Summer Veggie Meals

The veggies are so delicious! Hope everyone is enjoying the harvest as much as I am - please share by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line.

At this time of the year I grill and make salads out of a lot of the harvest. I find that having pasta on hand is great because it pairs so well with grilled veggies - add a vinaigrette, pesto, or olive oil, lemon juice and a bunch of fresh chopped herbs - all work great. Grilling extra while the grill is hot helps make meal prep easier the next day or two. The same hold true with salads - veggie salads hold up well and even may taste better the next day. Here are a few things I enjoyed this past week.

Cucumber, cilantro, scallion, garlic, mint, hot pepper (out of my freezer from last year) - enjoyed the Vietnamese Cucumber Salad - I came upon this recipe a couple of years ago and it has become a summer staple. If there is any leftover, it is delicious the next day.

Tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, hot pepper (from freezer) - made the Chicken Stew with Tomatillo Sauce. This is another go-to meal for enjoying tomatillos. I typically make a large batch of the sauce - tomatillos hold well in the fridge, so you can save a couple weeks worth of them and then make the sauce and freeze it in 2 cup containers for enjoying the stew at a later time. The sauce is also a good salsa. Instead of stewing the dish, I put it all in the pressure cooker - it is delicious! Serve it with rice as the recipe indicates or with fresh tortillas.

Eggplant, tomatoes, scallions - made the Eggplant Spread from this site. As much as I love Baba Ganoush, this is simpler to make and delicious.

Zucchini, garlic, basil - tried the Zucchini Ribbons with Pesto and White Beans that Farmer Dana sent me last week - Yum!

Green beans, cherry tomatoes, basil - found something slightly different to try called Summer Vegetable Pasta. This isn't a salad, but rather a warm dish with a bit of butter. It was simple to make and adaptable for whatever veggies you have on hand. I switched out the peas for green beans - can't wait to make this again!