A Life Sustained: August 2012

This Moment | Some Light Reading

Joining Amanda at SouleMama today. In her words: {this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

CSA | Eggplant Convert

I was hoping to make this CSA post a bit more thoughtful and a little less of a roll call of the week's meals. That's been my intent for awhile now, but it always seems that Silas demands my attention as soon as I sit down to write and so I hurry through as fast as I can. He is incredibly clingy lately. I know this is a normal 18-month-old thing, but it is such a challenge. I had gotten used to our routine where he would happily play independently in the mornings and I had a chance to eat my breakfast and do a little writing, but for the past few weeks it's been all Silas all the time. Breathe. Release expectations. Embrace the moment exactly as it is. Repeat.

In this week's box: Collard Greens, Fennel, Sweet Corn, Carrots, Potatoes, Arugula, Summer Squash, Peppers, Garlic, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Sungold Tomatoes.

We used up the last of some week's-old cabbage in egg rolls. These are a treat for us. With homemade sweet and sour sauce, nothing can touch them. In the past we've just made a bunch of egg rolls and gorged, but I figured we should make a few sides: red cabbage, apple, and dulse salad and some rice.

As long as I can keep Silas from picking all the green tomatoes, my tomato plants keep producing and I keep getting extra potatoes from the CSA. Pizza Margherita. Simple tomato goodness.

Last week's golden beets went into a Lemon Beet Barley Risotto. I love this dish. It's time intensive, as all risottos are, but it's totally worth it. Chewy barley, salty ricotta salata, and sweet golden beets. Perfect.

I found some turnips languishing in the crisper drawer from a couple weeks ago, so they went into a curried carrot and turnip soup. I love this soup. I found the recipe in a Perla Meyers cookbook. I also love Perla. Her recipes can sometimes be a bit too involved for me, but they are always worth it. This one is a great summery alternate to our usual rice and turnip soup recipe.

And the big accomplishment of the week: Eggplant Parmesan. We loved it. Truly. I found it to be one of those traditional dishes that's not at all complicated, but each step takes time and when I'm done every pan in my kitchen is dirty. But, by the end of the evening, there were no leftovers to put in the 'fridge, so I'll take that as a sign that this dish may just change our opinion on eggplant. (I think all that mozzarella helped, though.)

Corn on the Cob

Joining the August Break.

Pluot Crisp

Joining the August Break.

Weekend Review: Kids in the Kitchen by Sara E. Cotner & Kylie D'Alton

Whenever I'm working in the kitchen, I can count on my little one wanting to be there next to me, hands full of flour and more tidbits going into his mouth than into the mixing bowl. And it's no wonder. With all of the different textures, smells, and sensations to feel, cooking really does offer a perfect learning environment for children. There's no need to wait, however, for your kids to be old enough to turn on the stove to get them involved in food preparation. There are plenty of activities that are appropriate for those as young as 18-months and that continue through the elementary school years. Sara E. Cotner (of the blog Feeding the Soil) and Kylie D'Alton (of the blog How We Montessori) give us step-by-step instructions on how to do this in Kids in the Kitchen: Simple Recipes That Build Independence and Confidence the Montessori Way (2012, CreateSpace).

The authors open by sharing with us their paths to Montessori and the positive impacts they've seen the philosophy bring to their homes. They are raising happy children who have a healthy sense of themselves as contributing members of their families. They have achieved this, they say, by providing an environment for that is engaging and capitalizes on the fact that in their earliest years our kids are little sponges ("Absorbent Minds" in Montessori's terms), soaking up everything around them. This book is a nuts and bolts guide on how to create such an environment in your own home kitchen.

After the overview of why these activities are important and a listing of the developmental milestones that will be most supported, Cotner and D'Alton get down to business. There are simple instructions on how to set up your kitchen to best allow your children to participate and explanations of key tools that you will need. Next, they list 20 kitchen skills and give detailed descriptions, both narrative and pictorial, of how to teach them to your child. Finally, there are 10 recipes that are, again, represented in both photos and words. They close with suggestions on how to take the next step by applying this methodology to other household tasks.

This is a very thoughtful and well-planned book that provides a clear path to help your child achieve independence in the kitchen with confidence. I've seen in my own son the desire to be helpful and the pride he has when he's allowed to do these tasks for himself. I found Cotner and D'Alton's suggestions useful and easy-to-implement and they've inspired me to take the time to allow my son to help more in the kitchen. And it does take time. These are not things to try when you're scrambling to get dinner on the table. These are activities to share with your child when you have the time to give him/her your full attention.

