Black Bean Quesadillas

One of my family's favorite quick meals is a good quesadilla. Even Mr. Picky will eat them. As long as they're cheese. And not any of those "weird" cheeses. Monterey Jack, Colby, or other similar mild melty cheeses. Luckily, it's pretty east to customize quesadillas.

Anyways, this summer, living in a new town, we started with a new CSA. And through that CSA, I discovered shishito peppers. They are delicious, mild, and the name is fun to say. And they are fantastic in this quick and healthy quesadilla recipe!

Eggplant Parmesan Pasta

There are a lot of vegetables that I think get overlooked. Eggplant, for me, used to be one of them. Sure, they're pretty, what with their shiny purpleness and all, but they also can be intimidating. But this dish, this one, is a game changer for eggplant. I'm telling you, when I make this, it gets actual cheers from my family. Cheers, I tell you! Also, as with many of my favorite recipes, it's really easy, quick to put together, and gets some good healthy stuff into your hungry mouths.

Orange-Spinach Muffins

Saint Patrick's Day is coming soon, and as usual, I'm trying hard to figure out ways to make everything green without using that dropper of food coloring that no one's body really needs.  And, how fortuitous, my local grocery happened to have bunches of organic spinach priced at two for a dollar!  I've done spinach muffins before, using a recipe from Weelicious, and the kids were okay with them, but they were nothing they requested again.  I've also had good luck with a savory Parmesan muffin that included spinach, but that seems more like a hearty winter muffin than a bright springy muffin.  So what flavor could I use to bring in the spring and help sweeten up the spinach flavor to make a sweet, delicious muffin?

I went with orange, and I'm so glad I did! Now, mind you, I don't hide things from my kids, so they all watched as I grabbed a bunch of spinach and threw it in the food processor.  And the looks and comments were quick and skeptical.  "No way that's going to taste good, Mom."  "I don't think I even want to know...or try..."  "Maybe not spinach."

Everyone's a critic.

Until I got the batter mixed and let them have a lick...after which it was, "Wow, I can't wait for these to be baked!" and "Baked?  How about we just eat the batter?"

As we poured the batter into the muffin cups, my middle child suggested that we sprinkle just a little sugar on top...just in case.  And because we like the crunch it gives.

After they were baked, they didn't disappoint.  They were really green, but tasted bright and citrusy.  The kids all ate them with gusto, and before long, they was nothing left but a few tiny green crumbs on the plates.

So, here you are: Orange-Spinach Muffins!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and prep a muffin pan either by greasing it or putting in liners.

In a food processor, put in about 2 cups loosely packed spinach, and the juice and zest or 2 oranges.  Blend it until it's well chopped and blended.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 cup of sugar.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl or 4 cup measuring cup, mix the spinach mixture, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, and just shy of 1 cup of milk.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix, and stir until just combined.

Scoop or pour into muffin cups, 3/4 full.  Sprinkle lightly with a large grain sugar and bake for 25 minutes, until starting to turn golden and a toothpick will come out clean.

Enjoy on their own, or with butter or cream cheese.

Potato Leek Pancakes

Chicago has a great holiday tradition of holding a Chriskindlmarket downtown, and, of course, I go there for the food.  I have to grab my tiny ceramic boot of mulled wine (more for the boot than the wine), the bite-sized nibbles of glazed gingerbread, the aromatic candied nuts, and a plate full of the crispy hot latkes.  My family has learned the routine, minus the wine for the kiddios, and we look forward to heading down and gorging ourselves through the market.

But there are times when you want a good latke and there doesn't happen to be a handy Old World German market around.  Then, you have to take matters into your own hands.
One of the things I love about doing the CSA and my garden is being able to stretch the veggies out into the winter.  I had a bed full of leeks in my garden, and they have kept pretty well in my fridge for months!  And the CSA brought us plenty of potatoes that keep very well in the pantry.  And leeks and potatoes happen to be an awesome combination!

Potato leek soup is pretty much a given, but once in a while, I like to stretch and make some Potato Leek Pancakes.  Same great combo of the oniony flavor of the leeks and the starchy potatoes, but in snackable bites!

