thoughtful consumption

This week I ordered some snacks separately for a business meeting. Especially because half of the people are from out of town, it will be nice to offer some local goodies.

2 kinds of mini muffins, peanut butter bars, and rosemary-nut mix

I also ordered 5 pounds of apples. Wondering how many apples is 5 pounds of apples? Here you go.

Here’s what came as part of my standing order:

Summer goodies

gorgemous tomatoes, patty pan squash, and rattlesnake beans

You can scoop out and stuff patty pan squash with sausage or a cheesy or egg-y cracker stuffing. But I tend to just chop it up and stir-fry it like it’s plain ol’ yeller squash

The tomatoes are beauties. I’ve sliced one up for meals and salads. The rest I’ll cook down later this week with olive oil, garlic, and red wine. I’ve found that once we’ve done that, there’s always something fun to do with the results – toss with pasta, broil on French bread, spike frozen pizza, etc.

Green beans don’t even make it into my fridge anymore; I wash and string them and throw them in a pot of water to cook for about an hour. Then they’re done, and we have a yummy, reheatable vegetable side that goes with pretty much anything.

I’ve been cooking our beans lately with a spoonful of bacon fat (olive oil would work, too) and a crushed clove of garlic. We salt or season them on the table, if necessary.

After bringing them to a boil, I turn them down to medium-low or even low-medium-low and walk away. So easy and good!

Salad!

We got two heads of hydroponic lettuce and some baby spinach.

I’m excited to have salads again. (Although these hydroponic lettuces really make me eager for fall field lettuce. The flavor just isn’t the same.)

The lettuce and some of the spinach is washed, spun, and awaits us in the fridge. The rest of the spinach may become salad later or get used some other way.

Peaches and Herb(s and apples)

apples, peaches, chives, lemon verbena, red basil, and par-cel

The lemon verbena I’m drying for tea, and the other herbs are good ones for chopping up and sprinkling on summer veggies like squash, tomatoes, and green beans. Or add them to salad. The stems of par-cel are good, too. Either chop them fine raw, or chop them less fine and use them when cooking with onion and garlic. They’ll give you a nice celery-like taste.

Yesterday we had  a quick lunch with herbs on leftover roasted potatoes:

potatoes with chives, lettuce, tomatoes, and stir-fried squash

Chris doesn’t like parsley or basil, so he only got chives. I however enjoyed all three  – along with a splash of herbal vinegar.

Finally, here are my eggs and the gourmet add-on:

cheese! dried mushrooms, eggs, and figs

The cheese is incredible. Be sure not to eat it cold. If you’re desperate for a bite, cut off a piece and hold it in your hand for a minute first. Yum.

I’m not a fan of these dried mushrooms. The idea of dried mushrooms is great, but these always give me a stock that smells ammonia-y. I can’t add that to anything.

I made a mistake with the figs, too. The green ones here aren’t ripe yet and need more time. But in order to get ahead I quartered all but one yesterday in preparation for fig compote. I’m not exactly sure what to do with the unripe figs I quartered. Right now, I’m stalling by sticking them in the fridge. Here’s hoping they’ll magically ripen in there.

Enjoy your food!