It should be noted that the recipes here are directed towards the kids. In this book you will not find meals that your children can help prepare for dinner. What you will find are simple, familiar snacks that are likely already in your menu rotation. The value that the authors add is to break each recipe down into individual steps with accompanying photographs that your child can follow on his/her own, thus helping to foster the independence you're teaching along with the basic skills.

The goal of the authors is to help you help your child. To that end, all proceeds from this book will go to Montessori for All, whose goal is to "help all children gain access to an excellent education by opening and leading high-performing, authentic, public Montessori charter schools in diverse communities across the country." If you're unfamiliar with Montessori philosophy, this book provides a tangible introduction that you can easily wrap your mind around and begin to practice immediately. If you're already a Montessori convert, this is wonderful guide that will help you engage with the principles in your daily life. Either way, it will get you in the kitchen with your kids, which is always a good thing.

This review was first published on Blogcritics.

A digital review copy was made available to me courtesy of the authors.

This Moment | A Good Stick

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway of products from Burt's Bees!

CSA | The Heat of Summer

There were two absolute winners this week and they used the produce we like least: zucchini and eggplant. Who would have thunk?

In this week's box: kale, strawberries, green peppers, potatoes, carrots, golden beets with greens, watermelon, tomatoes, garlic, eggplant, cucumber, patty pan squash, and onions.

The first surprisingly good dish was zucchini pancakes. I found the recipe in the latest issue of Kiwi Magazine, but it's basically an unsweetened pancake batter with shredded zucchini and carrot folded in. I made a soy sauce-based sauce to go with them, but they really didn't need it. They were really, really good on their own.

On Saturday night I hadn't yet made my menu and I needed something quick and easy, so I chopped up the patty pans and made soup, finished with some carrot top pesto. It was a good soup. I never have high hopes for summer squash, but this one really came through. I don't think, though, that I can express in words how much Silas loved this meal, both the soup and the pesto. He drank two bowls and was chomping down the pesto by itself with a spoon.

Next is a trio of orange and balsamic marinated salmon kebabs with sides of braised kale and raw carrot and turnip salad. Simple and good.

Does anyone have a stellar tomato soup recipe that they want to share? I know that we've made a really good one in the past, but I can't remember where I got the recipe. This is a very simple one I found in our Soup Bible. It was fine, but it didn't satisfy our yearning for a really good tomato soup.

And the big surprise of the week? How good this eggplant penne dish was. And it was pretty simple, too: sauteed eggplant, roasted peppers, and caramelized onions with a dusting of cheese. I'm actually really looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch. There's more eggplant in my 'fridge and Eggplant Parm is still in my plans. Maybe we'll be converts yet.

Paw Paw!

Joining the August Break.

Baby Pinecones

Joining the August Break.

Weekending

This weekend...

I did a (very) small batch of tomato canning. It got even smaller when one of my jars broke in the water bath. This has never happened to me before and while I'm sure it would have been heartbreaking to have it happen pre-baby, it was devastating to have it happen after spending an entire day jumping through hoops to keep the little guy occupied enough so that I could get the job done. Three lonely quarts now sit in my cupboard where before there were none, so that gives me hope.

Saturday was a family day. We've learned that Silas needs at least twenty minutes in a new location for him to warm up and start to get involved. He spent the first half of our time at the park happily watching the other kids play while eating strawberries. Then he was ready to join them.

Outside: mowing/cutting/burning/planting our first ever fall garden. Inside: cooking/blending/baking/zucchini pancakes/zucchini brownies/squash soup/cherry lime spritzers/our first ever batch of homemade granola.

Joining Amanda at The Habit of Being.

Sponsor Review & Giveaway: Güd by Burt's Bees

A short while ago the folks at Burt's Bees contacted me about their new line of products called Güd. It includes shampoo, conditioner, body spray, lotions, and soaps that sell for between $5 and $15 with a focus on fragrance and an upbeat whimsical marketing strategy. Their target audience seems to be the younger set, with their campaign relying heavily on Facebook and Twitter.