Turkey Gumbo

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and my friends are already teasing me, because I've been stocking up on turkeys.  Right now, I baked one last week, have one thawing in my fridge, and have 4 more in the garage freezer.  Crazy about turkey?  Meh.  More like crazy about turkey gumbo!

Beet Blondies

Are you guys sick of blondies yet?  Am I throwing too many out there?  Sorry, but I'm not sorry.  Blondies are dead simple to make, endlessly adaptable, and fricking delicious.  So I'm going to wrap this week of vegetables with a veggie blondie.  Beet Blondies with White Chocolate, to be specific.

Creamed Cabbage

I get it.  Not everyone likes cabbage.  It kind of smells weird, and it sometimes squeaks when you chew it.  And some will say that it can give you unpleasant side effects, which also may smell weird.  I had a friend once laugh that there was a plant called "skunk cabbage", because, as he put it, "All cabbage stinks!".  But I love a good underdog, and I'm going to tell you that cabbage can be more than a stinky side dish.  When you give it a bit of toasting and then boil it with some cream, it goes from cringe-worthy to crave-worthy.

Take a half head of cabbage (a whole cabbage if it's small) and remove the outer leaves.  Then trim down the stem.  You want to keep a good amount of the stem, because that's what's going to hold each piece together.  Cut the cabbage into wedges from the stem, making each wedge about 2-3 inches at the thickest part, keeping the stem as part of each wedge to keep it together.  You want about 5-6 wedges total.

Broccoli Cornbread

There are a few recipes in my recipe book that I've been making for so long that I honestly don't have a clue of where they started from.  Some of those recipes have taken twists and turns along the way as I've cared more and learned more about the food my family eats.  Broccoli Cornbread is a great example of one of those recipes.  It started as kind of a dump recipe...you know, where you dump a bunch of stuff in together and then toss it in the oven.   Then we started eating more natural foods and less processed foods.  Broccoli Cornbread had always been a great dish, a yummy way to get things like broccoli and cottage cheese into picky kids, but I started to feel not-so-great about the cornbread mix.  And using frozen broccoli seemed silly when I had such fantastic fresh broc from the garden.  So I adjusted, and I think the current version is better than ever.

Maple Roasted Rutabaga

Rutabagas are one of those vegetables that I never really thought about before we started the CSA.  When we got our first one, I had no idea what to do with it.  I opted to make a soup recipe that I found in a veggie cookbook, and I wasn't impressed.

Then I was told by someone at the farm (he must have seen me wrinkle my nose at being handed another rutabaga) that rutabagas sweeten up when they are roasted.  He suggested a touch of honey with them.  Trying that pretty much kicked off my relationship with rutabagas.  I'm a fan now, for sure.  The dish has changed a bit, honey switched to maple syrup, a touch of seasoning...but it's still really delicious.

Butternut Pear Soup

We've been getting a lot of butternut squash from our CSA lately.  Like one or two a week.  Which is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but I'm not a huge squash fan.  So putting it to good use is a huge task for me.  I'm really trying to think outside the box and find ways to prepare it that make my tastebuds dance with excitement, and this soup is one of those recipes.

Veggies Galore - Bubble and Squeak

There's never a time when I don't want to eat veggies, but I totally understand that that feeling is not mainstream.  However, I'm still convinced that if people don't like veggies, it's probably because they haven't tried them the right way.

Bubble and Squeak is a British dish, and even though I don't have to translate the name, because it's in English, I'm pretty sure it's code for "cram in as much veg as possible and then make it taste delicious".  I mean, that's basically the premise of it.  All the veggies you want, add some seasonings, and pan fry it on butter until it gets nice and crispy.  So, so good!

Posole Verde - Ancient Comfort Food

Days are getting colder, and I kind of love that, because it means more baking and casseroles and soups and stews and...well, let's just say that I love warming up in my kitchen.

Lately, I've been on an intense flavor kick.  A little bit is not enough.  Spices, herbs, acidity...I'm craving it all.  And that doesn't always translate for the younger members of the household, but lately they've been troopers about trying new dishes and flavors that they might not be used to.

