I’m going to eventually get around to writing about the rest of our time in Idaho and Oregon later, but for now I just have too many gorgeous veggies to show off.
First of all, we came home to a booming garden. We have tomatoes aplenty already.
Not to mention there are fig and plum trees all around us, so on our way biking to and from parks we have been foraging them. Summer living!
Figs are my ALL TIME favorite (so much so that my parents gave me a dwarf fig tree for my birthday a few years back). And yet, the season for them is SO SHORT. So any chance I can get to get my hands on them, I’m game.
Our CSA included two baskets this week. And then we managed to pick another bag full from a local tree (which has a ton more green ones that I’m going to try and return for in a week or so…).
And then last weekend I went blueberry picking on a solo date with Miss V and we ended up scoring another bunch! More on that fun adventure later though…
Anyway. The second reason we have veggies overflowing is because we missed a week of our CSA and so they gave me TWO WEEKS’ WORTH when we got back home.
Which is an insane amount of produce. Even for us.
This is not even half of it. Seriously. There were also bags of potatoes, cabbage, multiple kinds of peppers, basil, etc.
Ready to see a bunch of summer recipes? Good.
First off, I decided to roast the garlic. It turned into a buttery gooey mess that made the house smell ah-may-zing.
I’ve been using it in a number of recipes…namely home made sauces and dressings…like pesto, pico de gallo, and other vinaigrettes.
Speaking of pico de gallo. The bowl I made was as fresh as it gets and I served it when we had friends over this past weekend.
Kyle also grilled sausages, and then I made a roasted veggie brown rice dish.
Since I will probably never get around to sharing this in a separate post, let me just tell you what I did here…
First I roasted a tray of zucchini, pan patty squash, and red onions covered in olive oil and salt. Then I cooked a cup of brown rice. Once the rice was done, I added it to bowl with one large (diced) heirloom tomato. Later I added the roasted veggies along with the olive oil that they were cooked in. Finally I tossed in some dried oregano and pine nuts.
To serve, I made a basil vinaigrette with olive oil, roasted garlic, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, fresh basil, salt and pepper. I had extra on the side as well, so that the adults could spoon even more over their portion after serving (my kids liked it, but not all kids have their palates so I wasn’t sure how much to use initially).
The basil vinaigrette was definitely the highlight of the meal for me. Basil is the other summer ingredient that gives figs a run for their money. I discovered pesto late in life and am determined to make up for lost time.
Check out these gorgeous cherry tomatoes.
For a simple meal, I roasted potatoes and roasted (slash poached) cherry tomatoes in olive oil.
Both the (funny looking / multicolor) potatoes and the herbs I roasted them with came from the CSA.
These side dishes were actually even better than the protein that they accompanied in my honest opinion.
Hard to tell from the photo, but this was a curry chicken salad with mayo, curry powder, golden raisins, and slivered almonds.
Sample plate kind of dinner.
I had the leftovers later in the week with these crackers that I’m OBSESSED WITH.
I bought them in Idaho (the only place you can buy them in a store) and even though I bought SIX bags, I am already wishing I bought more. I will 100% be ordering them online after I finish my current stash. They are ridiculously good. So crunchy and salty and addicting.
Anyway, back to the veg.
This is a hummus dipping platter for my Valley girl. We had a picnic while my big boy was at gymnastics camp (her camp ended at 12:30 but his went all the way to 2 pm!).
And lest you think I’m moving on from my Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. obsession THINK AGAIN. I made the “DIY grain salad” with lemon miso vinaigrette and the Thai quinoa salad within the first week of returning to my own kitchen.
I just wish I could figure out a way to make the four serving portion actually last me for more than two servings. 😛
I doubled this one so that it would last for a few lunches after we ate it for dinner.
Prep game on point.
I left the nuts out of the recipe so that I could add different things each time (sunflower seeds, cashews, whatever). This time I added honey roasted peanuts because why not?? The fresh herbs are what really make the dish go from good to great though.
And just when I think I have finally reached the bottom of the veggie drawer…another Monday comes and my CSA lovin heart gets a bunch of produce for prime recipe brainstorming.
More good things coming…
