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​The heat and humidity have been relentless this summer. As the weather has been quite uncomfortable, I’ve found some recipes that work quite well during this hot weather. I made a meatloaf, but you may not believe how I cooked it. Zucchini has been abundant in our Dreyer Farms CSA box and I found an easy to prepare side dish. With the Olympics in full swing, I took advantage of the theme and made an elegant appetizer using the last of my pâté. Utilizing summer stone fruit in a dinner salad or with grilled pork is always nice, especially with sweet, juicy summer peaches. Kirby cucumbers were also included and I used a recipe from the CSA recipe sheet to make a new dill pickle recipe.
 
Meatloaf is one of my husband’s favorite meals. I had some ground turkey that I wanted to use, but baking a meatloaf for almost an hour wasn’t appealing. After a little internet sleuthing, I discovered that I could cook it in my slow cooker on high for three hours, perfect. Easy Turkey Meatloaf by Melissa Knific was chosen for this preparation. Besides ground turkey, you’ll also need nonstick cooking spray, an egg, an apple, an onion, seasoned panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, kosher salt,  black pepper and Italian seasoning (optional). For the sauce, you’ll need ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar (cider, distilled, white or red wine), Worcestershire sauce and black pepper. I didn’t have seasoned panko bread crumbs, so I used Spice and Tea Exchange’s Tuscany Spice Blend for flavoring. 
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“Hot Fun in the Summertime” was written by Sylvester Stewart, or better known as Sly Stone of the band Sly and the Family Stone. Sly Stewart wrote this song in 1969 extolling the beginning of summer and the fun that one has during these lazy days. I will say this summer so far has certainly been hot, and extremely humid too. Despite the heat and humidity, one still needs to eat no matter how hot it is.
 
Now that New Jersey peach season is in full swing, I tweaked Melissa Clark’s recipe for Baked Oatmeal with Berries and Almonds to work with peaches. First I made a tiny cross on the bottom of the peaches and blanched them in boiling water for approximately 30 seconds. This enabled me to peel off their skin. Next, I cut segments into the peach and cut it away from the pit. In place of almonds, I used toasted walnuts that I coarsely chopped and used 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in lieu of nutmeg. The baked oatmeal came was delicious and had a lovely sweet taste from the peaches. The peaches were full of flavor and was a great change from using berries. Give it a try while peaches are still available. I’m going to purchase some and prep them for baking, but freeze them in portion sizes for fall and winter when I’m yearning for a bit of summer.
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​Recently I was faced with having a head of cabbage from my CSA box. While I could have made a traditional coleslaw, I wanted to try something new. My husband just received the current issue of “Garden and Gun Magazine” which had an article featuring a former “Top Chef” contestant, Ashleigh Shanti. The article featured her recipe for Hot Slaw, and I do mean spicy hot. For the recipe you’ll need green cabbage, a red onion, carrots, kosher salt, hot sauce (such as Tabasco), tomato paste, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, minced garlic, paprika, black pepper, celery salt and cayenne pepper.
 
The recipe begins by thinly shaving 2 cups of green cabbage, however, I doubled the recipe. The preparation starts by placing shredded cabbage, julienned red onion and matchstick size carrots in a colander, adding kosher salt and tossing the mixture. The salt is used to leech out the moisture from the vegetables and soften them. 
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It’s been a busy start to July as our daughter and her family were here for the week, followed by playing catch up after they left. The weather this summer has been unbearably humid and hot; so, who feels like cooking. My husband likes a “cold supper” in the summer, which means I have to cook it earlier in the day so that we can enjoy it chilled for supper. However, I had in my possession from last May a recipe by Steven Raichlen for Shrimp a La Plancha. For this simple, tasty recipe you’ll need shrimp, extra-virgin olive oil (preferably Spanish), minced flat leaf parsley, fresh garlic, pimentón (optional), coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, either brandy or sherry and lemon wedges.
 
Pimentón is a type of paprika used in Spanish cooking and comes in several varieties such as sweet, spicy, smoked and combination. I substituted smoked paprika.
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​I had some candy cane beets in my last CSA box. Recently in my Insta feed, I saw a restaurant promoting one of their nightly specials, beet carpaccio. This inspired me to create my own carpaccio using roasted beets sliced 1/8-inch thick on a mandoline. I made a balsamic glaze reduction by slowly cooking down the vinegar until it was a thick syrup and lightly drizzled on top. I placed a thinly sliced piece of Wild Mushroom Pâté from Alexian Pâté on  top and added a cornichon for a tart and slight sweet flavor to play off the acidity of the balsamic vinegar. What a scrumptious appetizer. The flavors of the ingredients were a great combination, refreshing for a summertime snack.
 
