Hi friends!
If you read last week’s newsletter, you already know my stance on summer being the superior season, and just in the last week, I thought of another reason why that is true — summer barbeques. Who doesn’t love spending the entire day floating in a pool, getting all pruny and sun-kissed, and then poppin’ some burgers and brats on a grill? If I only had one day left on this earth, I imagine that’s exactly how I’d spend it.
And while this week we had some kick ass meats on the grill (I’ll get to that in a sec), I’ll admit that usually my favorite things on my plate are the sides. I’m talking coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad, the bean salad, corn on the cob, watermelon, caprese salad… I have to stop because I’m salivating.
I am HERE for the sides, and that’s why I have some of my favorite BBQ sides recipes for you guys today. They’re incredibly easy, take only a few minutes to make, and taste even better when you make them ahead of time— aka make them in the morning before you grab your goggles and head to the pool.
But before we dive into recipes, I have to talk about the meats we had going on the grill this week. Thanks to our friends at Misfit Foods, our BBQ was anything but boring. In addition to your average ole cheeseburger (American cheese, duh), we also cooked up some Citrus Kale and Chicken Sausages and Sweet Potato and Chicken Sausages.
When Misfit Foods got started, they were all about fighting food waste and addressing supply chain inefficiencies. Fast forward and MF is working to provide solutions and products that have sustainability built into their core. You’ve heard me rant about it before, remember the Meatless Mondays newsletter?, but the reality is meat is more resource-intensive and environmentally impactful than plant-based foods. And I’m not here to shame anyone about eating meat cause yo girl loves her steak, but I am trying to be more conscious of how much meat we’re consuming and where it’s coming from. I can’t encourage you enough to explore how our food is connected to climate change as well as read Melissa Clark’s Meat Lover’s Guide to Eating Less Meat.
That’s why I like Misfit Foods— because it’s still meat (humanely-raised, of course), but it’s about half vegetables, meaning you end up eating less meat, without feeling like you are.
And also, they taste fuckin’ delicious— my personal favorite was the sweet potato ones, but my roommates preferred the citrus kale. I imagine these would be ideal for a sausage and veggies sheet-pan sort of deal, but they were just perfect grilled and on their own. And I’m even more excited about their beet gochujang ground beef that we have chillin’ in the freezer, waiting to be used. You can learn more about Misfit Foods and their mission on their website, but you can also just go out to Whole Foods and experience them for yourself.
Now that I’ve stepped off my soapbox about eating less meat, let’s get into these sides. These are some of my personal favorites— but tbh, we grill about twice a week, so I’m sure more sides will be included in future newsletters.
Let’s start with the Classic Coleslaw. You’ll need—
16 oz bag coleslaw mix with carrots, like this one — if you want to shred your own cabbage and carrots, be my guest, but the bagged kind works just fine
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
Salt and pepper
In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, lemon juice, white distilled vinegar, salt and pepper until smooth and combined. Add in the cole slaw mix and stir until combined. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.
For the Herby Potato Salad, the ingredients are —
2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 large shallot, minced
1 cup chopped fresh herbs like parsley, chives, dill
¼ cup chopped scallions
Salt and pepper
In a large pot, bring heavily salted water and cubed potatoes to a boil. Once at a boil, lower to a simmer. Cook the potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes, or until a fork easily slides through.
Drain and rinse the potatoes under cold water. Allow to cool in the strainer.
In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, shallots, scallions and herbs until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Add potatoes to the large bowl, and gently stir until everything is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.
And lastly, my bff Juliana’s Black Bean Salsa. I cannot begin to explain how freakin’ good this salsa is. We’ve been making it for a good six years, and I’m still not sick of it.
Here’s what you’ll need—
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 15 oz cans sweet corn, drained and rinsed
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, cubed
½ red onion, diced
1-2 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
In a large bowl, mix black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion, jalapeno and cilantro.
In a smaller bowl, whisk lime juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. When combined, add to the larger bowl. Mix to combine. Serve with tortilla chips.
For what’s been giving me life this week, it was finally planting herbs in our garden. We’ve got chives, mint, thyme, basil and parsley. We even decided to give some veggies a shot by getting a tomato plant (from Plant Garage) and some peppers. I’m not kidding when I say watching the pepper grow bigger and bigger every day makes me giddy. All our indoor plants may be dying, but at least we’ve got this one baby pepper!
It was cooking all the things including Molly Baz’s Grapefruit and Burrata Salad and her Orzo al Limone. I can’t stress this enough, but you NEED her cookbook. We also made some shrimp tacos cause doesn’t that sound so great? It was cuddling with my friend Kate’s itty-bitty kitty, and then getting even more cuddles from our good girl Greta. And lastly, it was getting these funky nails, which make me feel like a kid in the best ways possible. Minus the part where I’m drinking wine in that pic. There’s nothing childish about that.
Wish I was with you,
Maddie