Green Options

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

No matter how much I enjoy them, I always feel a little strange about eating dandelion greens.  It’s also strange to think about somebody purposely growing dandelions, don’t you think?  But the truth is, they’re mighty tasty, in that slightly bitter way. 

The urban farm I volunteer on is growing dandelions for the first time this year, and the large bunch I brought home with me landed on the counter next to the mesh bag of baby red potatoes I’d just picked up at the store.  Fate would have these two ingredients married together over the course of the next hour into a hearty warm salad, one of those concoctions where I raided the fridge and threw in whatever seemed viable, including some chicory from the farm too.

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

I’m really putting my lavender plants to work already this summer.  First a bubbly lavender lemonade, and now lavender scented ice cream!  I’m running to catch up to the bandwagon here, flagging it down like a speeding city bus.   Many folks have long been touting how sublime the marriage of lavender and cream is.  But I hadn’t bought into it until this batch of ice cream.   

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

We’re in full swing with the growing season in the mid-Atlantic region.  I certainly enjoy all the fresh produce spilling out of my garden, but none tickle my taste buds quite so much as Swiss chard and sorrel.  For those of you not familiar with these delightful greens, here’s a little primer that should get you well on your way to enjoying both!

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

“Hot. So very hot.”  These words, or some variation of them, echo through my head at least a dozen times a day now that summer is officially here.  Interspersed among them are a sundry of other fleeting thoughts, most prevalent among them being, “Is it lunchtime yet?”   You see, laboring as I do outside so much of the day in my horticulture work, I tend to quickly get a little parched and hungry.  Concocting refreshing icy beverages has become a priority.

This desperation for refreshment brings us to a truly revitalizing Lavender Lemon Soda that is the ideal remedy for a sweaty brow.  It is downright cleansing with its effervescent flavors. I have been intrigued by herbal sodas since last summer when I had one at a local café, but I surprised even myself with how tasty this particular combination turned out to be.  

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

With the rising costs of food (and everything else to boot), I’m sure I’m not the only one who has vowed to be more frugal with menus by using up what’s already in the fridge before heading to the market.  To this I say, “here, here!!”   That was until I started looking around my own fridge and realized I should have taken on this resolution about four months ago - moldy cheese, sad-looking shriveled carrots, and dried out halves of onions that I was sure I’d use up the next day but forgot all about and ended up cutting a fresh onion.   Frugal I am not.

Instead, those bright and shiny new bunch of beets I’d plucked from the farmer’s market immediately caught my attention.  I know I had opened the fridge with the intention of salvaging something that might otherwise go to waste, but as it was, I thought I’d give the beets a chance before they too shriveled up in the crisper drawer.  After all, the spring beet season is fast drawing to a close. 

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

Kohlrabi season is upon us!  Rejoice and partake! And it looks like I’m not the only one finding locally grown kohlrabi in the kitchen.  I am ridiculously fond of kohlrabi, perhaps somewhat in part due to its alien appearance.  It’s crisp and refreshing when sliced thin and eaten raw or grated into a slaw, but I actually like it even better when sauteed.  It releases its juices and becomes almost buttery in texture. 

As for the squash, it’s not quite here yet in the Northeast so if you don’t have it locally grown, just use the kohlrabi by itself or add another in-season vegetable.  At the time I created this recipe, I was desperate to use up as much squash as possible.  I figure I’ll give you a head start with ideas for this summer’s onslaught!

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

Reading Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, which is where today’s recipe comes from, got me thinking about the pleasure and occasional shame that is a solo diner’s.   In a restaurant, dining alone, you may cower, or worse yet, be forced to dine at a table squeezed in beside the kitchen door. But at home, cooking for one can be a real joy when you throw in a bit fancy flare and fresh healthy ingredients.   

A long-time solo diner myself, I’m prone to falling back on my old stand-bys instead of trying something new that will give me a more balanced menu.  As tasty as baked beans piled over two slices of whole wheat toast is, no one can pretend such a dish makes for a well-balanced meal (although beans and toast does make a “complete” protein).   So, a salad made of those ingredients that bind spring and summer produce together is a welcome breath of fresh eating. 

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

I love eating with my eyes first.  I know many a foodie has said that before, but the look of a dish can often mean more to me than the taste.  Lucky for everyone, this post’s recipe has it all - vivid color, dramatic presentation and refreshing deliciousness.  The flavors in this beet salad were meant for each other, although I wouldn’t have thought to put them together myself if Chef Bill Telepan hadn’t suggested it.  By the way, Mr. Telepan is a man after my own heart, using lots of citrus and unusual seasonal ingredients like kohlrabi in his own special style of ”lovin’ fresh” recipes.   

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

It’s been brought to my attention that croutons aren’t “much of an entry” (this from a man that goes pale at the mere mention of his participation in the nightly dinner preparations), but I beg to differ.  While making your own croutons isn’t hard, it’s something most folks rarely think to do.  The recipes I post aren’t meant to be revolutionary.  Rather, they are here to prompt you, noble Eat.Drink.Better readers, to embrace the freshest, local food you can find.  Homemade croutons made with a fresh herb butter fit in perfectly with that scheme, don’t you think?  I certainly do. 

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

Quiche is something I covet, particularly for brunch.  I personally enjoy it more when chilled, but any and all quiche is welcome to apply within (my mouth).   When my partner and I met, he was trying to go from vegetarian to vegan (a mission since abandoned due to our mutual “interest” in ice cream).  Being especially eager to prove my culinary prowess in those first few months of dating, I gave my first tofu quiche a whirl.   While I didn’t miss the eggs in the least, I did lament the absence of cheese.  So we compromised and now I have a “standard” tofu quiche recipe that I typically make with spinach.

Now, if you’re scrunching up your nose at the idea of an eggless quiche, don’t despair.  I’m sure if you have a standard quiche recipe of your own (or care to do a quick search for one), you can easily use the flavor components of this recipe with an egg base instead.