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​The other evening, we were planning to meet friends on the beach for a light supper of sandwiches and snacks. Unfortunately, the weather was uncooperative, so we had to reschedule. In the meantime, I had to come up with a meal. I went to Whole Foods and picked up bone-in pork chops which were on special for $4.99/lb.  From the New York Times Cooking website, I selected Grilled Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce for my preparation. Cherries were also on sale ($4.99/lb.) and I was able to purchase just enough for the sauce.
 
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A few weeks ago, when dining out, my entrée came with a side of Mexican Street corn. It was presented with the corn off the cob and served in a mini cast iron frying pan. The corn had a dollop of a creamy mixture that made the corn taste oh so delicious.
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After doing some research, I found a recipe for this tasty side dish. Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elote) is from the website Simply Recipes. For the recipe you’ll need corn with the husks removed, Mexican Crema or sour cream (I substituted plain Greek yogurt), cilantro (not a fan, so I used parsley) ground chipotle pepper, lime zest, lime juice, lime wedges and cotija cheese. 
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This week's ingredients from my CSA box are: Blueberries, Bok Choy, Green Squash, Onions, Arugula, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Pickles, Dill.

This batch of pickles will be made with the recipe Easiest Fridge Pickles from the website www.smittenkitchen.com. For the arugula, another pasta dish, Gemelli with Chevre, Arugula and Walnuts from the show Christopher Kimball's Milk Street. The green squash and rainbow Swiss Chard will be used in a recipe by Martha Rose Schulman, Provencal Zucchini and Swiss Chard Tart.

I still have last week's garlic scapes and green onions that I'm going to turn into a salad dressing. That recipe is from the website The Spruce Eats. 

This summer we're eating more locally grown produce!

Image courtesy of Joanna Kosinska



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Just an update on my dill pickles that I made using a recipe from the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen. The pickles were delicious. It was a quick and easy recipe. With so few ingredients, homemade pickles will be a welcome treat for your family this summer. 

Whether serving on a hot, steamy night for supper or for a brunch, this delicious frittata takes full advantage of fresh herbs which makes this egg dish so tasty.
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My share of this week’s CSA box was arugula, a beet, green squash, cucumbers for pickling and lettuce.
 
My lone beet was roasted to put into a salad later this week. I might prepare  Marinated Beet Salad with Whipped Goat Cheese or a small portion of  Beets with Dill, Lime and Yogurt as I have fresh dill.
 
For the arugula, Raw Corn, Arugula and Pecorino Salad with Grilled Chicken which I made back in July 2018. My ShopRite has Bell & Evans bone-in split breasts for $3.79/lb. and this would make for an easy supper.
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​The ingredients from my CSA Box, Week 3, were lettuce, escarole, spinach, Breadsmith pizza dough from Cranford, NJ and Antonio Mozzarella from Newark, NJ. My daughter and I split everything with the exception of the pizza dough as I make my own. Last week I prepared Escarole, Capers and Fontina Pizza, a recipe from the Alice Waters cook book “Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza & Calzone.” The spinach will be part of a pasta dish I found on the New York Times Cooking website, Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta with Spinach, by Yasmin Fahr.
 
For the pizza recipe you’ll need pizza dough, 2 bunches of escarole, an onion 6-7 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes (my contribution) and black olives. 
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On Sunday afternoons, Dreyers Farms, Cranford, sends out an email with the upcoming week’s CSA box contents. Before I receive my share, I begin researching new recipes. My share of the box last week was rhubarb, lettuce, radishes, broccoli rabe and escarole. I also had some golden beets left from week 1.
 
With this week’s produce, including my golden beets, I found a recipe for Beets, Rhubarb and Orange Salad on epicurious.com. For the recipe you’ll also need extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, water, sugar, shallot, honey and feta cheese. 
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​When I was shopping the other morning at Wegmans, I noticed in their seafood case fresh caught shrimp from North Carolina for $14.99/lb. I was looking for weeknight meals and shrimp would be something different. When I returned home, my husband suggested grilled shrimp, however, I found a luscious recipe on The New York Times Cooking website for Shrimp with Sun-Dried Tomatoes by Mark Bittman. With few ingredients required and 20 minutes to prepare, I would have an easy night.
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​This summer, my daughter and I are sharing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box from Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ. We chose a medium size box suitable for a family of 5. For week one the box contained asparagus, golden beets, romaine, shiitake, spinach, Antonio Farms goat cheese and eggs.
 
My daughter is in charge of splitting the offerings each week. I was to get the golden beets, some romaine, spinach, goat cheese, and some eggs. In the past, when she did the box alone, occasionally she would give me the unusual vegetables such as kohlrabi. It became a challenge to find recipes for these vegetables.  
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​Recently my husband and I took a ride out to Gasko Family Farm and Greenhouses in Monroe Township, NJ. He’s been diligently crafting a plan for our side garden and planters. Although we like to shop local, for the number of plants he wanted, going to Gasko would be more economical. What a place! It was like Christmastime, but people were purchasing plants and nursey stock.
 
While we were there, I needed to fill in a few gaps in my herb garden. Gasko has an extensive collection of herbs that surely beats the local nurseries in my immediate area. Although most of my herbs survived the winter in the cold frame, my rosemary and parsley, didn’t fair as well. I also need to purchase basil for pesto and my fresh tomato sauce. 


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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