Thursday, June 16, 2011

Dinner ideas needed!

I am trying to get back into, stay into, cooking from scratch. Better for me, just hard to do sometimes. When the garden is actually producing food, I will need to cook from it! Just what is in the garden? When in the height of its production, more than we can possibly eat, so I will also be learning to preserve the output. Specifically, 5 kinds of tomatoes (2 medium sized, 3 cherry/grape varieties), several kinds of summer squash, also several kinds of winter squash, pumpkin, cucumber, green beans (bush and pole), bell pepper, eggplant, kale, and lettuce. More to plant, and actually still have room to plant a bit. I want to start some fennel and maybe some carrots. Need to check the when it’s a good time to start various veggies, and pick a few more.
Meanwhile, what to cook now? When I get home, take care of the garden a bit, and then start to cook dinner, I need something quick. Last night was butternut squash (pricked, microwaved for 2 minutes, removed, cut in half, seeds removed, peeled, cut into chunks and steamed, then mashed, served with butter if desired), and Tilapia on a bed of greens with homemade lemon, honey, low sodium soy sauce, dash of sesame oil (and some other stuff) dressing. Squash cooked while I watered, then the fish was super simple and quick.
Night before was a summer squash frittata and toast.
Tonight? Who knows!

2 comments:

Anne Ida said...

Oh, yummmmyy!!! Lucky you having such a wonderful veggie garden! I thought I's share my favorite eggplant recipe, just in case you need an idea:

2 eggplants
2 tbs olive oil
(a couple of cloves of garlic)
2-3 tbs lemon juice
parsley and or other herbs of your choice
salt and pepper
1-2 tbs water

Prick a few holes in the skin of the eggplant and bake them in the oven on a high heat. Cut them in half and and scrape out the "flesh", chop the parsley/herbs, press the garlic, and blend everything in a food processor, add salt and pepper to taste. Blend to a puree. Tastes great on freshly cooked pasta along with some Parmesan cheese, as a spread on crusty bread along with a nice salad, as a dip for tortilla chips...

ConnieB/CA said...

sounds yummy Anne Ida! I will definitely try that! Thanks.