Green Options

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Homemade old-fashioned apple dumplings were a thing of sheer indulgence during my childhood.  We didn’t have them all that often, but when we did, it meant life was good.  Truth be told though, I’d almost forgotten about them until a month or so ago, when I was eating out and saw them on the menu.  Of course I ordered a dumpling for dessert, but it just wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be.  The apple dumplings of my childhood were large - gianormous really - made with a whole apple brimming with cinnamon sugary delight and snuggly down in a flaky sugary crust.  What I had at the restaurant was a small half apple with scant cinnamon and a dark egg-washed glossy crust around it.  I knew then and there that I’d have to recreate the apple dumplings of my memory. 

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden. 

I’m sure I’m not alone.  I come home from work, open the fridge door, and blankly stare at its contents for a good five minutes with disinterest, knowing all the while that it’s up to me and my weary brain to yet again come up with something good for dinner.  Sometimes I do a belly flop and settle for a veggie burger (hey, at least I cook it in a pan and not in the microwave).  Other times I am inspired and end up making an elegant swan dive from the fridge to the table.  Now, the challenge remains to be get what was a “little of this and a little of  that” invention into a repeatable recipe for you to try.

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden. 

I really enjoy chowing down on these fast little burritos; something about the couscous is so unexpected and surprisingly filling.  They make the perfect quicky lunch, at home or school or work.  Or in the park when you’re playing hooky from one of the above…

The fillings, aside from the couscous (it’s what makes these puppies fun and unique so don’t skip that), can be whatever is in season.  Right now I’m getting literally buckets of cherry tomatoes from my gardens and a few green peppers so those immediately went into my burritos.  I sometimes add a little scrambled egg for protein.  I bet some bits of grilled chicken thrown in would be tasty too if you’ve got some on hand. 

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Without fail, every trip to a diner sees eggplant parmesan on my plate.  I mean, seriously, you could bet your entire life savings on me getting eggplant parmesan - for me it’s the quintessential diner food.  It also gives me terrible heartburn afterwards, which no doubt begs the question - why do I repeat the experience every single time?  Well folks, I love the combination of breaded goodness with marinara sauce and cheese.  If I ate chicken, I might switch it up once in awhile but those days are behind me.  So it is that I routinely take on the heartburn demons for the sake of melty crispy indulgence. 

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

It’s almost here and I thought I’d better prepare all of you for it.  It’s the ying to the yang of vegetable gardening.  Those of you that are fortunate enough to have a little piece of ground to grow your own food will be very familiar with it.  And those of you that visit farmers markets and can’t resist the siren song of all those amazing late summer vegetables know it too.  Perhaps you shudder a bit just to think about it.  Or, if you’re like me, you lie in bed, eyes wide open, conjuring up ways to creatively sidestep it.  

“It” is that deluge of fresh produce that starts to haunt every corner of your kitchen, entryway, and basement, taunting you as it slowly deteriorates while you fret over and hunt out ways to use it up.  By late summer, you’ve grown a tad tired of zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, peppers, and even tomatoes.  Actually, I never tire of tomatoes, but I do get full before I can finish each new batch that comes off my prolific vines.  That’s where this recipe, appropriately named Use ‘Em Up Cold Summer Soup, comes into play.  How full of promise is that title?  Question is, does it live up to the hype?

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Okay, I have a secret to share.  No, it’s not the formula for calculating the volume of a square container with tapered sides (a recent question in my Math for the Green Industry class), but it’s pretty shocking nonetheless.  Here it is: I’ve never made my own risotto before.  GASP!   Seriously, I haven’t.  I always squirmed at the idea of standing around and stirring the stuff for 20 minutes.  And frankly, no risotto I’d had out somewhere had ever piqued my interest enough to make the effort seem worthwhile.  No risotto, that is, until this Green Bean Risotto.

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Today’s recipe is a fresh, healthy, and quite seasonal.  Truth be told, it’s not terribly creative as I’m sure you’ve all had some form of Three Bean Salad at a family reunion or other summer potluck dinner.  However, after perusing many a recipe for this dish, I feel fairly confident that mine is the only one that actually uses just three kinds of beans!  Most had at least five, some even had more!  It got me thinking.  Why the heck are they all called three bean salads then?   Do you know?

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Gardening brings so much pleasure and beauty to my life.  I’m really pleased with how my little plot has been progressing over the past few months.  A friend who stopped by my garden the other night asked me to explain my broad sweeping goals for [...]

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Hurry!  It’s almost over!  Like any good thing, the blueberry season is all too short, and the smart cook embraces it for all its worth while it’s here.  The same could be said about the sour cherry season, but, frankly, I’m really only in this (“this” being the making and eating of Berry Cherry Pie) for the blueberries. 

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

I bet you and your friends have a few summertime traditions. An annual 4th of July BBQ? Maybe a no-excuses-we’re-going-to-the-beach-the-same-weekend-every-year outing? Or perhaps a camping trip instead? A group of my friends, who have long scattered across several state lines and life stages (singles, newly weds, divorcees, and new parents are all among them), come together one night a summer to sit under the same tree in a big back yard, drink a lot of beer, play horseshoes and pretend for a little while that we’re still carefree and 20.

Quite frankly though, I’ve outgrown what little taste I had for a keg of lager beer. So, this year I decided I’d try a taking along the ingredients for a cocktail. Spurred by my success with the Lavender Lemon Soda recipe, I thought I’d try another simple syrup infused with a fresh herb that would add a little somethin’-somethin’ to my cocktail. The rosemary plants in my garden called out to me immediately.