A Rainbow of Recipes for Late-Summer Veggies

If you've read my blog before, you probably know how I feel about CSAs - Community Supported Agriculture (see here, here, here, and here). Every week it's like winning a lottery, a vegetable lottery. I never know what goodies are going home with me until my boys and I walk up to the sign-in table, canvas totes in hand, and get a first glimpse at the huge board listing the week's treasures.

This time around, it's all about the late-summer harvest. The time is quickly passing for leafy greens - so long, Swiss chard - and has made way for a whole rainbow of delicious vegetables. Check out our loot:

• red peppers
• tomatoes
• cherry tomatoes
• carrots
• summer squash
• leeks
• tomatillos
• green beans
• scallions
• okra
• jalapeños
• basil
• cucumber
• lettuce
• zucchini
• eggplant
• purple basil
• onions

So, what can we make? Let's see, let's see. I love the challenge of combining the veggies in my share with items I have on hand, mixing it up, creating new dishes. For this round, how about:

• Frittata with red peppers, summer squash, leeks
• Pizza Margherita (tomatoes, basil or purple basil) and tossed salad (cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, lettuce)
• Tortellini with roasted cherry tomatoes and pesto sauce* (basil or purple basil)
• Enchiladas with salsa verde (tomatillos) and guacamole (tomatoes, jalapeños, onions)
• Eggplant Parmesan
• Grilled peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and onions over quinoa
• Carrot-Apple-Coconut Muffins
• Green Beans Amandine as a side dish
• Stir Fry (red peppers, carrots, summer squash, scallions)

There are links in the list above to recipes for the frittata, pizza, roasted tomatoes, pesto, salsa verde, guacamole, eggplant parm, grilled veggies, muffins, amandine, and the stir fry. Just click around to embark on deliciousness.

* If you make a big batch of pesto, pour the leftovers into an ice cube tray and freeze overnight. The next day, pop the cubes out into a freezer-safe ziptop bag or container and store in the freezer. You can add a cube or two to sauces or soups (excellent addition to minestrone!), or heat up a bunch over pasta one night for a quick dinner.

The one item I don't really care for is okra. I've tried it and I just don't like it. I decided to pick up a few anyway to try out a craft idea with the kids that I had seen in Kiwi magazine. Here is a link to a similar idea. By all means, feel free to make some Jambalaya with your okra, but I'll stick to painting with it.

Whether you belong to a CSA, frequent a farmers' market, or just want to stock up on in-season goodies at the grocery store, I hope these ideas inspire your culinary curiosity. Bon appetit! And as always, thanks for reading.