Summer Entertaining

Summer is an easy time of year to entertain. The fresh produce is spectacular and needs very little fussing - serve plain old corn on the cob and everyone's happy. And many dishes can be made ahead and served at room temperature on these warm evenings, so the chef can mingle with her guests.

Saturday night, we invited Shane and Emma to dinner. We poured glasses of hibiscus-lime iced tea and strolled the garden. I picked some herbs, greens and cherry tomatoes to round out the main course, and Shane picked blueberries for dessert.

We chatted over corn chips and our homemade salsa while I dressed the greens for the grilled eggplant salad. I had grilled the eggplant a couple of hours before when I got home from work, and left it at room temperature.

Warming up in the slow cooker was a white bean and tomato stew I had cooked early that morning. It had a little heat from our home-grown poblano and jalapeño peppers, but was still a gentle foil to the tart and spicy greens on the eggplant. (The slow cooker is a great way to warm food without having to watch that it doesn't burn.) Larry cooked corn on the cob, and we sat down to an easy yet delicious meal.

Dessert was peach ice cream that I'd made Wednesday evening with mountain-grown peaches from Ha's Apple Farm. I felt bad turning this luscious fruit into ice cream, but it got rave reviews, especially with our homegrown blueberries scattered on top.

As we ate dessert, the night grew dark and we lit candles. An owl flew to the top of our cypress tree, and the full moon rose. There's nothing like a simple summer dinner in the garden.

White Bean and Tomato Stew
1 cup dry white beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 poblano pepper
1 jalapeño pepper
1 heaping tablespoon fresh basil
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/2 cup parsley

Cook the beans in plenty of simmering water until tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on the age of the beans. They should be just cooked, not mushy, because they will cook further in the stew. Drain them and set aside. They can be refrigerated overnight. If you prefer, you can use 2 14-oz cans of cannellini beans. Drain them and rinse them well.

Warm olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic, tomato, and seeded and chopped peppers. Cook a couple of minutes and add the beans. Season with salt to taste. It can be refrigerated now if necessary.

Chop the fresh herbs and add to the stew as it warms. If it gets too dry, add a splash of water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve warm.

Serves 6

Poblano peppers - like green peppers but with a little heat