You would have thought this week’s basket world have brought more salads, and it should have! Here’s what we ate instead.
What I Made – Week 8
Green Savoy Cabbage
What I’ve Planned – Week 8
This is the perfect early summer basket this week! The boxes are getting heavier and the veggies are filling up both sides of our crisper, which is a sure sign we’re headed for peak season. I’m trying to take a break from pasta with my menu this week, although there’s no break from salads in sight!
What I Got – Week 8
What I Got – Fall Week 1
Clockwise from left: Bosc Pears, Honeycrisp Apples, Purple Radishes, White Kohlrabi, Green Savoy Cabbage, Orange Carrots, Lacinato Kale, Carnival Squash, Red Potatoes, Romanesco Cauliflower
What I Made – Week 18
This was another big week of home cooking for me, although looking back, the recipes seem repetitive. It’s so easy to reach for rice when I’m looking for a fast meal! The plan is to move away from the stir fry and curry next week, but I can’t argue that these recipes didn’t suit my ingredients so perfectly!
This is sweet and sour tempeh, from a recipe that originally calls for chicken. I didn’t have the snow peas the original recipe calls for, but this was still good. (I pick the pineapple out of mine, though!)
More stir fry, this time with chicken, cabbage, bok choy and my favorite easy stir fry sauce. Stir fry like this is the go-to way to use up bok choy.
Elk flank steak with peppers and smashed blue potatoes would really be a perfect July 4 theme meal with the red, white, and blue vibes going on. Instead of serving it as the main dish, I think I would have liked the steak and peppers better on a soft Italian roll with some provolone melted on top.
I used to the last of my green bell peppers in this Creole fish curry. I used a teaspoon and a half of hot curry powder, and it was quite spicy! I’d go half hot and half regular curry powder next time.
I love this recipe for barbacoa using elk! It the probably the most tender way I have found to cook it. To turn it into fajitas, we topped it with cheese, avocado, and slices of pepper and onion sautéed in a pan with some oil, salt, and salsa seasoning.
What I’ve Planned – Week 18
This Labor Day weekend involved a lot of chores for us: staining the deck, doing yard work, and drying or canning our bounty of fruits and veggies (including the peaches, tomatoes, and jalapeños we got this week!).
I also shredded and froze the last of our summer squash, and made a curried corn soup to freeze so we can enjoy its bright flavors in the depths of winter!
In addition to a few recipes I didn’t get around to last week, here’s what I’ve planned for the week ahead.
- Flank steak with red peppers and twice baked blue potatoes
Elk barbacoa and grilled peppers and onions
Chicken, bok choy and cabbage stir fry (with my go to stir fry sauce)
- Smoked ribs and roasted potatoes
What I Made – Week 17
Back to a full week of cooking! I didn’t plan it this way, but looking at the photos I guess it’s bowl food galore.
This Thai red curry soup was extremely spicy (my preference, I always go a bit heavier with the curry paste than the recipes call for) but wasn’t overwhelming, thanks to the creamy flavor of the coconut milk. If you prefer less spice, you’d be safe with the 3 tablespoons of curry paste the recipe calls for, and two tablespoons would be only a hint of flavor, I think. I also used rice vermicelli noodles per the photo on the site, even though the recipe doesn’t specify.
I turned this Tex Mex Tofu Quinoa Bowl into a salad by putting it over lettuce. Can you tell I had food styling help on this one? 😉
This one pot cabbage casserole may not look like much, but it’s got all the flavor of cabbage rolls with none of the work. Of course, we used fresh tomatoes instead of canned diced tomatoes, so some chopping was involved, but this is still one of my favorite easy recipes and it uses up half a head of cabbage!
I was able to use up several of my veggies and make a meat free, one pot dinner with this lentil salad. (I may have served this with fish, too!) I find the key to this recipe is really tasting the salad and adding vinegar to balance the flavor of mint, earthy lentils, sweet carrots and roasted peppers, and salty cheese. I just should have drained them a lot better to make them less soggy!
This Instant Pot Jambalaya is pictured immediately before I drowned it in hot sauce. There is lots of prep work and chopping for this recipe, but the actual cooking method couldn’t be easier. I used a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning but it definitely could have used more. I added sliced okra right before I cooked it under pressure and thought the texture was perfect. (I have never experienced the burn error this recipe warns you about.)
What I Made – Week 16 and What I’ve Planned – Week 17
- Pasta with sausage and dandelion greens (adds a bit more bite than the chard this recipe calls for, and I use whatever pasta I have on hand)
- Grilled eggplant risotto, not what you’d think of as a traditional beach meal, but great on a stormy evening with some fresh scallops
- Grilled corn, either slathered with mayo, feta, and a squeeze of lime to echo Mexican flavors, or with good old fashioned butter
I’m planning to cut the rest of the corn off the cobs and freeze it for use in soup or chicken chili later this fall or winter.
I also let those cayenne peppers turn red on the counter, then I finally dehydrated them and pulsed them in the food processor to make red pepper flakes. I didn’t use the good appliance, so the size of the flakes is a bit inconsistent, but they are definitely potent!
To make this week, I’ve planned ways to use peppers, peppers, and more peppers
What I’ve Planned – Week 15
I’ve got an ambitious plan to make up for lost time with my menu this week, including trying to use veggies that have been languishing in the crisper for several weeks now. (Looking at you, cabbage!)
Some old favorites:
- Zucchini bread and cheddar squash biscuits (I actually used yellow squash in both)
And some new ideas:
- Kabobs with baba ghanoush eggplant spread
- Chicken stew with farro and tomatoes (recipe from The Chef and the Slow Cooker)
- Plum cake (I’ll probably freeze this for later)
I’m also going to see if the cayennes ripen to red on the counter, then dehydrate and crush them to make homemade red pepper flakes!
What I Got – Week 13
Top Row: Little Baby Flower Watermelon, Banana Peppers, Nectarines, Green Savoy Cabbage
Middle Row: Slicing Cucumbers, Red Beets, Orange Carrots, Jalapeño Peppers
Bottom Row: Mixed Cherry Tomatoes, Yellow Peaches
CSA in the Suburbs 