Celebrate summer with fabulous soup, sensational salads

Every country and each little corner of it has culinary diversity to share with the rest of the world. In Scotland — and strangely enough, Mexico — oatmeal is used to thicken soups. Not instant or breakfast quickie oatmeal flavored for kid acceptance, but the real thing — old-fashioned rolled oats.

Here’s a savory, stick-to-the-ribs example from south of the border that is a real quickie that's packed with flavor.

Mexican Corn Tomato Soup

1 1/4 cups rolled oats

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled, quartered, finely chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, finely chopped OR 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, any seeds spooned out

5 pints vegetable broth *

1/2 teaspoon EACH salt, brown sugar

3-4 sage leaves, minced OR 1/2 teaspoon dry, powdered sage

1 1/2 cups corn kernels, preferably fresh cut from the cob

Place your soup pot over medium heat and lightly brown the oats, stirring to keep them from burning. Pour them into a bowl.

To the same pot, add and heat the oil, then the onion and garlic, stirring to allow to wilt a little; add tomatoes, broth, salt, sugar and sage.

Bring to a boil, add the oatmeal, and cook over medium heat for only 3 minutes.

Lower the heat, add the corn and simmer for no longer than 5 minutes, until barely tender.

Taste for seasoning, and serve immediately.

• You may also use chicken broth for a somewhat different flavor.

On now to three knock-out salads that will make your reputation! Make our first offering 2-3 days early, stirring occasionally to meld flavors.

Carrot and Chestnut Salad With Capers

1 1/2 cups canned whole chestnuts

4 cups coarsely grated carrots

2/3 cup French caper dressing (recipe follows)

1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh chives

Drain chestnuts and chop coarsely. Toss with grated carrots and dressing, cover and marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Bring to room temperature, toss and sprinkle with chives before serving.

French Caper Dressing

1/4 cup red OR white wine vinegar

Salt to taste

Dash of ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced

2-3 teaspoons capers, drained

Whisk vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic together until well blended, then stir in capers. Taste for flavor, correct as necessary. Add about 2/3 cup to the salad, refrigerate remainder.

Oranges star in our last two salads, each from Morocco.

Navals are best, but rare in the summertime, so use canned, drained (saving the juice) mandarin oranges for an equally delicious outcome.

Orange Radish Salad

2-3 cans mandarin orange segments, drained, juice saved

1 large bunch crisp, red radishes, trimmed and sliced paper-thin

Juice of 2 lemons

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon superfine sugar

Toss orange segments and radish slices in a glass bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, salt and sugar and taste for tartness.

You may want to add a spoonful of the mandarin orange juice to the dressing.

Pour over the salad, tossing well but gently, chill before serving.

Orange/Onion Salad

2-3 cans mandarin orange segments, drained

2 medium mild onions (Walla Walla sweets), very thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice OR white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Small pinch of cayenne or chili pepper seeds (as in the pizza packets)

Olives for garnish (Kalamata proper here)

Toss oranges and onions in a bowl. Combine dressing ingredients, taste for seasoning, pour over the salad. Garnish with olives; chill for at least 1 hour.

Note: This salad makes a beautiful holiday season presentation, made with real oranges slices. Make a pattern of the orange and onion slices on a pretty platter, pour dressing over, and garnish with the olives.

Chill and serve for a simple but festive display

'Homemade' Ice Cream

Too tired to whip up dessert? Try this ’homemade’ ice cream for a go-with-anything dessert.

Buy a quality-brand vanilla ice cream, allow to soften in the refrigerator, then stir in 1/2 cup chilled, drained chopped fresh peeled apricots which have been simmered in simple syrup with minced candied ginger.

Spoon ice cream into a plastic container and re-freeze, stirring occasionally to keep consistency proper. Serve topped with the remaining syrup and sprinkled with pecans.

(Editor’s note: For many years, Valle Novak has written gardening and cooking columns for the Daily Bee. “Weekend Gardener” and “Country Chef” became renowned for their humor, information and common sense advice on how to do everything from planting to cooking. While she recently retired, she has shared a number of columns to delight her many fans. This is one such column, originally published on June 17, 2007.)