Dinner Plans: Week 38

It’s Week 38 of Dinner Plans and we're preparing to welcome the fall cooking season!

This week's CSA pickup is bringing us all the late summer harvest. I didn't grow eggplant in our garden this year so my eyes lit up at seeing two beautiful eggplants in our box! Cucumbers will get pickled for game day sandwiches and I'll get to work on freezing produce we won't use right away. I also picked up lion's mane from Oak Grove Farms who is a new vendor at the Claremont Farmer's Market. Today was their third week at the market and they are here to stay! Follow them on Instagram and visit them every Sunday at the market!

They also had figs and I immediately bought a container as I've been wanting to get these all season. I'm working on a few recipes with those fruits so stay tuned!

Seasonal Cooking Tip: Planting a Fall Garden

This year, I'm trying my hand at growing vegetables for fall and winter. As I close out the second summer of urban gardening, I'm learning so much about the ways a home garden helps us supplement our CSA box while also contributing to our local food system. I'll donate excess produce and herbs to our community garden or share with our neighbors. It's been a joy to do this and I'm putting the finishing touches on the ideas for our garden. Since we're 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: Fried Green Tomatoes with Salmon Cakes and Garlicky Greens

Tuesday: Chile Rellenos (recipe will be adapted from Isabel Eats using the Anaheim Peppers in our box)

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. 😉