While still maintaining the "all natural" focus of Burt's Bees products (which, since 2008 has been owned by Clorox), because of the intense fragrance, there are synthetic ingredients. It still promises, though, to be free of parabens, pthalates, and petrochemicals, which I think is important. I tried looking this line up in the Skin Deep Database to see what their toxicity number is, but it's still so new that they don't yet have a rating. I compared their ingredient list to my current shampoo (Jason Natural Sea Kelp) and they have many ingredients in common, but the Güd shampoo actually has fewer ingredients. I had never looked up my Jason shampoo and it has an overall rating of 7! Yikes! I would imagine the Güd shampoo would have a similar or lower number, because there are fewer things in it.

There are three fragrances, Floral Cherrynova, Orange Petalooza, and Vanilla Flame. All three were pleasant, if a bit strong. Steve could smell the shampoo from the other room while I was in the shower, but it did mellow out within an hour. It also didn't give me a raging headache like many heavily scented products do. Performance-wise, I thought the shampoo and conditioner worked very well. My hair felt clean and soft. Overall, I think that this line is good (no pun intended) and is very comparable to other "natural" products at this price point. Because I'm usually not a fan of strongly scented body products I don't know that I'd buy it for myself, but if you're looking for scented products that may be safer to use than conventional products, they're worth a try.

The folks at Güd are offering to two A Life Sustained readers gift bags of Güd products to try. Just leave a comment to be entered in the random drawing to win. Get additional entries by sharing this giveaway via Twitter or Facebook. Just leave a separate comment letting me know that you've done so. Comments will be closed on August 26 and a winner announced shortly thereafter.

And the lucky winners are:

Pomegranategrl
"Very cool to be contacted. I'd be interested in trying it. I too have been using Jason products and Alba."

and

Erin @ Wild Whispers
"I'm curious too. Thanks!"

Thanks Güd!

Edited to add: Steve just tried the shampoo and conditioner and came out of the bathroom with rave reviews. He said that he feels really clean, he loves the scent, and it beats our current shampoo, hands down.

Weekend Review: Reinvention by Maya Donenfeld

If your design aesthetic is defined by softly muted colors, simple and elegant lines, and lots of bits of nature, then you're probably already familiar with Maya Donenfeld's popular blog Maya*Made. There she chronicles her adventures as a crafty mama of two, striving to live sustainably and in harmony with natural rhythms. If you're interested in making the jump from appreciating Donenfeld's style to trying to capture it for yourself, then you're in luck. Her first book, Reinvention: Sewing with Rescued Materials (2012, Wiley) is filled with inspiring projects for you and your home.

Arranged by type of rescued material, Donenfeld gives us four projects in each category: linen, burlap, jersey, wool, denim, Tyvek mailers, and vintage finds. Because the goal here is to reuse what you already have or what you've just stumbled upon at the thrift store, this organizational strategy makes good sense. Did you (lucky thing!) happen upon a stack of burlap coffee sacks? Just turn to that section and you'll find ideas best suited to that material. Beginning each chapter is a history of that fabric, suggestions for places to source it, instructions on how to deconstruct items, the environmental impact of that fabric, and general tips on using it. Project difficulty ranges from very simple (Burlap Inspiration Board) to requiring moderate sewing skill (Denim Hammock Hideaway), but all are thoroughly explained, diagrammed, and photographed to make construction as understandable as possible.

It's hard to describe the simple beauty of these projects. They all seem so sensible and useful while at the same time being utterly romantic. It's as if Donenfeld put her ear close to these fabrics and listened to their whispers of what they wanted to become. I am especially taken with her patterns for the home. When first reading through the instructions for the Wool Poufs (pictured to the right) and the Vintage Summer Bolsters I was thinking that they were lovely, but wondered at the cost of the fiber for filling them. When Donenfeld suggested using out-of-season bedding as the filler, I was sold. A stroke of genius and a true embodiment of the use-what-you-have mentality.

Sprinkled throughout are vignettes about the author's childhood, family, and sewing experience making this book feel more like a conversation than an instruction manual. I've already completed my first project from this book (Tyvek Mailer Banner) and can easily envision the rest of them in my home.

This review was first published on Blogcritics.
My review copy was provided courtesy of Wiley.

This Moment | Road Crew

CSA | Winging It

This week, we forged ahead without a menu, meaning that with one exception, these are all old standbys. But that makes them no less delicious. In our box was: turnips, purple potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, summer squash, onions, garlic, peppers, cucumber, watermelon, and carrots.

Last week's kale, potatoes, and onions went into our favorite Zuppa Toscana.

Always a family favorite.

I bought some papparadelle on sale ages ago and finally mixed it with some shredded carrot, arugula, parsley, dill, and ricotta for a summery pasta dish.

