Cooking all the things!

[siglinde99]

I love summer, but OMG the garden and my CSA basket are exploding. And I can't resist a bargain... Yesterday's adventures included the purchase of okra because it was on sale. Which meant I needed to buy chicken and look up a recipe for frango com quiabo (chicken with okra, a traditional recipe from Minas Gerais, Brazil). I also have beets cooking up for a cold borscht. I finally sauteed my swiss chard to eat with rice and beans (I hate chard but can't let it go to waste; I have been using all sorts of other greens while waiting for my collards to grow big enough to use, so I figured the chard might work too). Tomorrow I need to get down to the serious business of making pesto, as my basil is exploding. I have discovered that carrot tops make a decent pesto, so I may experiment with adding them too, or I could just sautee them. Usually I just pitch out the green tops, but this year I am trying to learn to use everything.

My freezer will be nicely filled, but I will also have a lot of other foods I need to use up. Summer is the time when my craving for coleslaw kicks in every year, so I bought a cabbage which I haven't had time to use. Last night's CSA basket included a second cabbage, so I will be making cabbage roll casserole for the freezer, just to make room for non-freezable vegetables in my fridge.

How about you? Do you live where summer bounty changes what you eat? Do you prefer old favourites or do you like to experiment^

Comments

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you are in veggie heaven! Happy sigh.

We live in the Central Valley of California so we are blessed with fresh produce year round and have a weekly farmers market not far from our home.

However, there are still certain seasons. Right now it's all about tomatoes and corn - they are the stars of the market. I'm really anticipating Fuyu persimmons and figs, though. They are never around long enough for me.

I adore experimenting with new recipes, as well as preparing old favorites.

[siglinde99.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit envious, though I do increasingly enjoy the challenge of eating locally right through the winter. Corn is starting here too. I must get out and buy some. We have a farmer's market nearby, but I don't often go. I'm only interested in the veggies and it seems to be more of an artisan market some weeks. It doesn't carry the local and heritage meats of the large farmer's market.

You are a bad influence when it comes to recipe experimenting. I love reading about your adventures.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

YAY! I'm a bad influence! And my Da said I'd never amount to anything! :DDD

To be honest, it helps to have friends who are also foodies and push the envelope every time we get together. It also helps to have such an abundance at our hands. I remember back home when the garden would start to really produce and it was so wonderful to have fresh veggies and fruit. It's nice to be somewhere that this is year round.

[opakele.livejournal.com]

A few weeks ago I bought a flat of blackberries (Kotata), raspberries and blue berries. They've been frozen.

Gypsy texted there were beautiful apple (green!) and plum (yellow!) trees at her new house, did I want any? I've wanted to do some applesauce and apple butter and said yes to those. They will keep until I can get up there. I think she is going to pit and freeze the plums for me, too.

Then today at work a co-worker shared some tiny little crabapples with me. I've been trying to grow a crabapple in Raymond all these years and the elk keep knocking it down. I've been wanted to do a crabapple jelly... I'm hoping there is more where these came from...

So, I'll be busy. Probably in September. It will be an all day extravaganza and I will collapse into bed exhausted and fully jellied.