We returned from a family vacation to Mystic, CT early this evening — just in time for me to run out and pick up our share for the week. I still have the Sunshine Kabocha squash from last week to use, but otherwise we’ve been managing to get everything eaten or frozen (or given away — I gave some corn to my parents last week), even with our mini-vacations.

This week we received another 7 ears of corn, Ping Pong tomatoes, 3 slicing tomatoes, basil, parsley, 1 head of garlic, 2 medium yellow onions, 2 Carmen peppers, 1 green bell pepper, an eggplant, a quart of green beans, and some salad mix (those last two are jumbled up in the bag at the back of the photo).

We’re home for the rest of the summer now, so it will be easier to work all the vegetables into our meals. I may try oven-drying some of our tomatoes and then freezing them for a change. Otherwise we’ll just have to concentrate on eating corn regularly!

I was cutting up tomatoes and basil for a simple salad when I realized the colors and size of the tomato slices would make pretty flowers. The boys seemed unimpressed with my handiwork, but we had less resistance than usual to trying something new.

Surprisingly, A. opted to try the basil leaf first, and then decided that he liked the Golden Rave tomatoes better than the red Juliets — the yellow ones are slightly sweeter and less acidic. We got G. to actually chew once while a tomato slice was in his mouth, which we took as progress. He is very fond of placing an item in his mouth for a second — avoiding as much contact with it as possible — then removing it and telling us that he tried it and didn’t like it.

I’m so pleased with this recipe — not only is it a solid vegetarian crock pot meal, it also took advantage of a lot of my CSA haul for the week. Plus, as the original recipe notes, ratatouille is very multi-purpose. Use it over pasta, as I did, or on pizza, in a baked potato, scrambled into eggs, etc. I used half and froze the rest for another meal.

J. thought this ratatouille was very good (he had it over spaghetti). Neither boy would try it, but G. was thrilled by the baked chicken I made alongside it, saying “Thank you for making me chicken!”

If I had had zucchini from my farm share, I would have added it, too.

Slow Cooker Ratatouille
Inspired by Ratatouille in the Crock Pot

2 small onions, thinly sliced
2 medium eggplants, skin on, diced
2 large green bell peppers, seeded, diced
1 small red pepper, seeded, diced (I used a Carmen pepper)
6 plum-sized tomatoes, quartered (I used yellow Golden Rave tomatoes)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1 6-oz. can tomato paste

large handful fresh parsley, chopped
large handful fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Layer ingredients through the 1 tsp. salt in your crock pot, in the order listed. Then dot the tomato paste on top, and cover. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Remove lid and stir to combine. Add fresh parsley and basil, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot, room temperature, or straight from the fridge.

I was thinking about Thanksgiving this morning as I snapped and rinsed fresh, organic green beans from my CSA to use in Green Bean Casserole. The contrast of the lovingly-harvested produce and the canned cream soup was not lost on me. But as I was adding milk to the sauce, I realized: this is not my tradition. We’ve never served this dish at a holiday meal, because it’s dairy-based and we wouldn’t have had it with turkey. Somehow, in reading so many nostalgic posts about this recipe at the center of a Thanksgiving table, I’d co-opted the memory of a green bean casserole tradition as my own.

What’s more, I think this may have been the first time I’ve ever tried this casserole, and I don’t need to do so again anytime soon. I understand the appeal as comfort food: creamy, soft, and familiar (if it is to you!). I could still taste the green bean flavor through the sauce, but overall I found the creaminess cloying and the onions a bit sharp. I would rather eat my Basil Green Beans with Tomatoes any day.

I feel as though I gush on an on about the gorgeous colors of the produce we receive through our farm share, and I have to do it again this week. Look at that dark purple eggplant! The pale yellow tomatoes! The glowing orange squash! How could you not get excited about eating this stuff? (Although, I’m all for brown food too — mashed potatoes and fried chicken, anyone?) The boys fought over who got to pick which vegetables from the bins. If only those arguments were over who got to eat those vegetables…

This week we received 7 ears of corn, 2 large green bell peppers, basil, 1 Sunshine Kabocha squash, 1 quart Juliet tomatoes (red), 1 quart Golden Rave tomatoes (yellow), lettuce mix (looked like braising greens to me, though), 1 eggplant, 1 garlic bulb, 2 small yellow onions, parsley, and cilantro.

