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Day 1: Grilled burger patties (turkey, beef, or bean) with Tzatziki sauce, Strawberries with whipped cream
Day 2: Fried eggs topped with sauteed beet greens, Black raspberries with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
Day 3: Homemade pizza with pesto and Sungold tomatoes
Day 4: Bean and cheese enchiladas (from frozen supply), Fruit smoothie
Day 5: Zucchini, fennel and onion sandwiches, Dark velvet beet cookies
Day 6: Baked honey mustard salmon, Kale dip with sliced salad turnips and snap peas
Day 7: Broccoli soup with cheddar toasts
Notes: If you’ve been following my weekly posts lately than you know that I am CRAZY about strawberry season. Well, we have officially come to the end and I am feeling a bit sad as I plan what to do with my final container that I am getting with my farm share. However, there are two things that are making me smile today. The first was when I opened my freezer to start meal planning and saw the 6 gallon sized bags full of frozen strawberries for the winter. The other good news is that I discovered a large patch of wild black raspberries right in my neighborhood. There’s nothing like a pandemic to drive you to be more self-sufficient and I’ve been on a mission this year to start foraging for some of my own food. So far I’ve found dandelion greens, wild violets, garlic mustard, and now black raspberries. If you live in the Midwest, there are probably some of these near you right now too! If you can tolerate the heat and the mosquitoes, head out to a trail or even to the side of a road along a field and you are likely to find some brambles. They look like red raspberries before they ripen and then turn black and detach easily from the stem (see picture below). This is the book I have to help me identify wild fruits. If you are not feeling brave enough to venture into the wild, then head to a nearby berry farm and you are sure to find ripe red raspberries and blueberries. My own raspberry plants aren’t looking so great this year and I’m not sure why. So instead, I went to my local berry farm this past weekend and picked a bunch of raspberries and blueberries so I can stock up for the winter on these precious gems too. Both types of berries should be available locally throughout July. Now, instead of strawberries, you get to read my ramblings about how wonderful these other berries are!! P.S. If the meal plan this week seems a little simple, maybe even mundane – it is. That is intentional and the only way I can realistically make homecooked meals every night for my family. The less ingredients the better. Sometimes the easiest recipes taste the best and even please the kids! What is the old saying? Keep it simple, stupid.
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 on how I structure the plans.
- Fennel (1.0 bulb) – zucchini sandwiches
- Broccoli (1.0 head) – broccoli soup
- Zucchini, Green OR Gold (2.0 count) – zucchini sandwiches
- Basil (1.0 bunch) – pesto
- Kale, Red Russian (1.0 bunch) – kale dip
- Peas, Sugar Snap (1.0 Unit) – serve with kale dip. Raw for snacks and lunches
- Garlic Scapes (1.0 bunch) – 2 for pesto, 1 for kale dip, 2 for broccoli soup. Supplement with garlic powder if you like a stronger flavor. I’ll be using the powder in my tzatziki and zucchini sandwiches
- Onion, Pearl (1.0 bunch) – 2 for zucchini sandwiches, 1 for broccoli soup
- Parsley, Flat Italian (1.0 bunch) – Tzatziki sauce
- Salad Turnips (2.0 count) – sliced to eat with kale dip
- Strawberries (1.0 Unit) – strawberries with whipped cream
- Beets, Bunched (1.0 bunch) – Greens sauteed in olive oil with salt and garlic powder then served over a fried egg (or you could chop and put in enchiladas), roots cooked and pureed for dark velvet beet cookies
- Cucumber (1.0 count) – Tzatziki sauce