A couple of weeks ago, inspired by some tomatillos that my friend Amy of Amy's Organic's gave us when we picked up our apple CSA haul, I decided to pull out a dish that I had made a long time ago.  One that was all right, but needed tweaking, and I had just never gotten back to it. Posole Verde.  

CSA Summer Weeks 5 and 6: Bacon, Kale, and Potato Comfort Dinner

Wow, computer issues have plagued me, and between that, the kids going back to school, and me starting a new job, I feel like I've totally neglect the blog for the last couple of weeks.  Yikes.

So, it's time to jump back in, full speed ahead!

I have 2 weeks of CSA shares that I'm back-logged on, but luckily, the recipe I have for you today uses things included in both of them.

Week 5 brought tomatoes, more ground cherries, potatoes, garlic, hot and sweet peppers, spinach, a leek, and kale.

CSA: Summer Week 4 and Ground Cherry Crumble

Week 4 of our bi-weekly CSA share brought a huge bounty, and included some pleasant surprises.  

Beets, carrots, tomatoes, thyme, pattypan, onions, zucchini, potatoes, and summer squash, and u-pick options of both green beans and cherry tomatoes...which also included ground cherries!  Seeing as how we have cherry tomatoes out the wazoo in our home garden, we just went full out on the ground cherries.  I had to stop my middle kiddo from snacking her way through the bush as we picked, because she loves these little suckers so much.

We'll get back to those ground cherries soon, I promise.

CSA - Summer Week 3 and Summer Veg Empanadas with Kohrabi, Kale, and Summer Squash

Week 3 of the summer CSA was a huge haul:

Kohlrabi, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, potatoes, onions, lettuce, basil, and kale.  Leaning towards the green side this week, but I had some immediate thoughts as to what would be made in the kitchen.

Asian Inspired Lemon Cucumber and Tomato Salad

The lemon cucumbers is my garden are going absolutely bonkers this year, and I'm hearing from fellow lem-cuke lovers that they are finding the same thing.  Personally, I could eat these babies raw all day long, but it seemed like people were looking for something more to do with them.  And so, I give to you, this Asian Inspired Lemon Cucumber and Tomato Salad!

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day - Garden Zucchini Burgers

Yes, you read that right.  And yes, it's a real thing.  August 8th is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day.  Seriously.  At least, here in America.  Google it.  I can't make this stuff up.

So...what are you going to do when you find those green garden zuccs on your porch?  

Well, you could whip up some lemon zucchini muffins, or maybe gingered zucchini carrot bread...

Or, you could make yourself these awesomely delicious Garden Zucchini Burgers.  

Rainbow Chard Party Spread

Swiss chard is one of my favorite veggies to plant.  They are so simple to grow, and they will continue to produce leaves for the whole season with very little fuss.  They are also full of a lot of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and are said to be for for controlling blood sugar levels and reducing inflammation, among other things.  And, best of all, chard is totally delicious!

CSA - Summer Week 2, Cucumber Salsa, and a Picnic Blog Hop

I swear, I may be one of the only people who gains weight in the summer.  Most people are watching what they eat, concerned with "swimsuit season" and such.  Meanwhile, I am stuffing my face with all the delicious fresh bounty that summer brings.  Between my garden, the CSA, and the local farmers markets and farm stands, I have plenty to work with!

The best is when I find a way to use a lot of different fresh foods together to make something delicious that I can share with others, like this creamy cucumber corn salsa, which is one of my favorite picnic snacks.

CSA Share - Summer Week 1 and Asian Pesto

It's finally summer season for our CSA!  Unlike spring and fall, where we get shares every week, we opt to go every other week through the summer.  With my own garden going so well, and my addiction to farmers' markets, it seems to be the right choice for us.  Although the way my kids are eating and growing lately, next year may be the year we go to weekly summer pick-ups.  So this is our first week of summer shares, but it's the farm's second summer share...for the sake of my sanity, I'm just going to number them on my own.  So, share number one:

We've got romaine lettuce, snap peas, bok choy, zucchini, summer squash, komatsuna, green onions, garlic scapes, and Tokyo Bekana, which is totally new to me!  It's an Asian green, that tastes very similar to cauliflower to me.