The one new dish this week was a gazpacho made from sungold tomatoes. I blended a couple different recipes, but this one is closest to what I ended up using. This used up quite a bit of our produce and was very flavorful and fresh. It was served with cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, which made us feel very fancy while we ate them.

Lasagna was a last minute decision. I threw in just the basics: some leftover sausage, carrots, peppers, garlic, and onion.

And a week of standbys wouldn't be complete without fried rice. Yum.

What about you? What are you cooking up this week?

When It's Quiet in the Next Room

Joining the August Break.

Spinning

Joining the August Break.

Weekending

This weekend was filled with the hustle and bustle of travel.

We packed up on Saturday morning and headed to Steve's parents' house where he worked on their computers and Silas spent time with his grandparents.

Their backyard is a bit of a magical woodland filled with enough squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and bunnies to keep my little guy signing all weekend; delighted with these creatures.

Steve got to introduce Silas to his favorite childhood pizza place and I tasted my first slice of peach pie.

After a rainy drive home, we reconnected around the dinner table, heating the kitchen against the drizzling rain with batches of cookies and banana bread.

Joining Amanda at The Habit of Being.

Weekend Review: Naturally Fun Parties For Kids by Anni Daulter

As a mama of a little one who has a lifetime of birthdays and celebrations ahead of him, I find it easy to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of it all. I want our celebratory occasions to be joyous and meaningful meetings of friends and family that include good food, are steeped in the natural world, and are aesthetically pleasing. A tall order, right? Anni Daulter and Heather Fontenot must have been channeling these desires of mine when they penned Naturally Fun Parties for Kids; Creating Handmade, Earth-Friendly Celebrations for All Seasons and Occasions (2012, Sellers). Organized by season, this book offers inspiration for twelve different parties. Included are instructions for DIY decor and invitations, recipes, ideas for activities, complete lists of materials and ingredients, and a timeline so that you can make sure that everything gets done by the event date and you can spend the party day enjoying the moment with your children rather than sweating in the kitchen or driving to the craft store for forgotten last-minute details.

The range of ideas here is great, but these parties still all share common elements. From a Natural Spa Party with a focus on pampering oneself with lavender and rose petal foot soaks, to a Community Cooking Party of baking breads and muffins to deliver to those less fortunate, to a Wild Girls party that encourages girls to be a little loud, get dirty in the mud, and break gender stereotypes, the focus is always on making memories rather than buying things, using nature as a playground, and being eco- and socially-conscious.

The entry for each party is complete, as is, but there's also a lot of room to add some personal flair. Beautifully photographed, it's easy to get inspired to carry these ideas further and to adapt them for your personal situation. There are two things about this book that made it a clear winner for me. The first are the recipes. As soon as I finished reading I knew that I had to make the Carrot-Apple Muffins with Crystallized Ginger and they didn't disappoint. The menus are full of good, seasonal food that hasn't been "dumbed down" because kids are the target audience. There are plenty of whole grains, vegetables, and complex flavors served in novel and whimsical forms that will entice even picky eaters.

The second thing that I love is the balance that has been struck between aesthetics and eco-friendliness. I'm not immune to the power of Pinterest and its ability to make me yearn for unbelievably charming and photogenic kids' parties. But, ultimately these parties are more about getting that perfect image rather than making connections. They also generally require spending lots of money on a ton of single-use items. Daulter and Fontenot show us that you don't have to sacrifice beauty in the name of frugality and environmental awareness. They pull decor items from the recycle bin and sewing scrap basket, use nature as a backdrop, encourage borrowing over buying, and still had me gasping at how gorgeous it all was.

Every young person deserves to have a childhood that is filled with special moments and this guide is a wonderful resource to help make that happen.

This review was first published on Blogcritics.
My review copy was provided courtesy of Sellers Publishing.

This Moment | Gloves

~~Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway of a copy of the book Lemons and Lavender!~~

CSA | Caponata

I think I've finally done it. I've caught up on produce usage and we should be done with this week's box on Friday night, just in time to get next week's fare. Yay! Now, as long as we don't go anywhere or eat out, we should be fine.

In this week's box: arugula, purple potatoes, eggplant, carrots, tomatoes, onions, kale, strawberries, garlic, sungold tomatoes, green and purple peppers.

The amount of eggplant that we've received so far has been manageable. We struggle with eggplant. It's such a summer staple, but neither of us has ever really been able to get excited about it. I think it just takes time and the right recipes. This one was pretty good; an eggplant stew with green pepper, red onion, white beans, and tomatoes served on a bed of bulgur.

