I bought a massive yellow squash from the Farmer’s Market, as well as a huge bunch of basil and several sweet Walla Walla onions. What does that equal? Another Jenn Original Recipe, of course! Substitute any of your favorite summer squash as desired. You could also add sliced peppers and/or tomotoes.

1 large or 2 medium/small yellow squash
1 sweet onion, diced
1 cup torn basil leaves
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Cut ends off yellow squash and halve length-wise. Cut into thin, half-moon slices. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

In a large pot or skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onions and saute until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add sliced squash and toss. Cook 5-7 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from heat.

While squash is still hot, top with torn basil leaves and toss well. Allow 1-2 minutes for basil leaves to wilt slightly. Top with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

A quick and easy side dish from the book Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, this really would work with almost any fresh vegetable, but I really liked the parmesan flavor with asparagus.

1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450F

In a shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet, toss trimmed asparagus in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bake 10-15 minutes or until asparagus is tender (will look bright green).

Take advantage of seasonal zucchini and yellow squash available at Farmer’s Markets with this quick side dish. Adjust the seasoning to suit your tastes.

2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/2 small onion, chopped or diced
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Melt butter in skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until tender and translucent, but not golden, about 3 minutes.

Add zucchini and squash to skillet, tossing to coat in onions. Season with salt and pepper. In batches, add breadcrumbs, coating vegetables. Add fresh herbs and spices as desired.

Here is a “simple option for celebrating the humble cucumber,” from Simply in Season. This tasty dish in quick and easy to make, though I won’t take credit for those neatly sliced vegetables - that was all James! This simple side dish is great on a hot day, and you could easily adjust the seasoning to suit your tastes.

3 small (or 2 large) cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
Fresh ground black pepper

Whisk lemon juice, oil, salt, and sugar together. In a large bowl, combine cucumber and onions. Add dressing and toss. Chill slightly before serving (10-15 minutes). Top with fresh ground black pepper as desired.

These cucumbers and onion came from the Farmer’s Market:

Another adventure in Paprika-thon! I saw several recipes online for various forms of mashed potatoes with paprika, but none of them looked quite right. Here is my own variation:

2 lbs red skinned potatoes, washed and scrubbed
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic 
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Cut potatoes into quarters. In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and add bay leaf. Over medium-high heat, bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, saute until onions are translucent and tender and garlic is golden, about 3 minutes. Keep mixture moist, if onions become dry add more oil. Add smoked and sweet paprika and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Drain potatoes and discard bay leaf. Add onion mixture, milk, salt, and pepper to pot. Using a masher or electric mixer, beat potatoes to desired consistency.

To make it spicy, add chili pepper or powder to onion mixture when sauteing, or use Hot Hungarian Paprika instead of smoked or sweet paprika.

Shown below, garnished with a sprinkle of sweet paprika.