Favorite Recipes and Spices for July
Lynley Jones
Welcome to July. The hot sun is shining straight overhead, your herbs are going gangbusters in the garden, and the livin’ is easy at the farmers market.
There are two real hallmarks of July cooking:
July carrots piled high at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City.
1) The great outdoors
It’s the season of grilling and camping - and grilling while camping. Snacks and meals should be poolside, or on the patio, or dripping down your bathing-suited self just before you hit the sprinklers. We’re all in flip flops and tank tops, sweating and vibing in the sun.
2) Fresh everything
Just about anything and everything is starting to hit the farmers market stands. Timing will vary from year to year based on the weather, but in the beginning of the month you’ll usually get the last of the blueberries, and by the end of the month, the blackberries are usually arriving. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the first peaches and tomatoes, and the first gorgeous ears of corn. Herbs are everywhere, and all kinds of greens are fresh and plentiful. Broccoli, cauliflower, squash blossoms, green beans, arugula, spinach, Swiss chard, garlic scapes and on and on and on. You’re finally hitting full summer, and you can grab everything from the farmers market and cook what’s in season. Live it up, baby.
Cooking strategies and spices
My favorite recipes for this time of year use the produce that’s ripe and ready right now, and they’re exactly what you want to grill, freeze or just eat. (So much good food, so little time….!)
Some of my fave spices and ingredients for July cooking are:
Aleppo pepper - a perennial favorite! Slightly smoky, a hint of fruit, a little heat and lots of flavor. Great on anything on the grill, pairs well with chocolate, and lots more.
Originally from Aleppo, Syria, this pepper is now being grown in neighboring Turkey. Mildly spicy, it’s like a cross between ancho chile and red bell peppers. Addictively good on veggies of all kinds, as well as grilled meats, fish and more.
1/2 cup-sized jar.
Ceylon cinnamon - from Sri Lanka, pairs well with Indian and Mexican cuisines and perfect over fresh fruit.
We get our Ceylon cinnamon straight from Sri Lanka, where it originates. Known as the real "original" cinnamon, it has a mild, subtle flavor and is the cinnamon traditionally used in Indian and Mexican cuisines, and many others.
1/2 cup sized jar.
Turmeric - essential for all kinds of Indian flavors on the grill: veggies, curries and more.
We are super proud to offer you this single-origin, heirloom-variety turmeric, farmed without pesticides and harvested and freshly milled each year! This pragati turmeric is an intensely flavorful and aromatic heirloom variety, grown on a 3rd generation family farm in India. 1/2 cup-sized jar.
Cumin - perfect for Mexican and Indian cooking; use ground cumin in marinades and on the grill, or add whole cumin seeds (or crush them first) to curries or sprinkle over fresh veggies.
Our flavorful organic cumin seeds come from India and Turkey. These high-quality cumin seeds have a robust flavor and a gorgeously deep brown color, flecked with green and gold. Cumin is a classic ingredient in cuisines around the world, including Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern and many others. Use them whole in rice, curries, beans and soups to infuse the dish with flavor. Or crush them with a mortar and pestle to sprinkle on meats and taco toppings.
1/2 cup-sized jar.
Fave July recipes
Below are 66+ of my favorite recipes for cooking in July. Seasonal fruits and veggies, lots of great spices, stuff to cook on the grill, stuff to eat outside, stuff to dribble down your shirt. Go crazy!
A little bit pesto, a little bit chimichurri, and lots of flavor! Spoon it over grilled meats or veggies, toss it with pasta, slather it over crostini or dribble it onto your pizza. Made with lots of fresh herbs, garlic and shallots, plus toasted pine nuts, mixed together in olive oil with a splash of lemon juice and a little Aleppo pepper.