Pork and Green-Bean Stir-Fry

Posted by Regan Burns

I love ordering Chinese takeout, but so often it's overly salty and a little too oily to eat so late in the day. This recipe fills in perfectly. Not only is it quick, but minimal soy sauce and oil keep it healthy. Plus, I can toss in whatever extra veggies are sitting in my produce drawer -- last time I added some sliced mushrooms and scallions to the mix.

What do you put in your stir-fries?

PREP: 45 minutes
TOTAL: 45 minutes

SEE THE RECIPE:
Pork and Green-Bean Stir-Fry

ON THE SIDE:
Perfect White Rice

Buttermilk Chicken Caesar Salad

Posted by Sandy Gluck

I can’t recall when Caesar salads became so popular or when some genius decided to top them with chicken or shrimp, but I do know that I have yet to meet the person who doesn’t like a Caesar salad.  Different from the traditional, ours is rather a riff on it.

A buttermilk bath makes the chicken extra-tender and also stands in as part of the dressing. I’m betting even Caesar wouldn’t be disappointed. And, if you’re looking for another take, here’s another of my favorites. 

PREP: 15 minutes
TOTAL: 40 minutes

SEE THE RECIPE:
Buttermilk Chicken Caesar Salad

Garden Goodies: Fruit Sweets, From Summer to Fall

Posted by Deb Puchalla

I sent my son to his first day of first grade yesterday with an apple for a snack -- a box of milk and a chocolate kiss alongside -- because it felt like the right food for right now. But earlier this week I was with postcollege pals in Washington, D.C. (Gail, Leigh, Victoria, Sandie -- that means you!) and ate the sweetest peach of summer. I'm torn: What fruit to eat and what desserts to make or bake during these in-between days?

To continue our ongoing garden party with my post-postcollege pal (Margaret, that means you!) at A Way to Garden, we're swapping samplings from the sweet side of the farmers' market. The time is ripe: Depending on where you live and the weather, farm-stand offerings vary widely; we've collected inspired dessert recipes, lest the blueberries and strawberries and plums are gone and the apples and figs and pears steal all of our affections. (The prospects are exciting, so grab your camera: We want pictures of the fruit desserts you make this month -- take a look at the dozens people have already added; it's easy and fun!)

The only problem for any home cook hankering for something fruity is choosing: Vanilla Roasted Peaches with Raspberries or Apple Crisp?

Best Garden Goodies (or What I Learned This Summer)

Posted by Deb Puchalla

My son starts first grade next week and has to bring a vacation show-and-tell -- a picture, a trinket, a book -- and describe to the class what it taught him. If the assignment were mine, I would bring a cloth shopping bag overflowing with veggies, fruits, and herbs from the farmers' market, enough to share. Because I'm not quite ready for summer to end. And because a single bag of the freshest produce can equal a whole bunch of delicious memories.

This year, our town hosted a weekly farmers' market just up the road, so I always had something superfresh to make close at hand, whether I was cooking weeknights for the boys or on weekends for friends. Each visit reminded me to use the brightest, just-picked ingredients. And coupled with a suggestion from my friend and mentor, Margaret at A Way to Garden, that our garden and food worlds ought to collide, a season-long online party was born.

Ratatouille with Eggs

Posted by Adina Steiman

At this point in summer, it's hard to find a fruit or vegetable that's not in season.  As Deb pointed out, there's a cornucopia of tasty, affordable vegetables crowding markets right now, and just like a certain Disney character in a movie earlier this year, I like to use them to make ratatouille.

Zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are the usual suspects, but ratatouille is nothing if not flexible.  It's just another name for a vegetable stew, so sometimes I skip the eggplant and zucchini and throw in Lima beans and corn instead -- it's a deliciously flexible way of making use of whatever's at the market (or hanging out in your fridge). 

To make it into dinner, just cook a few eggs right in the pan with the simmering ratatouille, and serve with a crisp baguette or toast.

What late-summer vegetables would you combine in your own version of ratatouille?

