Dinner From a Box 6/6 to 6/13
June 8, 2010
Box contents: Yellow Peaches (1lb), Honeydew (1), Strawberries (.5 lb), Blueberries (1 container), Red Plums (4), Baby Broccoli (1), Cauliflower (1), Nantes Carrots (1), Gypsy Peppers (.5 lb), Romaine Hearts (2), Dandelion Greens (1), Jewel Sweet Potatoes (1.5 lb).
Okay, I know I skipped last week, but we didn’t eat at home that much, and when we did it was SALAD…yes, we’ve officially entered summer full of yummy salad foods! Another note: we have dandelion greens on our permanent exclude list, so I will NOT be doing anything with these greens. After trying through the season last year, we decided that we could not find anyway to make them edible; we got 2 golden delicious apples instead, which I consider more than a fair trade.
Sunday I totally blew it. Thinking we still had plenty of salad fixings in the fridge, I didn’t bother to get to the store. When I reached into the fridge to start prepping, I discovered that we were woefully low on lettuce. Not wanting to run to the store, we opted for quesadillas served with steamed broccoli and carrots that I tossed with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Most of this week, we will be munching salads for dinner – we chop up peppers, carrots, celery, broccoli, toss it with lettuce, and add various accessories, if you will. Some nights, marinated mushrooms, some nights chopped turkey. Just depends on what we feel like, and it helps to make the salads different. We also always have something crunchy, usually in the form of chow mein noodles, but toasted nuts, sunflower seeds, or croutons work too.
Steve requested veggie tacos this week, so I’ll be making that filling. I saute an onion and a couple cloves of garlic in a little oil. Then I add veggies. This week it will be the gypsy peppers (which look like the sweet Italian peppers but have just a bit of a kick to them), carrots, celery, and cauliflower. I spice it with cumin, chili powder, and coriander. Then I toss in a couple cans of pinto beans. When everything’s heated through, I add some lime juice and salt if needed. We eat this as a soft taco filling on corn tortillas topped with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and salsa. I use tacos to help clean out the fridge, because you can pretty much put any kind of vegetation in it and it works great.
I’ve not addressed what we do with the fruit. For the most part, we eat it for breakfast. The berries are usually the most fragile and sun-tired, so I chop those up first. The next day, I usually attack the melon and stone fruits and make a quick fruit salad with whatever looks like it’s going to go first. Steve eats this plain, or if I’ve made granola, with granola. I always add yogurt and a banana (if it’s not too overripe). Oranges and apples either get eaten out of hand or added to our dinner salads.
On our own growing front, I’m pleased to announce that we have lots of baby tomatoes and one baby bell pepper. The herb baskets have taken off – particularly my “Italian” one with oregano, basil, and thyme. I’ll be making some great sauce once the tomatoes come in! I may even make some sooner with canned tomatoes and summer squash. Who knows what next week will bring?
