Easy summer entertaining: seasonal & green appetizers

My wares from the Irvington farmer’s market the other weekend served as inspiration for this green, easy  summer entertaining feature.

To paraphrase the song, it’s summer and the living – as well as the appetizing –  should be easy.

These three snacks, starters or appetizers are some of my new favorites:

• Savory yogurt with Sohha everything bagel topping
• Grilled garlic scapes and sweet peas, topped with colorful kumquats
• Strawberry and ciliegine (little mozzarella balls) salad with matcha and grenadine

Treat your guests, and yourself, to these delicious seasonal appetizers that take just a quick moment to prepare, yet manage to create colorful memories of these lingering warm summer days.

Sohha savory yogurt is one of my local favorites. They make an “everything bagel” topping that you can spoon over yogurt or all kinds of things, made with toasted pine nuts,poppy seed, sesame seed, onion, garlic and extra virgin oil. I also added some fresh mint.

Dip the ends of the grilled garlic scapes – so full of flavor – into the yogurt. Or enjoy them on their own, in a salad with fleeting lightly sautéed sweet peas. They are the greenest tasting peas around and are so cheerful when paired with the tartness of kumquats.

Strawberry season is going strong and the sweetness of the berries makes for a natural pairing with creamy ciliegine cheese balls. Don’t be too precious about arranging these on a plate – quarter the berries and scatter them artfully, topping with a few teaspoons of grenadine syrup (I love the one from Morris Kitchen) and a restrained sprinkle of good matcha powder.

Eat, drink, and be merry!