Southern Spoonful: The Garden Gifts of Summer

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The story below is from our July/August 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

Enjoy your garden’s bounty with these recipes full of summer flavor.

Ripe red strawberries and tomatoes. Fresh okra and bunches of fresh herbs picked from your garden just this morning. Visits to your local farmers market. These are the gifts of summer, enjoy them now!

Okra is one of the garden’s gifts to summer and one of the best ways to enjoy it is fried, especially when it’s served with comeback sauce. What’s comeback sauce, you ask? It originated in Mississippi and is similar to Remoulade sauce. Simply a mixture of mayonnaise and chili sauce with a touch of lemon juice and spices. It’s the perfect dipping sauce with many fried foods including okra, fish and chips and fried shrimp.

In the mood for pizza but it’s just too hot outside for a piping hot pizza? Make a Southwest Fresh Pizza served chilled. It will quickly become a family favorite.

And for dessert? Treat your family to a delightful summer Strawberry Elderflower Lemon Trifle. Possibly the easiest dessert you’ll ever make and the tastiest!

Remember summer is a gift so enjoy it now while the sun shines high in the sky and the food is fresh and oh so flavorful.

Fried Okra with Comeback Sauce

This recipe was inspired by the Smashed Fried Okra recipe in the Recipe Revival cookbook.

I’ve found a secret to fabulous fried food – self-rising white cornmeal mix. (I like Hudson Cream brand.) This mix makes a light batter with lots of crunch and the cornmeal flavor that’s so popular in the south.

4 to 6 servings

  • 1 pound fresh okra
  • 1½ cups buttermilk
  • 2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix
  • Peg’s salt* and freshly ground black pepper
  • Canola oil

Use a meat mallet to smash the okra, starting at the tip of the pod and working toward the stem end. Place the buttermilk in a shallow dish, and place the cornmeal mix in another shallow dish. Stir desired amount of salt and pepper into the cornmeal mix.

Dip the okra into the buttermilk, then dip it into the cornmeal mix and turn it to coat both sides. Dip the floured okra into the buttermilk again and then dip it into the cornmeal mix. Do not shake off any excess.

Pour the oil to depth of 2 inches into a large Dutch oven. Heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry okra, in small batches (do not crowd), 2 to 3 minutes or until browned and crisp, turning once. Remove okra, using a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt while still warm. Serve immediately.

*Peg’s salt is made in Staunton, Virginia, sold at local Food Lion grocery stores.

Bec’s Comeback Sauce

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup sweet chili sauce (in the Asian section of the grocery store – do not buy the chili sauce with garlic)
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dry mustard

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine all ingredients. Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Southwest Fresh Pizza

Recipe compliments of Wind and Willow Foods.

A cool pizza to serve on warm summer days! Keep the ingredients on hand to whip up a delicious pizza for last minute guests or a casual weekend dinner.

4 servings

  • 1 Wind and Willow Santa Fe Cheeseball & Appetizer Mix*
  • 1 can refrigerated pizza dough
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 3-4 cups shredded lettuce & chopped tomatoes
  • 1½ cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (or a mixture of both cheeses)
  • ¼ cup chopped black olives
  • 8 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

Bake pizza crust as directed and allow to cool.

Combine Old Santa Fe Cheeseball Mix, cream cheese and sour cream. Mix until creamy.  Spread Old Santa Fe mixture onto cooled pizza crust.  Top with veggies, cheese and olives. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and red bell pepper.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Cut into 2-3” mini pizza slices.  Makes 12-16 servings.

*Wind and Willow Cheeseball and Dip mixes are available at Ladles and Linens Kitchen Shoppe, downtown or online.

Strawberry Elderflower Lemon Trifle

Strawberries have to marinate in elderflower liqueur for 2 hours before constructing the trifle. 

6 servings

  • 16 ounces strawberries, capped and chopped into small pieces
  • ¼ cup St.Germain elderflower liqueur
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 13-ounce prepackaged angel food cake
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 8 ounces crème fraiche
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • Sliced strawberries + 1 large strawberry with cap and lemon zest for garnish

Place strawberries, elderflower liqueur, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, ¾ cup granulated sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Cut angel food cake into one-inch cubes.

Using an electric mixer, whip cream into stiff peaks. Sprinkle ¼ cup granulated sugar into cream during the last minutes of whipping.

Using an electric mixer, beat ¼ cup granulated sugar into crème fraiche.

Fold crème fraiche/sugar mixture to sweetened whipped cream.

To assemble trifle: place ½ of angel food cake cubes in bottom of a trifle bowl or large glass bowl. Press cubes down with back of large spoon to cover bottom of dish. Spoon one half of  the chopped strawberries evenly over angel food cake. Top strawberries with the rest of the angel food cake cubes and top the cubes with the rest of the chopped strawberries. Spoon the whipped cream/crème fraiche mixture over the strawberries. Decorate the trifle with a circular pattern of sliced strawberries all around the top of the trifle. Sprinkle strawberries with lemon zest.

Malibu Lemonade

Makes 1 cocktail.

  • 2 ounces Sprite
  • 2 ounces Sweet and Sour Mix
  • 1½ ounce citrus-flavored vodka
  • Lemon and lime wedge garnish

Combine Sprite, sweet and sour mix and vodka in a cocktail shaker. Cover and shake vigorously. Strain into a tall cocktail glass filled with small ice cubes. Garnish with lemon and lime wedges.

The story above is from our July/August 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!