It’s about time. This cool and moody summer has caused many of my favorite veggies to be late bloomers. Finally my neighborhood market is bursting with the good stuff (and so is my fridge). Here’s a look at what I’ve been making…
Vegetables en Papillote (if you’re fancy) or Veggies in Parchment Packets (if you’re me). I love this method for cooking all sorts of fresh vegetables. Takes about 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Win!
Slow Roasted Ratatouille. Inspired by my recipe for roasted tomatoes, I decided to slow roast all of the veggies in ratatouille. Nice idea. Lackluster results. The tomatoes got waaaaay too sweet and the other veggies got a bit dried out. I might try making oven ratatouille again in a hotter oven. I can ponder the recipe when I’m eating Just-OK-Ratatouille all week.
Something I have been making all summer long is fresh spring rolls (a.k.a. summer rolls). I don’t follow any certain recipe, but just wrap up whatever fresh veggies I have like cucumber, leaf lettuce or baby beet greens, avocado and fresh herbs. My favorite thing about spring rolls is that you can make just a few at a time. I think of spring roll wrappers as bread that lasts in your pantry indefinitely…just grab a few wrappers and roll up something fresh and delicious. If you’ve never made spring rolls, check out this awesome tutorial from White on Rice Couple showing How to Roll Fresh Spring Rolls.
This simple Cucumber Tomato Salad is seasoned with Za’atar. I am Za’atar obsessed. Or maybe sesame seasoning obsessed. I love just about any sesame based mix like Gomasio (used here), and Shichimi Togarashi (discovered here). I have even given bottles of Shichimi Togarashi as gifts and keep a bottle at work. Really. Obsessed.
Something I’m not obsessed with? Tempeh.
Dear tempeh- It’s just not working out. I’ve tried to learn to like you. Just this week I fried you up and glazed you in a lovely sriracha-soy sauce. You have a funky taste and texture. It’s not me. It’s you. You’ll never be to me what tofu is. We’re through.
Finally, I’ve been doing some improvised baking thanks to a poorly stocked pantry and extreme disinterest in going to the store. I was craving my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, but didn’t have any almond flour on hand. I made them with almond butter instead and had pretty good results. I’m tweaking the almond butter cookie recipe, and will post it soon(ish).
I’ve also been making fruit crisp each week. The Minnesota blueberries have been amazing this year, the best I can remember. They’re only available for a few weeks, so I tend to overbuy and come home with a huge sack of blueberries. I’ve been making blueberry crisp to use ‘em up. I’m not complaining, but do fear that my teeth with become permanently stained blue from the berries. When I get my hands on some ripe peaches, I’ll switch to this Peach Crisp. (P.S. I ran out of cinnamon, so I’ve been using Chinese 5 Spice Powder in the crisp topping. It. Tastes. Awesome.)
That’s what I’ve been making. What have you been cooking?
-Jen
{ 0 comments… add one }