After spending the first half of the week away at the beach, I’m ready to make some veggie-packed meals to take us through the weekend. Tomorrow I’ll make a big dent in the new produce with slow cooker ratatouille (would I be wasting the beautiful Kabocha squash if I included in this medley?), served with roasted chicken and spaghetti on the side.

I also have to think of something to do with all that corn. I froze everything from last week’s share; this time I want to use it while it is fresh. I have several jalapeños in the fridge, and with the abundance of tomatoes a spicy corn salsa sounds good, maybe as a side to Baked Huevos Rancheros.

I know I’m going to use fresh green beans from our CSA to make a canned soup classic this week: Green Bean Casserole. I have chard to use up, which I’ll likely saute with olive oil and garlic and use as a filling for an omelet. Otherwise, I have no concrete meal plans — we won’t be home for as many meals as usual, and I plan on indulging the boys in some extra end-of-summer ice cream. We can get back to square meals when September rolls around.

My mom probably doesn’t remember that dessert, but she recently bought a package of Island Way Sorbet from Costco. It’s an assorted package of individual lemon, mango-orange, pineapple, coconut, and pina colada sorbets, all packaged in their original containers, if you will (lemon and orange peels, pineapple rinds, and coconut shells). They are incredibly cute, and, except the coconut, low in calories and fat.

G. tucked right into the pineapple sorbet, while A. was scraping the peel to get the last of his mango-orange. I had the coconut, which was as rich as ice cream, and was delicious (after I got past the feeling that I was eating sunscreen, just because of the scent).

What a fun summer treat. Now if only I was planning a luau…

We received 7 ears of corn (I’m going to have to start freezing it), chard, lettuce mix (yay! but it’s very wet — it won’t last long, even if I spin it dry before storing), parsley, cilantro, 2 Mars red onions, 2 jalapeños, 1 cucumber, 1 tiny zucchini, a quart of green beans, a pint of Juliet plum tomatoes, an overflowing pint of slicing tomatoes, 1 eggplant, 1 green pepper, and 2 Carmen peppers (they’re sweet).

Practically Edible informs me that Mars red onions did not, in fact, originate on Mars. In case you were wondering.

The inspiration for this recipe came from an issue of Real Simple, several years ago. I can’t find the original recipe online, but that’s where I got the idea to put these three main ingredients together.

I use raw sweet corn for this recipe, which in season (right now! go get some) is just divine. You just stand the cob up on end, and use a large chef’s knife to pare the kernels away from the cob. Make sure you do this inside the dish you’re going to use for the rest of the recipe, so that any liquid released by cutting the corn winds up in your food, not on your cutting board. I’m a tiny bit obsessed with the crunchy texture of the raw corn, especially the way 4 or 5 kernels will hold together off the cob, uniting to create a big chunk of summer goodness.

I use two ears of corn; two avocados, in bite-sized chunks; a half pint of grape tomatoes, halved; the juice of one lemon; and a large handful of cilantro, chopped (you can substitute basil). Mix them all together and serve at room temperature or straight from the fridge.

I cooked this week, just not what I’d planned. Monday I was going to make Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas, Beef & Cilantro, but wound up pan-frying some meatballs instead. On Tuesday I wound up baking the tofu for lunch, and then I made up a swiss chard & cauliflower gratin for dinner. It was delicious, but I am holding back on posting it because I may enter it in a local recipe contest.

Thursday I made my Slow Cooker Italian-Style Turkey Meatballs, which are always delicious. (Yes, meatballs twice in one week.) The side of CSA veggies was the best part: yellow squash, small eggplants, and onion sauteed in olive oil until they caramelized, and seasoned with a little kosher salt.

If you have a lot of vegetables you need to use up, either from your garden or farm share, check out my Vegetable Jalfrezi (an Indian twist on a stir-fry).

Our summer is winding down now, so our schedule is becoming less predictable and I’m sure my menu planning will reflect that until school starts in September.

Monday: Corn, tomato & avocado salad, fresh mozzarella, Italian bread

Tuesday: Chicken sausage with onions & Italia peppers, whole wheat pasta

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Chicken Castillo (from the freezer), whole wheat spaghetti, farm share veggies

Friday: Roasted Rolled Turkey Breast, farm share veggies, challah

Saturday: Take out or go out

Sunday: Breakfast for dinner: eggs and Silver Dollar Pancakes, fruit salad

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.