Back row: Hyssop (note: the official list said “anise hyssop” but I got that last year, and it looked and smelled nothing like this, so I’m pretty sure this is Hyssopus officinalis), Orange Carrots, Green Cabbage, Green Kale
Middle row: Banana Peppers, Green Zucchini (seven of them!), Blackberries, Yellow Wax Beans
Front row: Pickling Cucumbers, Yellow Peaches
This elk ragu with carrots and garlic scapes is inspired by this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks in recent years, Six Seasons. With only about an hour total cook time, it comes together more quickly than many other similar recipes, with no loss of flavor.
I know I’ve posted about poke salad bowls on here before, but I thought this time was a bit more photogenic. Maybe? Not really? Oh well.
These are my favorite quinoa bowls with marinated kale. I changed the recipe a bit by using pan-fried tofu instead of chicken and using jarred roasted red peppers instead of the tomatoes for a sauce with a bit of kick.
Fish taco salad, inspired by a local salad chain restaurant. I think sliced the cabbage and combined it with lettuce to make the bed of greens. Topped with pan fried catfish, quick pickled onions, and cilantro-queso fresco dressing and it’s almost as good as the one from the store.
Our July 4 cookout lunch included roasted potatoes, smoked cider can chicken (for a gluten-free take on a beer can chicken) and these blistered green beans with miso.
This pasta with garlic scapes and fava beans was also a hit. In the future, I’d add red pepper flakes for a bit of spice (even though I used hot Italian sausage like the original recipe said).
On the sweet side of things, I also made a blueberry buckle. I just call it coffee cake and eat it for breakfast with no regrets! 💁🏼♀️
Chocolate chip zucchini bread is another of my favorite dessert-for-breakfast meals. I plan to wrap these loaves tight and freeze them for to enjoy once zucchini season has passed.
Clockwise from left: Spring Onions, Green Savoy Cabbage, Orange Carrots, Green Beans, Green Kale, Green Zucchini, Blueberries, Pickling Cucumbers, Yellow Peaches, Fava Beans
If I could rename this blog, I would call it “Salad Season” because each May we laugh about how much lettuce we seem to get, saying it’s to prepare our bodies for lounging beside swimming pools and on beaches. Somehow, the sudden bounty of leafy greens doesn’t have much effect on my physique, but it’s still nice to be eating lighter as the weather gets warmer, at least, most days.
Here are some of the things I’m planning to make this week.
I’m trying to put that lettuce to use in lots of salad recipes this week. We typically take leftovers as lunch, so it really works out to salad every day. I won’t wish this time of year away, though, because after Salad Season comes Summer Squash Overload, and it will be here before we know it.
I turned these quinoa bowls into a salad, topped with pan fried tofu, cilantro, orange bell pepper, red scallions, and marinated kale with this delicious Thai peanut chili sauce. The marinated kale was also good on tacos for lunch later in the week.
Not to be forgotten – some bonus baked good content!
My favorite chocolate orange zucchini cake. Even though it looks like a ton of glaze, I only made half of what it called for. I also swapped in chocolate chips instead of the pecans and use orange juice instead of milk in the glaze!
Strawberry rhubarb scones with 1/2 cup strawberries and 1/2 cup rhubarb instead of using all rhubarb. I find these are plenty sweet enough without the glaze.
Lots of leftovers this week that I still need to use: one more zucchini, some strawberries, the whole head of green leaf lettuce (and some romaine from two weeks ago!), radishes, cucumbers, and a little more of the kale. We’ll eat the kohlrabi tonight, but I have a weekend full of meal planning ahead!
I’m planning to go out to eat more than normal this week (where normal means practically never!) so the meal list might seem a bit shorter than usual. You can assume every meal I’m eating at home that’s not on this list is some form of salad, in order to use up the head of lettuce leftover from last week and the enormous head we received this week!
I’m also thinking about making something with strawberry and rhubarb – maybe these scones?
Will we actually finish everything from the basket this week? Can we possibly eat enough salads to keep up with all the lettuce? Stay tuned to find out.
Back row: Lacinato Kale, two Green Zucchini, Red Radishes, Green Leaf Lettuce
Front row: White Kohlrabi, Strawberries, Garlic Scapes, Mini Greenhouse Cucumbers
This was another great recipe suggestion from my cousin Anna. Thank you, Anna! She suggests it as an appetizer, but if you lack impulse control like I do, it could be a whole meal.
The zucchini is shredded, then combined with diced onion, flour, and an egg to make a loose batter that reminded me of the texture and consistency of a fish cakes, for example. The mixture does hold together, but is still somewhat liquid. The dipping sauce is an easy combination of your favorite store-bought mayonnaise, chipotle powder, chili powder and lime juice. I went heavier on it than I probably should have when I was serving myself, but the spicy, creamy texture is so yummy with the crispy crunch of the fritter.
Cantaloupe, Charentais French melon, red onion, Malabar spinach, Hungarian hot wax peppers (5)
Green zucchini (5), peaches (5), red tomatoes (3), Early Gold apples (3), yellow wax beans (2 pounds), grape tomatoes (1 pint)
This week may be a bit light on recipes, since there’s a lot in this basket I can eat plain or in a simple preparation, no recipe needed.
My awesome cousin Anna heard my pleas for more zucchini recipes and sent along a whole bunch! As I’ve mentioned, I love trying recipes that use more than one of my weekly ingredients, so of course this was the first recipe I tried.
This is a lasagna where the layers are a pureed mix of sautéed corn and cream, no-boil lasagna noodles, and a mix of onions, zucchini and poblano peppers, all topped with Oaxaca cheese. My neighborhood grocery store carries Oaxaca cheese, but if you can’t find it, the recipe suggest substituting mozzarella.
The original recipe says to use an 11×8 baking dish. Naturally, I only had a 11×7 or a 9×13. I sized up, but in hindsight, I should have sized down. The bigger dish meant that the veggies didn’t fully cover the noodles, so they didn’t get soft on the top layer.
You can see from this photo that I didn’t have enough veggies to cover the top, so the noodles got a little crispy. Nothing some time in the fridge as leftovers won’t fix! However, this meant that I avoided broiling the lasagna to crisp the cheese, since I didn’t want to burn the exposed noodles.
CSA in the Suburbs 