Day 1: Creamy Broccoli salad, Zucchini muffins
Day 2: Grilled salmon with lemon dill sauce, Lemon blueberry muffins
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed salad
Day 4: Parmesan and savory biscuits with gravy, Leftover tossed salad
Day 5: Hot dogs, Homemade sauerkraut (check out this post for how I make it), Kale dip served with raw veggies
Day 6: Grilled steak with basil chimichurri sauce, Dark velvet beet cookies
Day 7: Bibimbap (Korean rice bowl with any leftover veggies and topped with a fried egg)
Notes: Baking with Vegetables and Plastic Free July Part 2
I don’t like to use my oven a ton in the summertime since it heats up the house, but when you have fresh zucchini, beets, herbs and berries on hand it is time to do some baking!
First up is a classic – zucchini muffins. You could easily make this into a loaf of bread instead, but I like the muffins because the individual portions freeze well. I typically make several batches at once.
Next I’m using fresh picked blueberries (yes it is picking time!) to make some lemon blueberry muffins. If you could bottle up summer, it would taste like these muffins. bright and sweet. You are going to want to make multiple batches of these as well!
Then I’m going to make the most delicious parmesan biscuits. I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while because they are so good! If you have ever tasted Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, then you know what I mean. You can use either fresh savory or sage since the flavors are similar. Top these babies with some gravy and you’ve got yourself a classic Southern meal that is just as good for supper as breakfast.
Lastly, I will be using my beets to make Dark Velvet Beet cookies. This recipe came from the Crossroads Community Farm recipe archive and they are so moist and delicious! Beets are not my favorite vegetable. They have a natural earthy flavor that my palate still isn’t accustomed to. If you puree them and hide inside cookies, this flavor is not noticeable.
With all that baking, this week’s meal plan is a bit heavy in the bread/carb category. To lighten it up, I’m balancing the meals with a healthy dose of veggies or some protein.
Plastic Free July: We are into week 2 of Plastic Free July and I have an easy tip for those of you that are on the go. Stash a fork and spoon in your purse, car, diaper bag, computer bag, lunch box, backpack, or other bag that you usually carry with you (or put them in all of your bags!) This could be a plastic set that you wash and reuse or secondhand real stuff. Billions of plastic utensils are thrown away or littered every year. With a little preparation you can help put a stop to this single use plastic pollution. Go right now and grab some cutlery for all of your bags so you will be prepared if you unexpectedly find yourself in a situation where you want to grab some quick food.
Looking for more ways to reduce plastic in your life? Here is the link to my 90 day plastic free challenge. This low pressure series explains the “why” behind making changes and breaks it down into easy to do steps. I hope you will check it out and join me for Plastic Free July!
CSA Breakdown: For those of you also using Crossroads Community Farm, here is a breakdown of how I will use each piece of produce this week. See the first CSA post from this season for details of how I structure the plans.
Scallions (1.0 bunch): 2 for chimichurri sauce (see basil below), 1 added to kale dip (not in recipe, but it works well here)
Kohlrabi (1.0 bulb): peeled and sliced to serve with kale dip
Summer Savory (herb) (1.0 bunch): parmesan biscuits
Broccoli (1.0 head): broccoli salad
Zucchini, Green and/or GOLD (1.0 count): zucchini muffins
Basil (1.0 bunch): chimichurri sauce (finely chopped and mixed with garlic, scallion, oregano, red wine vinegar, and olive oil)
Kale, Red Russian (1.0 bunch): kale dip
Peas, Sugar Snap (1.0 Unit): serve with kale dip
Lettuce, Summercrisp (1.0 head): tossed salad served with pizza
Salad Turnip (1.0 count): sliced to serve with kale dip
Onion, Purplette OR Pearl (1.0 bunch): 1 in broccoli salad, 3 sliced and put on pizza
Beets (1.0 bunch): cut off the greens and use for the bibimbap (sauté in olive oil with leeks), the beet roots can be used for cookies
Cucumber (1.0 count): half in tossed salad, half sliced to serve with kale dip (store in refrigerator in a covered dish with a bit of water)
Leeks, Bunching Type (1.0 bunch): 1 in lemon dill sauce for salmon, 2 chopped and sautéed with beet greens
