This was a super-easy, quick slaw that was surprisingly delicious. I thinly sliced a small green cabbage, and tossed it with a chopped bunch of scallions and a couple of shaved (with a vegetable peeler) carrots. For the dressing, I combined a squirt of sriracha sauce with some honey, apple cider vinegar, and fresh lemon juice. (I just splashed them together in a bowl without measuring, and adjusted the quantities to taste.) You can season with salt and pepper, as well.
Toss the cabbage mixture with the dressing and let it sit at room temperature for a least 15 minutes, so the cabbage can soften slightly. The spicy sriracha is a good contrast to the cool, crisp cabbage. Definitely a nice change from the sesame oil-based slaws I have been making recently.
July 27, 2010
I’ve combined sauteed swiss chard and onions, Gruyere, and eggs before, in fritatta form. I don’t love swiss chard as a side dish, but folded into eggs (or mashed potatoes) I do like its flavor a lot (it is similar to spinach). I used the same ingredients for the quiche, but the flaky pie crust makes the already-yummy filling into a real treat of a summer dinner.
I used frozen Oronoque Orchards deep dish pie crusts, which are pretty decent but include a small amount of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, including cottonseed. Not that pie crust is a healthy thing to eat anyway, but I do try to avoid cottonseed oil in particular. I noticed whole wheat pie crusts in Mrs. Green’s the last time I was there, so I will have to check the ingredients on those brands as a possible alternative.
I love this quiche cold, straight from the fridge. I baked two of them, and then froze one for an easy meal another day.
July 27, 2010
My sister got married on Sunday! When I think about the wedding, I see smiling faces everywhere — it was that type of day, where everyone is thrilled to be celebrating the union of two people they love.
Needless to say, I was busy getting ready for the big day last week. I did, however, get to make a nice Spicy Cabbage Slaw, Kalyn’s Mujadarra, and even a couple of swiss chard quiches. I’ll be posting those recipes tonight or tomorrow.
Monday: Corn and Basil Cakes, cheese, salad
Tuesday: Leftover Corn and Basil Cakes, leftover (frozen) smoked brisket, cucumber salad
Wednesday: Swiss chard & gnocchi with Parmesan, steamed green beans
Thursday: Slow Cooker Ratatouille, pasta, fresh mozzarella or ricotta
Friday: Grilled bone-in chicken pieces, challah, farm share veggies
Saturday: Order in or go out
Sunday: J. grills meat + veg
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie, and Jenna, who sponsors Mindful Menus, a menu-planning meme that aims “to inspire health through real food” at Chive Talkin’.
July 27, 2010
I’m sliding this one in right under the wire, as I’m about to pick up Week 8 tomorrow…
We received 2 green bell peppers, 2 onions, 3 cucumbers, 1 tiny eggplant, a bunch of fingerling carrots (I made that term up, but I like it!), 5 ears of corn, a small handful of basil, green beans, lettuce mix, 1 small yellow squash, and 2 small zucchini.
The peppers tasted watery to me, but not bitter. The corn was absolutely fantastic, as in previous years. I can’t help but eat some of it raw, sliced off the cobs. I wound up cooking the corn and basil up into Corn and Basil Cakes, which were good — the fresh corn is barely cooked and remains the highlight of the pancake, its sweetness nicely contrasted by the bite of ground pepper. I would make my Corn, Avocado, & Tomato Salad next time, though.
July 27, 2010
We have a busy schedule this week, and instead of a day-by-day plan I just have some general ideas of what I’ll be cooking.
I baked two quiches (with sauteed swiss chard and Gruyere) tonight; one I’ll freeze and the other will be served cold with a Asian cabbage slaw on Tuesday night, after the pool. We’ll have pasta salad with a side of sliced cucumbers another night. And I hope to get a chance to try out turkey burgers on the grill, now that I know I can turn it on successfully! Otherwise there will be a little more Annie’s mac and cheese and eating out this week than usual — the boys’ favorite kind of meal plan!
July 19, 2010
As I mentioned earlier this week, one of my “to do” items for the summer was to cook a meal on our grill. I have never even turned our grill on; it has been solely J.’s domain… up until now.
With a brief set of pointers from J. the night before, I felt equipped to turn the grill on without blowing up the propane tank. I coated some chicken breasts with Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki and grilled them over medium heat, about 10 minutes per side. They were great!
