Dinner Plans: Week 21

It’s Week 21 of Dinner Plans and we're relishing the first of the stone fruits!

Our second birthday of the month is on the calendar this week and with cherry season coming into full swing, a birthday pie is on the baking to-do list this week. I'm buying cherries by the pound full for both pie filling and this freezer-friendly compote that I absolutely love for breakfast options or generously served atop homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Early signs of summer are here. ❤️

Seasonal Cooking Tip: Springtime Pastas to Savor

When it comes to seasonal cooking, this year I'm sharing a weekly tip here focused on preparing ingredients, preserving foods, and kitchen hacks that help you save time.

This week we're talking about a pasta for all seasons. While we wait for the triumphant return of summer tomatoes, the springtime goodies give us plenty of inspiration for seasonal pasta dishes, primavera style.

For easy weeknights, I like to do riffs off this risotto or this one-pot pasta. My favorite spring veggie combinations: a mix of sautéed asparagus, snap peas, and even diced carrots. Add a bit of the pasta water to a seasonal pesto to thin the sauce just a tad before adding a generous grate of parmesan. A dish like this can be ready in under 20 minutes making for speedy and easy weeknight comfort for our busiest of days.

Dinner Plans for Week 21

We're swimming in carrots and leafy greens so lots of ideas are swirling about using every bit of our boxes. Meal prepping a few of the vegetables like the broccoli and making a DIY Salad Mix will help me plan out meals with ease. With the broccoli: because we have all part of this cruciferous veggie I'm removing the leaves from the stems along with the florets. The leaves will be used in breakfast scrambles. The stems will be slow simmered for an easy veggie stock for a future risotto. And the florets used in this week's stir fry side. The epitome of low waste cooking!

Here’s what we received from our CSA shares this week:

Riverdog Farm:

• Gold Oak Gold Nugget Mandarins
• Red Batavian Crisp Lettuce
• Snow Peas
• Carrots
• Purple Daikon Radishes
• Broccoli Bunches

Stepping Stone Farm:

• Tiara Spring Cabbage
• Beas Kohlrabi
• Cegolaine Bib Lettuce
• Fancy Carrots
• French Breakfast Radish
• Daikon Radish Kimchi

Our Game Plan for Dinner this Week:

Sunday: Roast Leg of Lamb with Brown Butter Colcannon using this week's kohlrabi

Monday: Cabbage Pancake (Patrick's Recipe for Okonomiyaki from our CSA newsletter) with Gochujang Marinated Ground Turkey and Daikon Radish Kimchi

Tuesday: Crispy Marinated Oyster Mushroom Tacos with Jalapeño Cabbage Slaw

Wednesday: Radish Tartines with Roast Chicken Salad

Thursday: Mandarin Chicken with Stir Fry Broccoli and Rice

Friday: Carrots and Peas Pasta with Carrot Top Pesto

Saturday: Pizza with Carrot Top Pesto, Garlic Scapes, Fior di Latte and Crispy Prosciutto

From favorite recipes to new meal ideas using a wide variety of ingredients, cooking delicious food with our CSA definitely gets us out of a dinner rut while reducing 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. 😉