Farm Market Frittata
September 20, 2012 - Written by DianaEggs are a lovely protein, don’t you think? We often turn to eggs when we want something quick and delicious for breakfast or dinner. I made this frittata the other day using eggs, farm market veggies and a vegetarian burger(okay, it’s a Luna Burger – anything tastes good with a Luna Burger in it) crumbled up, plus some cheese. My husband took a bite and told me it wasn’t right, because his eggs don’t taste this good, and aren’t this filling when he makes them. The end of summer is bittersweet because the fresh locally grown veggie supply starts to wane, but at the same time they have their best flavor. Get’em while their fresh.
Farm Market Frittata
Farm Market Frittata Print Prep time 15 mins …
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
August 28, 2012 - Written by Diana
Are you a seasonal cook – trying to use the fresh ingredients in the season in which they are their best? Summer is such a great fresh vegetable season and the farm markets are full of great local vegetables that ripened on the vine or stalk and were picked at the right stage for freshness. I try to stay local and seasonal when there are fresh ingredients being grown nearby to take advantage of, and it’s so easy to come up with great dishes. I made this roasted lasagna in a smaller portion for my husband an son, and then made a bigger version to bring to my mother in law’s for a family gathering. It’s deceitful, you think there’s meat and pasta, but there isn’t. The eggplant replaces the pasta, holding up really well and the crumbled goat cheese mixed with herbs almost give you the texture of crumbled meat and the creaminess of ricotta (which you could use instead) at the same time. Filling in with roasted tomatoes, onions and red peppers in between the layers bumps up the flavor….
Cold Spaghetti Squash Salad
June 20, 2012 - Written by Diana
Squash in general is long storing, and can make it through to the beginning of the next summer, though when they get iffy, just throw them into the composter. If you have any left in your kitchen or storage cellar, use it soon because it’s probably going to be quickly on it’s way out. Check the skin to make sure it isn’t moldy, bruised or broken before using. Spaghetti squash should be halved, the seeds scooped out and then drizzled with a little olive oil. You can use the microwave, the toaster oven or the oven to cook the spaghetti squash. I use a glass pan, which works out perfectly.
Spaghetti squash is really tasty, but I’ve figured out lately that cold spaghetti squash makes a nice base for a salad. After cooking, scrape the squash out of the skin, throw in a few more fresh chopped up veggies, a little vinaigrette and put in the fridge to cool down. Any squash leftover can be frozen in serving size portions for another day. I’ve even used my spaghetti squash as an ingredient in a green salad.
In this …
Swiss Chard, Spaghetti Squash, Chicken and Mushrooms in a Maple Basalmic Vinaigrette
March 14, 2012 - Written by Diana
Yeah, Yeah, I know, the name is too darn long, but what should I leave out? Look at the photo, the whole thing is pretty and leaving anyone of those things out would make a not so interesting meal – visually and tastefully (flavorfully?). I still have spaghetti squash in my cold basement, but I fear it won’t last long since it’s been so warm and we need to work it in to our recipes since winter is quickly coming to an end. Chard has been regularly showing up in our Weekly Market Bag along with mushrooms less frequently. I thought this meal, stacked and then drizzled with a maple basalmic vinaigrette would be really delicious, and it was. The maple sweetness took the bite off the vinaigrette and the vinegar cut the sweetness a little.
I had plenty of spaghetti squash leftover, as well as chicken and chard (that I hadn’t covered in vinaigrette). My second meal of the week I added pasta and pesto and my third meal of the week I took the pasta dish and …
Winter Squash (or Pumpkin) Puree
November 20, 2011 - Written by Diana
Oh No Bad Spots!
I buy a good amount of fresh winter squash and small pumpkins in the fall and put it on shelves in the basement. The basement is unheated and offers a great winter storage most years. This year however, the temperatures keep rising and so my cold storage hasn’t been great. Every year though, we lose some of the squash because it gets soft or develops bad spots. If you see a small bad spot developing, then you need to do something with the squash right now!
Getting Ready For The Holidays.
The holiday season is another time you might want to make a puree from your winter squash. You can use this puree in your pies, cakes, cookies, etc just as you would your canned puree that you get from the store. If you have time after work, you can do the puree in the evening, and put it into containers in the fridge to use a couple of days later, shortening your cooking time when you are feeling overwhelmed with preparations.