Silas really liked this dish, but he's also been on a bean kick lately. He did pick out the eggplant and eat that as well, though.

We bought our first direct-from-the-farm chicken last week. I haven't dealt with a whole chicken since before I was pregnant with Silas. I didn't have many food aversions while I was pregnant, but I absolutely could not stand touching raw meat. Cutting up a whole chicken was out of the question. This one we roasted and served with braised Swiss chard and carrots with thyme. A very square meal.

I picked the carcass clean (which I threw into the freezer to later be made into stock) and used the meat to make chicken salad sandwiches. Yum.

With the cool front that's moved through, I've finally felt like I can turn on the oven without melting. Many batches of baked potato fries have been the result. Steve grew up calling these "home fries." I always knew them as "pie fries." Either way, we ate them with nut burgers.

The sungold tomatoes were sauteed with capers and lemon juice to make a pasta sauce. This was a repeat performance of this dish for a week or two ago. We always get to the end of the week and I have no idea what to do with our cherry tomatoes. This is an easy and yummy way to use them up.

And finally, our caponata over creamy polenta. I hadn't planned ahead to make this meal, but was able to pull it together with CSA produce and things we had in our pantry and 'fridge. I love when that happens. If we had a favorite eggplant dish, this would be it.

Caponata over Creamy Polenta

3 TBS. EVOO
1 green pepper, diced

2 medium onions, diced
1 patty pan squash, peeled, seeded, and diced

5 celery ribs, chopped

3 eggplants, peeled and diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

a handful of raisins, roughly chopped

a handful of kalamata olives, roughly chopped

1/4 C. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 C. chicken stock

1 1/2 C. whole milk

1 C. polenta

3 TBS. butter

2 TBS. honey

1/2 C. Parmesan cheese, grated

pine nuts to garnish

1/2 C. parsley, chopped

1. Heat the EVOO in a very large skillet over medium heat. Chop the veggies in the order listed and add to the pan as you go. Stir and season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the raisins and olives and cook until the whole mixture is tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Add the balsamic vinegar, stir, and reduce heat to low.

4. While the veggies are cooking, bring the stock and milk to a boil.

5. Whisk in polenta and continue whisking for about 2 minutes, or until it thickens.

6. Add butter, honey, and cheese and stir until butter melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Put a spoonful or two of polenta in a bowl, top with caponata and sprinkle with parsley and pine nuts.

8. Enjoy!

In the Prairie Patch

Joining the August Break.

Bean Bags!

Well, "rice bag" would actually be more accurate, as that's what's really inside. The bag with the leftover 20 pounds of rice from the sensory rice table has been sitting on my kitchen counter for the past month or so. I keep meaning to decant it into a big 5 gallon bucket, but that would mean that I'd have to go to the garage, get a bucket, wash it... So, I've been staring at it every day as I do dishes and this weekend inspiration struck. Bean bags! Sure, they'll only use a cup or two of the rice, but hey! We need bean bags!

I cut up two old shirts of Steve's; one into 5" squares and the other into shapes. I appliqued the shapes on, sewed the squares together with a double seam to make sure the rice stayed in place and voila. The rest of the afternoon was spent lining up buckets and sharing my love of The Grand Prize Game with Silas. Awesome.

Joining Meg at Things We Do After Nap.

Weekending

This weekend was a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Saturday started early and the three of us were all a tad prickly.

But, waffles and coffee helped to ease the transition to the day.

One of our favorite local bands, Mutiny in the Parlor, provided the soundtrack for our trip to the Market.

When I revealed that I know all the words to "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" by singing along, Steve was taken aback.

There are still things to learn about each other.

A storm raged as we napped, breaking tree limbs and drenching everything with much needed rain.

When we woke, the sun was out and it felt 20 degrees cooler.

Sunday began blissfully with curtains blowing in the breeze.

Eggs and toast together before Steve took a day trip to visit his Dad.

Silas and I puttered around the house, doing baking and sewing projects.

Papa returned in time for pre-dinner playing.

And there is much to do today. A possible trip to the pool awaits.

Joining Amanda at The Habit of Being.

