Day 1: Beef and veggie kebabs with classic rub, Watermelon slices
Day 2: Grilled chicken, Italian lentil salad
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Strawberry poppy seed salad
Day 4: Creamy pasta with peas and basil
Day 5: Hot dogs, Sauteed kale
Day 6: Scrambled eggs with garden veggies, Fruit smoothie
Day 7: Broccoli soup with cheddar toasts
Notes: Happy Fourth of July! Hope you able to relax, celebrate our country, and of course eat a lot of really good food. We don’t eat a lot of desserts, but here is link to a bonus recipe for one of my favorites that I usually make for the Fourth, Carmelitas. I make my own caramel using this recipe and then don’t use the cream in the Carmelita recipe.
GLP tip of the week: This month is #plasticfreejuly. It is a great time to think about the plastic in your life and how you can reduce it. If you are wondering why this is an issue, you can read my post on the plastic problem here. Take this opportunity to eliminate single use plastic (straws, cling wrap, bags, cutlery, etc) from your life for a day, week, month, or forever. Whatever works for you. I also want to share some examples of how I will shop this week to reduce plastic packaging – a HUGE problem in the grocery industry. I’m hoping to do a full post soon on how I grocery shop.
- Any produce that I get either goes directly into my cart or into a cotton/mesh produce bag. That means I won’t be using any store provided single use plastic produce bags. Even the biodegradable ones won’t break down in a landfill.
- Any dry goods that I purchase, such as beans, nuts, lentils, sugar, flour, and pasta come from the bulk aisle and I bring my own containers to fill. I realize this is not an option for everyone, but look around and you may be surprised how many stores have bulk sections! You will save money this way too and only buy what you need.
- I purchase my milk and cream in glass bottles that I can return for a deposit.
- I get hot dog buns and bread from the bakery so I can put it in my own bags rather than purchase in plastic bags. Most will slice the bread for you too.
- I found a cheese counter at a store that will cut me off a chunk of cheese that I then put right in to a silicone reusable bag. No more cling wrap or vacuum packs. You can also get sliced cheese at the deli counter and put it in your own container.
CSA notes: Do you still have some veggies leftover from previous weeks that are wilted? Not sure what to do with that parsley this week? Do you have a lot of veggie scraps and no compost bin? Well, there is no need to throw any of it away. I have a simple way you can use these things. Make vegetable broth. It is so easy and really healthy. Just throw in your extra veggies and scraps (make sure you add some onion and garlic for flavor) in a large pot and cover with water. I suggest 4 quarts of water to start, you may need to add more as it cooks and water steams off. You want it to concentrate all the good vitamins and minerals from the veggies to make a rich broth, but not too much. Bring to a boil then reduce the temp to low, cover, and let it simmer for up to 24 hours. Use a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and drain the broth. You can start it before you go to bed (make sure there is nothing around your stove area that can burn) and have broth by the morning that you can use for soup now or cool it, then freeze in containers like these or in ziplock bags (I rinse mine and use them over and over, but make sure that the ones you are using do not have holes and that you cool the broth before putting in the bags). You do not have to add any salt. I usually wait to season it until I am making my soup or other dish.
Here is how I’m using my veggies this week:
- Broccoli: broccoli soup
- Kale: remove the leaves from the ribs then saute in olive oil until wilted and sprinkle with salt. The ribs can be thrown into homemade broth
- Zucchini: cut into chunks, tossed with olive oil and Classic rub, then skewered and grilled for kebabs
- Basil: creamy pasta dish
- Peas: creamy pasta dish
- Garlic scapes: 3 for broccoli soup, 1 for broth, 1 for scrambled eggs
- Pearl onions: 1 thinly sliced for lentil salad instead of scallion, and one thinly sliced for strawberry salad instead of shallot
- Parsley: creamy pasta dish and broth
- Salad Turnips: cut into chunks, tossed with olive oil and Classic rub, then skewered and grilled for kebabs
- Strawberries: Strawberry poppy seed salad
- Red leaf lettuce: Strawberry poppy seed salad
- Cucumber: lentil salad
- Gold zucchini: cut into chunks, tossed with olive oil and Classic rub, then skewered and grilled for kebabs
