Summer seafood suppers

For the summer, consider colorful, easy and fresh Fish Tacos with Tropical Fruit Salsa. (Photo: The Junior League of Houston)

Cooking Buzz is produced in partnership with the Junior League of Houston, a women’s charitable and education organization founded in 1925.

Summer has always been my favorite time of year. As a kid, there was no school, of course, and my only obligation was to make it to swim-team practice on time. I might spend the entire day in my swimsuit after practice, hopping from a friend’s pool back to the neighborhood pool, coming inside only to eat. While I can no longer spend the entire summer in my swimsuit, the summer months still evoke that sense of freedom for me.

Summer now means easy, fresh meals to quickly get dinner on the table so I can make the most of the longer sunny days after work. Fish Tacos with Tropical Fruit Salsa from Peace Meals fits the bill. While you can follow the recipe to a T, making the fruit salsa and cilantro crème fraîche ahead of time (dice and add the avocado just before serving, though, so the avocado remains bright green), I’ve certainly picked up fresh mango pico de gallo at the grocery store instead and served the fish tacos with Greek yogurt doctored with lime juice and cumin to get dinner on the table even faster.

The Gulf Coast Ceviche can be served as an appetizer or as a light dinner, perfect for summer.

Although the recipe calls for red snapper, it adapts well to any firm fish or to Gulf shrimp that’s in season in July. It also makes a pretty presentation for a laid-back weekend meal for friends. If I’m serving this to company, I love to keep the green onions whole, trimming them and charring them under the broiler until lightly blistered. It adds a slightly smoky flavor to the onions and makes for a nice presentation.

I’ll serve the fish tacos with a pot of Pinto Beans and a big pitcher of Sangria. I’ve been making a variation on the pinto beans from the Houston Junior League Cookbook for years. If I’m short on time I’ll sub canned pinto beans for dried and omit the salt. Either way, any leftovers are great for nachos or chalupas later in the week. My go-to recipe for sangria, from The Star of Texas, has always been a crowd pleaser. As the recipe states, the sangria base really does keep indefinitely in the refrigerator, so it is great to keep on hand as soon as the weather gets warm.

Another quick and easy meal is the Gulf Coast Ceviche, also from Peace Meals. Published as an appetizer, I find it makes for a light dinner perfect for summer. I’ll let the fish marinate while I’m at work, finish the recipe off when I get home, and set my husband to frying up some fresh tortilla chips for serving.

To buy a Houston Junior League cookbook, see jlh.org or call 713-871-6608.