My favourite memory growing up is me and my mum in the kitchen. We bake and cook together, and if I don't want to help I just sit there and talk to her so she won't be alone. While some meals have been a disaster, most turn out pretty delicious. It became our love language to make food whenever one of us is stressed out or sad. That is why I want to share 5 of my favourite summer meals in this article, hoping that you'll feel the same kind of excitement as I do every time I cook with my mum.

Since summer is already way too hot, each dish includes fresh and hydrating ingredients which won't take long to prepare.

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas
• cherry tomatoes
• cucumber
• onion
• avocado
• edamame
• juice of half a lemon
• olive oil
• salt and pepper (or other preferred spices)
• recommended: paprika and garlic powder

Preparation:

1. Rins and dry the chickpeas before adding olive oil.
2. Bake them for around 30mins at 180 degrees .
3. Add your preferred seasoning and bake them again for around 10mins.
4. While the chickpeas are in the oven: slice your vegetables and prepare the salad dressing.
5. Add everything into a bowl and enjoy the perfect salad!

The mix of the flavourful chickpeas and the fresh vegetables is the best!

Tip: The chickpeas still taste amazing once they're cold so you can prepare more than you need for one portion. They're also amazing as chips or a small snack throughout the day!

Photo by Akshata Bablad from Pexels

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Lemon Basil Pasta

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 200g pasta
• 100ml pasta water
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 lemon
• a handful of fresh basil
• salt and pepper
• optional: parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. Cook the pasta in salted water and save some pasta water before draining it.
2. Mix crème fraîche, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper and basil in a pan.
3. Add the pasta water until the sauce is creamy.
4. Mix in the pasta and top it with parmesan cheese if wanted.

I could eat pasta every day so this dish is perfect for everyone who thinks like me. Though most of the time I bury my pasta under way too much cheese!

Tip: A simple green salad with an oil-vinegar-dressing is the perfect side dish to add something healthy and fresh!

Photo by Samuele Pieretti from Unsplash

Chicken Tzatziki Bowl

Ingredients:

• chicken
• vegetables of your choice (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, paprika, avocado,...)
• yoghurt
• garlic
• shallots
• paprika powder
• oregano
• cucumber
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• tahini
• ginger
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Marinate the chicken with yoghurt, garlic, shallots, paprika powder and oregano.
2. Leave it like that for a few hours or roast it in a pan immediately.
3. Grate the cucumber and add yoghurt, lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning to make the tzatziki sauce.
4. Mix together tahini, ginger, garlic, lemon juice and salt as another topping for the bowl.
5. Cut all your vegetables and put them in a bowl.
6. Add the chicken, tzatziki sauce and tahini and you're ready to eat the best bowl ever!

Tip: Eat it with pitas, tastes even better!

Photo by Lena Sifoo from Unsplash

Watermelon Cubes

Ingredients:

• watermelon
• coconut
• lime juice
• pistachios

Preparation:

1. Cut the watermelon into cubes.
2. Top it with coconut, lime juice and chopped pistachios.

Tip: Also amazing, watermelon and feta cheese!

Photo by Vivacia from Pixabay

Fruity Summer Rolls

Ingredients:

• fruits of your choice (pineapple, kiwi, watermelon, mango, blueberries, strawberries,...)
• rice paper wrappers
• frozen mixed berries
• honey

Photo by Karolin Baitinger from Unsplash

Preparation:

1. Cut all your fruit.
2. Blend together the frozen berries and honey to create a sauce for dipping. Add water if needed to loosen.
3. Soak the rice papers for a few seconds, add the fruit and fold it together. The rice paper will stick together by itself. You can add the sauce in the roll, use it for dipping only or both.

Tip: If you make both savoury and sweat summer rolls you have the perfect meal!

I've eaten summer rolls so often but by far the best were in Thailand. Juicy ingredients, an amazing seasoned sauce and the whole atmosphere of one street food stall next to the other is a vibe I'll never forget. Every time I try to recreate summer rolls at home it's like trying to recreate those exact memories. And even if it doesn't work perfectly, it evokes the sweetest nostalgia ever!

Which meal are you most excited to try? Leave a comment to share what you tried and what your favourite summer meals are. Happy cooking!