It’s Week 33 of Dinner Plans and summer produce is definitely reaching peak deliciousness!
I love a morning where I can pick up our CSA delivery solo. I have a little extra time to shop the farmers market and see all the amazing California produce in season. Peaches are going strong. I'm still finding cherries! Tomatoes are making their way to farm stands in abundance. School may be starting soon and stores may have shelves stocked that signal Halloween is coming. But Summer is very much still on my mind. We're soaking up every last ounce of it!
Seasonal Cooking Tip: Shifting Gears Back to Work & School
For many, summer is starting to wind down and it shows up in different ways. For those who were able to travel this season, those final trips are in progress or coming to an end. And for those with school-aged children, the back-to-school season is resuming soon--if not already. Our kiddos will start back to school end of this month which gives us just a couple more weeks to squeeze out every last drop of summer. We've got a fun camping trip planned along with a few days in Sonoma County. I'm so excited for a week to unplug with my familia! When we come back it'll be all hands on deck to kick off the academic year ahead for both work and school.
Here's 3 ways we're getting ready for all the back-to-life routines:
- Shop the Pantry: This is always my first step to see what we have on hand to make meals quickly. I make a list of item and quantity of ingredients like rice, dried beans, canned goods, pasta, and more. I wish I had a fun template to share (maybe someday soon!) but for now, I use a pen and some scrap construction paper from the kids' art cart. 🤣
- Check the Freezer: I often have leftovers or prepared items on hand in the freezer. I will check to see what is there along with the labeled date so I know how soon we should plan to eat our freezer finds. I usually keep portioned pasta sauce, pesto cubes, breakfast burritos, fruit for smoothies, and frozen fruits and veggies on hand.
- Resume CSA deliveries or schedule grocery/farmers market haul: For us, when traveling we'll pause our CSA delivery during periods of travel. Depending on trip timing, I'll look to resume as soon as we're back. Otherwise, we'll schedule a small trip to the grocery store or local farmers market to grab a few items to help meal prep before resuming the next CSA box delivery.
See Part I and Part II of my Pantry Essentials Series for more tips and recommendations for keeping a well stocked pantry no matter what size pantry you have.
DINNER PLANS FOR THE WEEK
Checking the list on Sage Mountain Farm’s website for what we’re getting in our boxes this week helps me to shop our pantry, fridge, and freezer in order to plan a variety of delicious recipes on Sunday. With these relatively easy dinners in mind, I then make our grocery list of ingredients to pick up either at the farmer's market or our local grocery store.
Here is our game plan for dinner this week:
Sunday: Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with Roasted Garlic Butter and Broccolini
Monday: Zucchini Tart in Puff Pastry
Tuesday: Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with Roasted Garlic Butter and Broccolini
Wednesday: 30 Minutes Pasta with Hearty Heirloom Tomato Sauce
Thursday: Spaghetti alla Nerano (recipe ideas here and here)
Friday: Summertime BLT using our garden tomatoes (recipe ideas here and here)
Saturday: Supreme Pizza with Olives, Sliced Red Onions, Pepperoni, and Sausage
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. 😉
Cheers to a nourishing week. ❤️
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