Books offer fresh, simple recipes

In mid-July, as far as I'm concerned, the best things to eat are the freshest and simplest.

The majority of my shopping budget is spent at one of our farmers markets, buying all the fruits and vegetables I can before the heat burns everything out.

This kind of eating doesn't require much cooking, but if I need inspiration, the following are the books I'd be looking to.

"Salad as a Meal: Healthy Main-Dish Salads for Every Season." Author Patricia Wells is an award-winning author of 12 books, former journalist for The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune, and owner of a cooking school in Paris and Provence, where she resides.

The recipes in this latest book are simple in execution and sophisticated in flavor, a perfect combination for cuisine in the hot days of summer in both Provence and Charleston.

Wells offers eggs, cheese, beans, grains, pasta, seafood, poultry and meat to bolster basic salad

ingredients with chapters on soup and bread as accompaniments.

Intriguing examples include Crab, Avocado and Quinoa Salad with Technicolor Tomatoes; Cantaloupe, Tomato, Goat Cheese, Cucumber and Onion Salad; and Chicken Salad With Green Beans, Tahini-Lemon Yogurt and Cilantro. Hardcover. William Morrow. $34.99.

"Fresh & Fast Vegetarian: Recipes That Make aMeal." Bon Appetit magazine columnist for 15 years and award-winning author of 12 cookbooks, Marie Simmons presents vegetarian recipes, half of which are vegan, that take a max of 45 minutes.

There are soups, salads, topped and stuffed breads, vegetable sides, and grains and beans; all are designated "that make a meal."

So right for us right now: Chilled Watermelon and Tomato Soup; Roasted Vegetables and Mozzarella Quesadillas; Broiled Summer Squash With Vinaigrette, Dill and Goat Cheese. Paperback. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $17.75.

4 servings

Patricia Wells writes that this recipe comes from Raoul Reichrath, chef and owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Le Grand Pre in Provence. It would make a great way to have shrimp salad in our July, especially because there's no mayonnaise involved.

Ingredients

1/2 cup tomato juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Several drops Tabasco sauce

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Fine sea salt

1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch cubes red bell peppers

1 1/2 cups sliced celery

1 1/2 pounds cooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup minced fresh chives or cilantro

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together the tomato juice, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Taste for seasoning. Add the red peppers and celery. Stir to blend.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavors develop.

Toss the shrimp with just enough sauce to lightly and evenly coat the ingredients. Add the chives or cilantro and toss to blend.

Taste for seasoning. Mound the shrimp salad on chilled plates and serve.

--Adapted from "Salad as a Meal: Healthy Main-Dish Salads for Every Season."

Reach Marion Sullivan at mbscooks@gmail.com.