Dinner Plans: Week 38

It’s Week 38 of Dinner Plans and we're relishing the early signs of Fall!

Over the weekend my family and I got to visit my parents and sister in SoCal and I relished a bit of R&R time. Between the most amazing two-hour deep tissue massage to the most amazing dinner at Perle in Pasadena, I returned to Napa restored and recharged for the week ahead.

I've narrowed down the choices to a new farm CSA too! I've reached out to them both to ask a couple questions and once I know more I'll sign up and start sharing all the goodies with you here! In the meantime, I'm making a note to head to the Napa Farmers Market Tuesday to pick up a few seasonal produce items to get us through the next couple of weeks.

Seasonal Cooking Tip: Planting a Fall Garden

After we moved, I learned we've got plenty of room for a bigger garden. I ordered these Birdies raised bed planters and will put them together this week. The modular design will help move with ease. I’m trying my hand at growing vegetables for fall and winter. After checking out the map for hardiness, I learned we are still in Zone 9b. There is plenty we can still grow from spinach to kale to potatoes and root vegetables. You can find your hardiness zone for planting using this map on the USDA’s website.

Our Game Plan for Our Fall Urban Garden

Here is what we’re planning to plant in the garden for fall:

1. Kale & Cabbage: While we get kale in our CSA box, I love this curly kale variety and will try growing it in one of the containers we have open in our garden space. I’m wanting to add more dark leafy greens to our garden this season and kale is a great starting point. I’m also going to try growing two varieties of napa cabbage as I love them for stir fry dishes and making my own kimchi!
2. Cucumbers: My first summer harvest of cucumbers did amazing and I didn’t realize we could plant cucumbers again! We’ll grab a seedling pack from the nursery to plant this coming week. I didn’t realize I should have started seeds indoors in August. This guide from Urban Farmer is helpful to see when to start seeds and when to harvest in Zone 9.
3. Sugar Snap Peas: I personally love sugar snap peas and I think the kids will learn to love them too. I saw huge success in their growing love for cucumbers after we grew them that I think sugar snap peas will be a great next step. Legumes also make great companion plants for kale as Epic Gardening talks about here.

DINNER PLANS FOR THE WEEK

We’re turning our attention now to autumn produce and I’m looking forward to the season ahead. From squash to dark leafy greens and root vegetables, slow cooking and comfort food will slowly make their way to our weekly Dinner Plans. For now, this week show us the dishes that bid summer adieu for now and meals that usher in the beginning of Fall, which begins September 22nd.

Here is our game plan for dinner this week:

Sunday: Rustic Ratatouille with Herby Polenta

Monday: Crispy Chicken Cutlets and Garlicky Greens

Tuesday: Enchiladas Verdes with Ground Turkey and Seasonal Veggie Filling

Wednesday: Slow Roasted Herb & Butter Salmon with Braised Lentils

Thursday: Radish & Butter Tartine using the garlic scape butter we made this summer served with a robust side salad. This recipe from Food 52 is a good one to build from.

Friday: Fall Harvest Salad with Herb Roast Chicken (Ina’s Roast Chicken was the first recipe I used when learning to cook and while I adapt it often, this is a classic.)

Saturday: Pizza with Caramelized Shallots, Spicy Calabrese Salami, Fior di Latte, Walnut Romesco (adapted from this NYT Cooking recipe), Hot Honey

From favorite recipes to new things with a wide variety of ingredients, cooking delicious food with our CSA definitely gets us out of a dinner rut and reduce food waste. I share meal ideas for our busy weeks with our weekly newsletter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to be in the know when they’re live. 😉