My goodness, it is hot when you’re standing in front of a grill on a 90-degree day. (J. told me that’s because I forgot to bring a beer outside.) Now that I know I can use the grill, I am eager to add turkey burgers, grilled vegetables, and even grilled pizza to my dinner lineup during the week.
July 16, 2010
I love the easy parking and super-organized group running our new farm share pick-up site, but — perhaps because it’s huge now (80 members in one location, I think) and inside a college building rather than someone’s home — it feels more like shopping in the produce section of a store rather than being part of a local group participating in a CSA. The vegetables are still lovely, but I am missing the homey vibe of our previous location, and this feeling was highlighted when I ran into the lovely host of our old site this week. So is it about the organic vegetables, supporting local, sustainable agriculture, or feeling like I’m part of a like-minded group?
This week we received 3 cucumbers, 3 zucchini, a bunch of small carrots, 1 cabbage, a bunch of chard (or you could choose kale), cilantro, lettuce mix, 2 onions, 3 summer squash, and green beans.
I still have the chard from last week, but I have plans for both bunches — they’re going being sauteed with the onions, and then added to a quiche. I will probably freeze the quiche for another time, or give one away. We already ate the green beans tonight, tossed in a saute pan with a little olive oil, the juice and zest of two lemons, and a little salt. I may try to sneak zucchini muffins past the boys this week, too.
July 15, 2010
The original recipe for this Cucumber and Radish Salad with Feta, Red Wine Vinegar, and Buttermilk Dressing comes from Kalyn’s Kitchen. She always has great ideas for vegetables!
I used two large garden cucumbers, and peeled and cut them early in the day. I allowed them to sit on a bed of paper towels in the fridge for a couple of hours before I put the salad together, I did not find them to be too wet at all, and that was without salting them. I also used skim milk instead of buttermilk, and apple cider vinegar instead of red wine.
My parents and I liked this salad, and it is crisp and cool — perfect for summer. I think adding pepper (I forgot to) and perhaps some chives or minced scallions would really be fantastic. Since my Dad just gave me a big cuke from his garden, and I received 3 more in today’s CSA share, I anticipate many more cucumber-based salads in the near future.
July 14, 2010
Summer seems to be slipping away. I had a lot of big (and small) ideas about what I wanted to accomplish this summer, with the boys off to camp for much of the day. Between preparing for my sister’s wedding this month (yay!) and managing some construction we’re doing, plus the usual running of a household, I seem to fill up my days without ever getting to my projects list.
One thing I did want to challenge myself to this summer: learn to use the freakin’ grill already. J. is so good at grilling that I have never bothered learning. My dear friend Suzanne is the grillmaster in her family, and I am inspired by her. So this Thursday, the grill is on. I have to start somewhere, and as the summer rolls on by I hope to at least cross this “to do” off my very long list.
Monday: Leftovers (plus made a pasta salad for J. to eat during the week)
Tuesday: Leftover grilled vegetables, Cucumber and Radish Salad with Feta, Red Wine Vinegar, and Buttermilk Dressing, sliced cheese, hummus, rolls
Wednesday: Marinated Tofu with Cabbage, Carrots, & Noodles (I’m going to add in some spring turnips, and keep the noodles separate for the boys)
Thursday: Basil Green Beans with Tomatoes, grilled chicken breasts, dinner rolls
Friday: Mujadarra, roasted chicken, farm share veggies, challah (bumped from last week)
Saturday: Order in or go out
Sunday: J. grills meat + veg
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie, and Jenna, who sponsors Mindful Menus, a menu-planning meme that aims “to inspire health through real food” at Chive Talkin’.
July 13, 2010
On Sunday night J. grilled so much summer squash, zucchini, and onions that he had to do it in two batches, completely covering the grill with vegetables each time. We ate some and I’ll use the rest during the week, either on sandwiches or in pasta.
We also cut our small red cabbage into wedges, drizzled it with olive oil, and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Cooked right on the grates, the leaves got a nice char on them, and stayed firm, not mushy. I really loved the flavor of the cabbage cooked this way, but as J. put it, “It’s still cabbage.” Well, I like cabbage so this is a great additional way to prepare it. The spare, crisp flavor was a good contrast to the rich marinated steaks J. grilled alongside.
July 12, 2010
Previous page
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 4 and 6, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 