June Meal Plan #3: Cabbage Patch, Kids

Image Source

There’s so much going on this week. For starters, Big Sis finishes kindergarten on Friday! I’m hoping to make lemonade cookies to thank various staff members who got her through her first year of “proper school.” (That’s what she calls it.) And on Friday, I also get to celebrate the start of summer with a ton of teacher friends at a family potluck. Woo-hoo!

This week’s CSA post includes Batavian-type lettuce, carrots, strawberries, cucumber, snap peas, and green cabbage. I’ve also got some leftover bok choy and green onions that must be used swiftly!

CSA Meal #1 (bok choy) – Fish tacos with cabbage slaw (recipe similar to this one)

CSA Meal #2 (cabbage) – beef cabbage soup with corn bread and honey butter (I plan to make a double batch and freeze half of it… more about my freezer plans later!)

CSA Meal #3 (lettuce) – tomato, portabella, and grilled steak salad

CSA Meal #4 (green onions) – green pea and coconut soup, probably served with Trader Joe’s gyoza

Party Food – Clams Casino dip with crackers

June Meal Plan #2: Salad-Tastic Summer

recipe and photo source

This week’s CSA box includes carrots, sugar snap peas, strawberries, radishes, scallions, and lettuce. The first three items will undoubtedly be devoured as snacks the moment I can wash them up. I look forward to combining the other goodies with herbs from my planter box garden… should be a tasty and fairly low-prep week for meals!

It’s a good thing, too, because our refrigerator is on its last legs. We get another one tomorrow, but in the mean time I’ve got to waste tons of energy feeling all anxious that (a) somehow I’ve bungled every obsessive measurement I’ve taken (what if the new fridge is too big?) (b) something will go terribly wrong with the delivery (what if they break my house?) or (c) somehow I’ll poison my family between now and then serving food from the old fridge (strawberry jam: the silent killer?). Yes, I even worry that I’ll end up preferring the old fridge–with its inefficient space, loud ice maker, and broken, duct-taped handle–to the shiny new one.

Sigh. As you can see, it’s very fun to make large purchases with me.

Okay. Enough wallowing. I’m working myself up yet again. Time to post recipes and write out my grocery list!

Want easy, one-click access to all of my recipes for the week? I finally started an author’s Pinterest profile. Follow me here!

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vegetarian CSA recipe #1 (radishes): Fattoush from Jerusalem: A Cookbook

CSA recipe #2 (lettuce): BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad

CSA recipe #3 (scallions): Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles

delicious carbs: pizza (this crust) with pesto, covered in kalamata olives, chevre, sliced red onion, and diced cooked chicken

The Big Easy: scrambled eggs, toast, and sausage from our freezer

 

 

June Meal Plan #1: Getting Back in the Swing of CSA

photo and recipe by Cristina Sciarra at Food 52

Truth: I love my CSA. Oh, sure. I’m hip to all the literature about how it’s economically and environmentally responsible to support local agriculture. And yeah, those are definite perks.

But my love is a little more selfish than that.

My family’s been buying from the same farm for a while now. The fresh, high-quality produce keeps gloriously well and ensures that we’ll actually have enough veggies in our weekly diet. Bonus: the weekly pick-up at the farm has created such a lovely small-town feel. Over the years, we’ve built a relationship with the farmers (and their charming dog!) Our kids love to climb the fruit trees, we love taking advantage of the produce trade table, and in general it’s always a fun chance to catch up with someone we know.

We have our CSA through the next 20 weeks. My meal-planning will focus on healthy food that is time-efficient to prepare, enjoyable to eat, and economically responsible. (Yes, we’ve been a little extravagant with our grocery purchasing lately… time to scale back!)

I shall also endeavor to post future plans at the start of the week. And who knows? This may be the summer that I actually learn a bit about photography! Perhaps I’ll take my own pictures… and they won’t be discolored, amateurish, and sadly off-putting… In the mean time, I shall rely on the fully-credited expertise of others!

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CSA meal #1: bread and salad (salad to involve: dried cranberries, fine-chopped broccoli, grilled chicken, diced mozzarella cubes, sunflower seeds, and poppy seed dressing)

vegetarian meal: chard and black eyes peas (to be served with naan and Greek yogurt)

CSA meal #2: turnip and turnip greens soup, served with grilled cheese sandwiches

delicious carbs: spring garlic and chickpea tartine (with more green salad on the side)

The Big Easy: grilled pork chops, applesauce, fried beet greens, and beet rosti (I always just make the rosti as individual pancakes–easier that way!)