The squash I used for this post had little spots I had to remove. …
Chicken & Fall Vegetable Soup
November 2, 2011 - Written by Diana
Staying with my mom while she recovers from her surgery, I made Chicken & Fall Vegetable soup for dinner. Soup makes you feel good when you are sluggish and don’t want something heavy, especially if your throat is a little sore too. My mom is a fan of almost all vegetables, and since the fall vegetables are in season, this is the perfect time to make this soup. It is easy to prepare but will take longer than 30 minutes because it takes a while for the carrots and butternut squash to soften. The soup was served in a bowl over warmed wild rice. The rice would absorb the stock from the soup so we precooked the rice separately and then put a couple of tablespoons in the bowl and ladle the soup over top. The leftovers were stored as single servings in the freezer for meals on busy evenings after I left to go back to my family and home.
Mom can’t eat onions or tomatoes; acidic vegetables and fruit upset her tummy. If you feel it could use a few more vegetables, feel free …
Fast and Delicious – Grilled Veggies & Bulgur
September 25, 2011 - Written by Diana
Grilled Summer Vegetables & Bulgur
Tonight’s dinner – had a side of grilled veggies and bulgur. This side dish is a really fast and easy side that packs in a good deal of nutrients. This side can also be served as a vegetarian main and can be eaten cold or hot. So double up and bring it to lunch the next day or a repeat dinner. It’s a little scorched on the edges, but still very tasty. A quick grill with olive oil and then after you combine the veggies and bulgur, give it a quick toss with some chopped fresh basil and a little bit of olive oil.
I have a grill grate that I place over the grill top because I worry that the vegetables will fall through. I sprayed the grate with a little oil first to make sure the veggies wouldn’t stick and I used a sweet onion along with some summer squash, and red peppers.
Ingredients:
- 1 red pepper
- 1 sweet onion
- 1 small to med zucchini
- 1 similar sized yellow squash
- 1 cup dried bulgur cooked according to directions
- 2 tbs olive oil
- olive oil …
Farm Market Veggies and Leftover Spaghetti
August 4, 2011 - Written by Diana
My son’s specialty is now making spaghetti with sauce. The most difficult part was NOT overcooking the pasta, believe it or not. He’s not too keen on figuring out portions, which is why he just makes a whole box (pound) of pasta every time. While this could cause some problems with waste, I’ve found a way to take the leftover pasta and make another meal with it using farm market and garden veggies. Saute a few veggies, add in the pasta, a little more oil and white whine, toss until heated along with some herbs from the garden and voila you have a great dish. We served this topped with a luna burger. I had the garden thyme, my husband had a barbecue . My daughter said she wanted real meat, but my son crumbled the burger up and mixed it in with the pasta. My husband and I just broke off pieces with the fork then grabbed up some pasta and veggies on the same fork and ate it that way. Let me tell you, it …
Butternut Squash under a Swiss Cheese Crust
April 21, 2011 - Written by Diana
I still have butternut squash in my basement, but as the basement warms up, the squash will be in peril. I’m glad they lasted as long as they did, since this is the first year we tried basement storage. Last year we kept the winter squash upstairs, and they didn’t last as long. I’m going to make this dish for our family Easter gathering. I made it for dinner one night and my husband was really impressed, so impressed he wants me to make it for our Easter dinner.I used curry in the dish to keep it from being too sweet, but also added nutmeg and cinnamon because I love the taste with butternut squash and I also added nutmeg to the cheese sauce. The swiss cheese was hand delivered from Wisconsin. A friend of my husband’s brought us back cheese from a recent trip. Isn’t it cool to have a friend like that?
My favorite prep method for butternut squash is to slice it down the middle, scooping the seeds and pulp out, but leaving the meat behind. Then …
Chicken, Chard, Bean and Butternut Squash Soup
February 10, 2011 - Written by DianaI told you I was going healthy for the Superbowl. We brought this soup, plus some berries and greek yogurt with honey – plus vegan chocolate avocado cupcakes. We did splurge though because my sister in law made some awesome queso with sausage that was great with chips and they also had some Buffalo Wild Wings. It was a small gathering, but there was plenty of food and even though our favorite team disappointed, we had a good time (well most of us).
I bought my butternut squash last fall at the farmer’s market. We put them into baskets and stored them on shelves in the unheated basement. The food doesn’t freeze down there, but it does get rather nippy downstairs. Last year I tried storing them in a warmer spot, but some of my squash went bad. This year, they are in perfect condition and not even drying out. I’m thrilled that we put up a nice shelving unit to use for winter storage.
Anyway, I also have been trying to work with beans more, but not canned beans, dry beans, and so that was the start of this soup. I …