As I didn’t use all of the pâté, I thought I would try incorporating it into an omelet for lunch. Using a recipe by Sara Moulton for souffléd omelet, it was filled with chopped spinach, thin slices of cheddar cheese and diced pâté. What a lovely weekend lunch. The structure of the omelet was light, fluffy and puffed up nice and high. There was just enough cheese to add a bit of sharpness against the fresh taste of the spinach. The pâté provided texture and earthiness from the mushrooms.
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The title of this week’s blog post is credited to Aristotle. I am most happy when I have a list of things to do each day and can cross them off when accomplished. Sitting still isn’t something that comes easy to me. I find cooking relaxing and very enjoyable. From the search for the right recipe, sourcing needed ingredients and a review of how the dish came out is satisfaction for me.
 
Such was the case with Melissa Clark’s recipe for Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Leeks and Capers. In all honesty, I did adjust Ms. Clark’s recipe by using spring onions from my CSA box in place of leeks. Besides the ingredients named in the recipe title you’ll also need extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, drained capers, lemon wedges, fresh parsley, Dijon mustard and fresh garlic.
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Each week when I receive my share of Dreyer Farms CSA box, it presents a new challenge as what new recipe can I find to create a memorable meal for my husband and I. The downside of this is that my poor husband very rarely gets the same meal twice. Occasionally he reminds of something we had last year or a few months ago, then I have to sort through my memory, or even my website, to see what he’s talking about.
 
Recently in the CSA box was fresh spinach, garlic scapes and Napa cabbage. Patty at Dreyers Farms does an excellent job of providing storage information and recipes. Sometimes I’ll use her suggestions or find some on my own. ​
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​In week 2, kohlrabi was part of our CSA box. Kohlrabi, though sometimes known as German turnip, actually belongs to the mustard family and is related to cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. It’s texture and taste is similar to broccoli stems, but I find the taste to be rather bland, not like broccoli.
 
I also had some radishes from a prior box and decided to combine the two veggies into a Kohlrabi-Radish Slaw a recipe listed in our CSA newsletter. The recipe is from the website “Fix Me a Little Lunch.” Besides the two vegetables, you’ll also need juice from 1/2 a lime, white wine vinegar, olive oil, pinch of sugar, pinch of salt, celery seeds and fresh chopped parsley. 
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My husband loves both stir fry meals and meatloaf. I have made my fair share of meatloaves and shared the results on this website. I recently started listening to a podcast called “The Recipe,” hosted by recipe developers/food bloggers/cookbook writers Deb Perelman and J. Kenji Alt-Lopez. Ms. Perelman has a blog called “Smitten Kitchen” and  you can find Mr. Alt-Lopez’s recipes on the website “Serious Eats,” his YouTube channel and The New York Times/NYT Cooking (both are paid subscriptions).
 
In a podcast posted in March of this year, Deb and Kenji had a discussion about meat loaf. In the podcast notes, a link was given for her recipe for Turkey Meat Loaf for Skeptics. Two things that drew me to this recipe was the fact that it used ground turkey and vegetables that infuse both flavor and moisture to the meat. For the recipe you’ll need a yellow onion, a garlic clove, a carrot, olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, panko-style bread crumbs, chicken broth, tomato paste, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, fresh flat-leaf parsley, an egg and one pound ground turkey (light and dark meat or just dark meat).  There’s also a glaze for the turkey that consists of ketchup, molasses, apple-cider vinegar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
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Following the Memorial holiday weekend, I came down with a nasty stomach bug. It was so bad that I lost my desire for coffee, which I need to start my day, and my chocolate sugar cookie craving. As we had booked an upcoming weekend trip to Boston, I needed to get well before our departure. Fortunately, by Thursday I was starting to feel better and on Friday, when we left, I was just about back to normal. Now this week, my right hip is acting up and I’m hobbling as I walk.
 
Prior to these issues minor, I found some really interesting and tasty recipes. For vegetarians, and those trying to eat less meat, Creamy, Spicy Tomato Beans with Greens by Alexa Weibel from The New York Times/NYT Cooking may be your answer. This 40-minute meal uses olive oil, panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper, yellow onion, fresh garlic, crushed red pepper, tomato paste, canned cannellini beans, heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes in oil, pecorino or Parmesan cheese, baby arugula, lemon zest and juice.


​meet donna

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

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