Weekend Review & Giveaway: Lemons and Lavender by Billee Sharp

The debate over whether individual action or political progress is more necessary to curb environmental degradation has compelling voices on both sides. While large social change is indeed necessary, it is the small daily change that each of us can do right now that empowers us and inspires us to do more. So much of the fight for the environment can and is fought behind the closed doors of our homes. By choosing to support eco-friendly companies or, better yet, by choosing to buy secondhand or to make our own we have real power. Billee Sharp, in Lemons and Lavender: the eco guide to better homekeeping (2012, Viva Editions) shows us that making choices that benefit the greater good can be frugal, easy, and best of all, fun.

This book reads like an afternoon conversation with a wise friend over tea (made with homegrown herbs, of course). Sharp opens with encouragement to shed our fears of being the weirdo next door. People who are creative, who live lives that are in line with their values, and who have a high level of satisfaction with life very rarely worry about maintaining the status quo. Adopting change requires us to be fearless. In the seven chapters, which cover finances, health, material possessions, home habits, gardening, cooking, and celebrations, Sharp shares ideas, tips, and resources to aid you in making choices that are low impact and low cost. Also included are recipes for food, home cleaners, and health aides, craft tutorials and instructions on how to re-make clothing, and a sizable online resource guide.

I consider myself to be pretty well-versed in most things eco-related, and Sharp's coverage of these topics is not at all exhaustive, but she had some surprises even for me. A recipe to make non-toxic interior wall paint? Count me in. I already do most of my cleaning with baking soda and vinegar, but she kicks it up a notch with recipes for non-toxic oven cleaner, furniture polish, and paint stripper. Most of these recipes and tips can be found online, but having them gathered in one easy-to-reference volume makes actually implementing them so much more likely. This book is perfect for the beginning eco-warrior who is looking for some inspiration on how to start living a low impact life and it still has some nuggets of inspiration for those of us who have already been living this way for awhile.

Viva Editions is generously offering a copy of this book to one lucky A Life Sustained reader. ~~Just leave a comment on this post to be entered in the random drawing to win.~~ Comments will be closed in the evening of August 11 and a winner announced shortly thereafter.

~~Get a second entry! Share this giveaway via Facebook or Twitter and leave a comment letting me know that you did so.~~

And the lucky winner is...
Mama Gone Green
"Sounds great, thanks!"

My review copy was provided courtesy of Viva Editions.

This Moment | Husking

CSA | And the Zucchini Begins

You wouldn't know that we're in the middle of the biggest drought since the Dust Bowl by looking at my CSA produce. I'm so fortunate to have access to farmers who work so hard to make sure that we have an abundance of such good food. A positively huge share this week! It included purple potatoes, broccoli, parsley, carrots, strawberries, sungold tomatoes, onions, Swiss chard, sweet corn, eggplant, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, and a watermelon.

The strawberries, of course, were eaten immediately with a healthy dollop of homemade whipped cream. Silas has discovered that one of the joys of being an only child is that he gets to lick both beaters. The melon was also soon cut up and eaten for snacks.

The sweet corn was boiled and eaten for lunch right away on Saturday. Coming from Iowa, I've grown up to be a wee bit of a sweet corn snob. If it was picked more than 6 hours ago, I'm not really all that interested in eating it.

Last week's cabbage and some carrot went into a creamy cole slaw, served with tempeh sloppy joes.

I only discovered tempeh within the last year and a half or so and we've become huge fans.

This week's trio included a lemon basil potato salad, sweet apple walnut kale, and a salad of white beans, sungold tomatoes, and red onion.

I keep trying to get Silas to eat beans and it's been hit and miss. This week was a hit. He absolutely loved the white beans and kept asking for more, more, more.

Next up is a simple broccoli and mushroom stir fry over brown rice.

This recipe came out of the Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone book and while it was good enough, it wasn't spectacular. I need to remind myself to only make stir fries that I find in my Chinese cookbook. They are consistently superior to anything else that I've ever made.

In a race to use up all of our potatoes, I made our old standby potato pizza.

Although similar to this version, I substituted purple potatoes and left them in chunks rather than mashing them up. It was quicker and a nice change of pace.

Our first zucchini of the season was sauteed in oil with some capers and served tossed with spaghetti.

This was one of the first zucchini recipes that we made when we joined our first CSA four years ago. At the time, it was just a way to use up produce, but it's actually come to be one of our favorites. The zucchini takes on a touch of sweetness, which is nice.

And finally, I couldn't stop myself from buying a bunch of peppers at the farmer's market. They just looked good! I roasted a couple and tossed them with French green lentils, orzo, parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, and feta for a salad covered in a cumin lime vinaigrette. Yum.

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