A Tasty Thai Broccoli Salad

At long last, it is raining here and for the first time in I don’t know how long I am not watering the garden - ahhhh. Hose, hand, or natural watering aside things are going well despite the drought; the tomatoes are still going strong, I’m harvesting collards, swiss chard, and kale regularly, zucchini and yellow squash are prolific, and the fall bean and spinach crops are doing well.

Somewhere along the way, I ended up with 4 free broccoli plants. I’ve planted broccoli in the past but have stopped because it takes up a lot of space for a little return. Since they were free and I had a few pots in the garden I planted them and ended up with 2 nice multi-crown heads and 2 that totally flopped. One was completely bitten off at the base - I guess someone was very hungry.

When it’s too hot to turn on the stove I’m always looking for a summer salad that has protein, is easy to throw together, and tastes good - this salad meets the criteria.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 medium head broccoli, very finely chopped into bite-sized pieces @ 3 - 4 cups
• 2-3 cups packed shredded red cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/3 rd. cup diced onion - you can use either scallions or red onion
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup natural creamy peanut butter

• 2 1/2 tablespoons low sodium gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 1 tablespoon honey (or pure maple syrup to keep vegan)

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or sub olive oil)

• 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

• 1 clove garlic, finely minced

• Optional: ¼ teaspoon red cayenne pepper, plus more if you like it extra spicy!

• 2 tablespoons warm water, to thin dressing

Instructions:

Chop all salad ingredients and put them in a bowl and set aside.

Make the dressing by whisking together the following ingredients in a small bowl: peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, and water. Drizzle over the salad and toss well to combine.

Enjoy!

A Twist on Traditional Ratatouille

This is my favorite gardening time of year - all of my favorite veggies are producing and I’m constantly presented with new opportunities for finding recipes that I can make without going to the grocery store. 

These days our freezer is full of pesto, we’re using up the last few bags of frozen tomato sauce from last year and we are getting ready to start the 2021 batch. We tried a few new things this year - garlic, which was a great success (54 bulbs), Russian purple fingerling potatoes (so so successful), and 2 new heirloom tomatoes, which are both doing well. 

Did you know that zucchini literally grow overnight? It’s true and I have a counter full of zucchini to prove it. Our eggplant is finally producing and I have a pepperoncini plant that is loaded with peppers but still waiting for them to ripen. One disappointment this year is my poblano pepper plants. One has 2 peppers on it and the other one is loaded with flowers but alas no peppers. Not sure what’s up with that. My green peppers are plentiful and I planted a mini sweet red pepper plant that is producing cute bright red peppers - haven’t tried them yet but soon. 

I love dishes that can come together in a single pot and use as many veggies I have on hand as possible. I found this rift in traditional ratatouille from probably 10 years ago when we belonged to a CSA. I had totally forgotten about it but it fits all the criteria for “using up the harvest”. 

Summer Vegetable Gratin

Ingredients:

1 / 2 lb. new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 / 4 -in. slices

1 small zucchini, sliced in 1 / 4 -in.-thick rounds

1 summer squash, sliced in 1 / 4 -in.-thick rounds

2 large tomatoes, sliced 1 / 4 -in. thick

2 large sweet onions, sliced 1 / 4 -in. thick

1 small eggplant, cut into 1 / 2 -in. slices

3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 / 4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

10 to 15 kalamata olives, pitted

1 / 4 c. good quality shredded Parmesan cheese (or more to taste)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

 Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the bottom of an ovenproof glass baking pan.

Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little oil.

Toss the remaining vegetables and garlic with oil to generously coat.

Spread them over the potato layer.

Scatter the olives and cheese (if using) over the vegetables, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until the vegetables begin to soften about 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue baking another 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the vegetables are cooked through, brushing with additional oil as needed.