PREP: 15 minutes
TOTAL: 15 minutes

SEE THE RECIPE:
Ratatouille with Eggs

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Posted by Emma Feigenbaum

Sloppy Joes don't have to take you back to your cafeteria days.

These are much, much healthier, thanks to ground turkey, whole-wheat buns, and some hidden veggies.  And you know what?  I think they're better than the original, especially with a handful of potato chips and a wedge of watermelon. 

What's your favorite use for ground turkey?

PREP: 15 minutes
TOTAL: 30 minutes

SEE THE RECIPE:
Turkey Sloppy Joes

Tuna Salad Nicoise

Posted by Regan Burns

You've heard it here before: Good-quality canned tuna (packed in olive oil -- yum!) is one of the best things to stash in the pantry for almost-instant dinners any night of the week.

In our variation on a classic salade nicoise, you roast the tomatoes and potatoes beforehand, adding another layer of flavor. Dress this recipe up or down, any way you like -- add hard-cooked eggs and blanched green beans for a more authentic version, or any other of your favorite veggies (yes, I'm talking about that massive pile of cukes and zukes you've been wondering what to do with!).

How will you personalize this salad?

PREP: 10 minutes
TOTAL: 40 minutes

SEE THE RECIPE: Tuna Salad Nicoise

Money-Saving Eggstravaganza!

Posted by Regan Burns

With the price of meat sky-high, I've been giving a lot more love to a favorite protein source these days: eggs.

For most of us, eggs are a weekend thing, unfairly (I think) singled out as breakfast fare. But they make a delicious and fast dinner option and boy, are they cheap!

Last week, Martha brought in dozens and dozens of fresh eggs from her farm (pictured here) to share with the office (yes, we are very lucky!). The hens at her home in Bedford, New York, started laying around Christmas -- now about 100 eggs are collected from the coops each day! Guess what I had for dinner that night...

Garden Goodies: Green Bean Fest!

Posted by Deb Puchalla

Over the weekend I bought an impressive pile of green beans at the farmer’s market. Munching on some as I trimmed others, I asked Margaret, over at Awaytogarden, cohost of our series of food-garden parties, what to cook with them.

"You bought beans?" she cried. “I am in possession of two massive bags full, and you bought them?” Yup, much as I aspire to grow veggies, I’m always inspired to eat them. Randomly thinking about back-to-school and cool-weather cooking, I ended up making chicken Marsala with lots of mushrooms and shallots, tossing in beans by the handful for the last few minutes. Delicious, and 4-year-old William couldn’t get enough.

Margaret, temporarily off the grid and in her garden, was torn between putting her treasure trove to use by making spicy dilly beans, her Grandma’s casserole, or both. Please, please someone, help me want to learn to "put up." (Can we digress a moment and discuss that classic Thanksgiving side? I prefer a recipe with no can opener -- try Martha’s green bean casserole; it cannot be beat. Trust me, I’ve snipped a lot of green beans.)

Garden Goodies: Cuke and Zuke Fest

Posted by Deb Puchalla

My mom didn't garden (six kids, no time), but she used midsummer moments in rural Connecticut to show off in the kitchen. One of her best tricks was working magic with piles of zucchini and cucumbers from neighbors' backyard rows of veggie plants.

There was a seemingly endless supply of cucumber spears we ate with a flurry of salt; more interesting were the cukes that became part of a crisp, cool, cucumber salad. Zucchini dazzled in a sauteed side dish and in huge batches of freezer-ready ratatouille -- my mom loves that word and still says it with French flair. The best recipe she had was for zucchini bread that I ate warm, slathered with too much butter.

In my kitchen now, as in so many around the food world -- and the garden world, too -- cucumbers and zucchini, gifts from friends, await. Cukes and zukes are affordable and adaptable and everpresent, so they seem ripe for this, the next in a series of garden-food parties we're hosting with A Way to Garden from now through September. Time to wave some culinary wands, folks. Abracadabra!