RECIPE: Easy Quick Pickling those left-over veggies

1 cup vinegar (white wine, rice, red wine)

1 cup water

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 lb vegetables - cucumbers, radishes, cauliflower, carrots, green/purple peppers, garlic, and anything else that sounds delicious to you!

Trim and chop vegetables and pack in mason jar in preparation for pickling.

Heat all ingredients except the vegetables in a small pot over low-medium heat.  Stir and cook until sugar and salt dissolve.  Immediately pour over vegetables.  Let it cool and then cover and put in fridge for 1 day before eating.  Veggies will be best between 1 to 4 weeks.

Photo credit to Sam Mah

RECIPE: Carrot Top Soup

INGREDIENTS - 6 small to medium carrots with tops and roots - 2 tablespoons butter - 3 tablespoons white rice - 2 large leeks, white parts only - 2 thyme or lemon thyme sprigs - 2 tablespoons chopped dill, parsley, or celery leaves - salt and freshly ground pepper - 6 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water

PREPARATION Pull or pluck the lacy leaves of the carrot greens off their stems. You should have between 2-3 cups, loosely packed. Wash, then chop finely. Grate the carrots or, if you want a more refined-looking soup, finely chop them. Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the carrot tops and carrots, rice, leeks, thyme, and dill. Cook for several minutes, turning everything a few times, then season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and add the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the rice is cooked, 16-18 minutes. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and serve.

RECIPE: Easy Summer Salad with Tomatoes, Corn, Mint

Combine 1 big heirloom tomato sliced, raw corn sliced from the cob, crumbled Feta cheese, diced Mint, sprinkled with an aromatic nutty olive oil.  So delicious and so simple!

RECIPE: Dolmades with Swiss Chard

A tip on Swiss Chard from one of our members...

I used the chard instead of grape leaves to make fabulous Dolmades.  First, blanch them, then cut out the center rib. Cut the bigger leaves in half, then filled with the meat mixture.

I substituted ground turkey for lamb.  Also, I added finely chopped parsley and mint, minced shallot, crushed garlic, wheat bran, uncooked rice, salt and pepper.  Layered into pot, filled with chicken stock and simmered for about 30 mins.  Delish!!

RECIPE: Garlicky Burst Tomato Sauce

1 pint cherry tomatoes

5 garlic cloves

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

¼ teaspoon kosher salt (plus more to taste)

Dash of crushed red pepper

Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is shimmering, add the garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper.  Your kitchen should start to smell like garlic! Be careful though and watch the garlic, as you don’t want it to burn. Once the garlic is fragrant (about 30 seconds to a minute), add the tomatoes to the pan, stirring occasionally until they soften and burst.

To serve:

With pasta: cook pasta 2-3 minutes shy of the directions on the package and add drained (but not rinsed) pasta to the warm sauce, along with ½ cup to 1 cup reserved pasta water and ¼ cup to ½ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese.  Stir and allow the sauce to emulsify and the pasta to finish cooking in the sauce.

With chicken: season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and brown chicken in a separate pan, about 5 minutes each side.  Add to the pan with the sauce and let finish cooking in the sauce.

With salmon: season salmon with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cook in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Top cooked salmon with sauce before serving.

RECIPE: Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant

3 medium sized eggplants

6 tablespoons olive oil

4 teaspoons kosher salt

Black pepper

2 onions, diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 lb ground meat (I used lamb, but you can also use turkey or beef here)

¼ cup pinenuts or diced almonds (I used a combo)

3 teaspoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Juice from 1 lemon

⅔ cup water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Cut eggplants in half lengthwise and score each half (the flesh).  Place eggplants in a baking dish and using 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and liberal black pepper, season the flesh of the eggplant halves.  Cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

While your eggplant is cooking, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauce pan.  Once warm, add the onions and half of the cumin, cinnamon, and paprika. Cook until onions are translucent (about 6 minutes). Add meat, nuts, 2 teaspoons tomato paste, parsley, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper.  Cook until meat is cooked through (about another 5-6 minutes).

Combine remaining cumin, cinnamon, and paprika with water, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon tomato paste, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper.

Fill bottom of baking dish with the liquid.  Top eggplant halves with meat. Cover tightly with foil and cook for an hour at 375 degrees, spooning some of the sauce onto the meat once or twice during the hour.

TIPS: Swiss Chard

Raw or cooked, this green can add load of flavor and nutrition to many meals!

Prepare it

The leaves and the stalks should be cooked separately. Wash, then cut off the stalks from the leaves and leave whole or chop, as required. On some older leaves you may need to cut the ribs out of the leaves, too. Store it In a perforated bag in the fridge for up to four days. Use it Use anywhere you would use spinach or other wilting vegetables. Easy recipes to add it to include sautéed dishes, stews, and stir frys. Add to pasta dishes at the last five minutes of cooking or over polenta after sauntering swiss chard with some mushrooms, garlic and olive oil. Swiss Chard with Lemon 1-2 tbsp olive oil Swiss Chard 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped ½ lemon Parmesan to serve

Heat olive oil over medium heat. While oil is heating chop the garlic and then chop the Chard into 2-3 inch pieces.

Add garlic to the skillet and cook until soft (1-3 minutes). Add Chard and 1-2 tablespoons of water. Cook until wilted. Stir in Lemon Juice and season with pepper. Add parmesan to serve.