Dinner Plans: Week 32

It’s Week 32 of Dinner Plans and I'm turning my attention to preserving produce at peak!

I've had some produce items building a backlog in my fridge. It also feels like we're cresting the middle of summer and autumn now feels like a hop, skip, and a jump away. With that in mind I tend to turn my attention to "saving the season." So, making fruit compotes I can freeze, prepping veggies for holiday sides to be stored in the freezer, pickling, and light canning are filling my schedule now.

Seasonal Cooking Tip: Squash Blossom Heaven

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 one of my favorite summertime treats: squash blossoms. They're literally the reason I opted to grow zucchini this year and the blossom have been abundant here! I've loved them in this scramble and in quesadillas. Key thing to note here is we want the blossoms that do not have a mini squash already growing.

Dinner Plans for Week 32

It's a double box week and I'm being strategic about cooking as we've got a very special week coming up this month where the kids will spend a week with the grandparents and that means my husband and I are making all the dinner reservations we can in Napa Valley. Basil pesto for freezing with some to be used in a pizza for later in the week with the heirloom tomatoes and fior di latte. Green beans will be washed, trimmed, and stored in freezer for holiday meal prep or for fast weeknight side dishes.

The sweet corn was phenomenal in a Creamy Corn Pasta with Squash and Basil. It's on repeat this week. We'll make a cucumber salad topped with toasted pepitas, cotija, and a cilantro-chili-lime dressing served with a marinated grilled steak or grilled mushrooms. Peak summer produce is giving us the best dinner ideas lately.

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

Riverdog Farm:

• Blue Lake Green Beans
• Heirloom and Early Girl Tomatoes
• Charentais Melon
• Italian Parsley
• Painted Serpent Cucumber
• Summer Squash

Stepping Stone Farm:

• Sweet Corn
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Compass Bush Beans
• Japanese Frying Peppers
• Mojito Cucumbers
• Genovese Basil & Green Shisho
• Summer Bouquet
• Strawberry Amazake from Rice Flower Koji

Our Game Plan for Dinner this Week:

Sunday: Lasagna using the last bag of Freezer Early Girl Tomatoes (!!!) with Summer Squash, Shallots, and Chard

Monday: Creamy Corn Pasta with Basil and Summer Squash

Tuesday: Grilled Steak with Cucumber Salad with Toasted Pepitas, Cotija, and a Chili-Lime Dressing

Wednesday: Tomato Galette with TomaProvence from Point Reyes Cheese

Thursday: Tsukune from Just One Cookbook with Rice, Marinated Shiso, and Stir Fry Peppers

Friday: Grilled Chicken with Potato & Green Beans with Chive-Dill Butter

Saturday: Pizza Picnic with a Classic Pizza Margherita with Heirloom Tomatoes, Fior di Latte, and Fresh Basil

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. 😉