use this salsa in a variety of ways – as a dip or a topping

2. Very Spicy Chili Relish – Use sparingly as a side, as this is really, really hot!   Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

3. Cilantro Hummus – A great way to get all the benefits of herbs, use as a spread for your sandwiches

4. Basil Pesto with Habanero Peppers – Skip the habanero for a milder version, but you cannot go wrong with pesto.

5. Mint Chutney  – This chutney bursts with the fresh taste of summer

6.  A cleansing juice with peppers and tomatoes – If you are like me, you get overenthusiastic in the markets and buy too much of that lovely summer produce. And if you are like me, you hate throwing food away.  So here’s the perfect way to use your produce in a cleansing juice. Throw in herbs as well or any other veggies you may have on hand.

7. Soda with Ginger Mint Shrub  – You can use fresh mint in pretty much any drink and it would brighten it up, but this shrub is special as it is fermented for added benefits.