Vegetable Mania!

Summertime often feels overwhelming to me in regards to the volume of fresh produce available. After months of long, long winter where options tend to be limited to bananas, apples, frozen corn and canned green beans I dance with glee as the farm stands open shop. This year we signed up for a CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - through Kauffman's Fruit Farm. Every Friday from May through September we get twenty dollars worth of food - typically produce with the occasional unique Lancaster Co. item thrown in too. This has challenged my supper table to be able to get our money's worth out of the program by using everything - even items I wouldn't typically buy. To be honest though, by the third week of radishes, I posted on FB to give them away.

Today's meal was heavily influenced by our recent CSA bag:
**Yellow Squash and Green Zuchinni
- Steam cooked
- Served together for asthetic appeal
- Parmesan cheese was an optional topping
- Child Tip:  the presence of parm means we can get Bridget to eat almost anything
** Campfire Potatoes 
- Opted to use the oven instead of a campfire or a grill
- Also used a glass baking dish instead of tinfoil because I always leak juices when I attempt foil
- Great leftover item - just ate some for lunch
** Broccoli Salad
- Great item to have your child help prepare
- Handy way to finish off cheese or raisins or make use of all those spring onions
- We made ours in advance that morning
** Fried Chicken
- I always find fried chicken to be a bit challenging to balance cooking the chicken long enough and
not overly crisping the breading. With this meal I only cooked it in oil long enough to get the breading done and lightly browned and then finished the rest of it off in the oven alongside the potatoes.

Broccoli Salad - from the Weavertown School Cookbook

1 large head of broccoli, cleaned and snapped into bite sized flowerets
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup   raisins
1/2 cup bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2 cup cheese, shredded
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Mix dressing ingredients - mayo, sugar and vinegar.
Mix broccoli, onion, raisins, bacon, and cheese.
Pour dressing over broccoli mixture.
Chill for one hour before serving.

Campfire Potatoes - from Simply Wonderful, a cookbook produced by Honeybrook Community Church

5 medium potatoes, cleaned and thinly sliced  (I left some of the skin on to add extra flavor and color) (I used red potatoes, but any potato will suffice)
1 small onion, chopped
4 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp parsley
1/2 cup chicken broth
 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Place potatoes and onions in a greased baking dish. Dot with butter. Mix Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, parsley and chicken broth and pour over potato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.


Summertime is a great chance to freshen your table and your palate all while supporting local farmers and eating food that your body appreciates.

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Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not 

made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.  

~Voltaire

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Hello World of Blogging -- It is Breakfast time!

It only seems appropriate to begin a brand new blog with a recipe to be used at breakfast time since after all breakfast is the most important meal of the day... or is it?

Myth or Fact: Breakfast - is it most important meal of the day? 

This morning we had: 

* Greek Yogurt with a Warm Black Raspberry and Blueberry Sauce (courtesy of Cooking Light magazine)

* Warm Cinnamon Sugar Bread

* Chocolate Milk

Greek Yogurt w Black Raspberry & Blueberry Sauce

It turned out a lot better than I anticipated and Bridget absolutely loved it too. She swirled hers together to make purple yogurt - plenty fancy enough for a 2 year old. The yogurt gives it a tangy taste and you can add or reduce the amount of sauce to adjust the level of sweetness. I added an extra serving or two to satisfy my sweet tooth. While it was refreshing for breakfast and started the day off with a healthy amount of protein, I wouldn't mind eating it for dessert on a hot summer evening.  

Greek Yogurt with a Warm Black Raspberry and Blueberry Sauce: 

2/3 cup blueberries

2/3 cup black raspberries or blackberries

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar 

2    Tbsp lemon juice

1    Tbsp butter

2    cups plain greek yogurt           

Step 1: Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Gently boil for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in butter. 

Step 2: Spoon yogurt into a bowl and top with sauce according to desired flavor. Serve promptly. 

The recipes also suggests that this sauce be used as a stand in for syrup on pancakes or biscuits. You can use frozen berries too if fresh ones are out of season.      

Enjoying her Cinnamon Sugar Bread

     Although greek yogurt is becoming a popular food items these days this was the first time I actually tried it. I was amazed to learn how much protein it has and this simple breakfast powered me through to lunch without a problem. 

Be sure to let me know if you think you might try it, have tried it or if you have any questions.