An RD & CSA: Week 3

Week 3 has come and gone and I'm now anxiously awaiting today's pick up at the Market Square Farmers' Market. Have you been yet? The MSFM is open Wednesday 11AM to 2PM and Saturdays 9AM to 2PM, May through November. Check it out!

Pattypan squash, napa cabbage, sweet onion, radishes, cauliflower, eight ball zucchini, lettuce, broccoli, turnips

{ Week 3 Share }

Strawberries (I ate them all before I took a picture!)

Lettuce + radishes: salad
Turnips + sweet onion: roasted

Cauliflower: Pasta with Beans, Roasted Cauliflower, & Toasted Garlic Breadcrumbs (recipe below)

Broccoli + napa cabbage: stir fry
Zucchini + pattypan squash: grilled

I never follow a recipe perfectly (even if I've never used it before) so what you see is what I did. The beans and roasted cauliflower were delicious but dry - I threw in some pesto to make up for it.

{ Recipe }

 Pasta with Beans, Roasted Cauliflower, & Toasted Garlic Breadcrumbs (modified)

Makes 4 servings

1 head cauliflower, cut into thin slabs/florets
3/4 c breadcrumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 400^o F. Toss cauliflower with 1/2 Tbsp olive oil. Lay out in an even later on a baking sheet (or stoneware); roast until browned and crisp, about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente.

(Next time, I would skip the breadcrumbs) Add breadcrumbs to a dry skillet set over medium heat. Toast, stirring often, until crisp and golden-brown, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in the skillet over medium heat and add garlic. Cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beans and cook until heated through. Remove skillet from heat.

Toss together breadcrumbs, cauliflower, and beans and serve over 1 cup of pasta.


Helpful hint: Serve food on small plates. Our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs and this helps keep portions in check.

I'm finally back into a routine after vacation and my routine involves meal planning. It takes some time on the front end but makes my week run more smoothly. Every so often I want to just wing it.. but that's rare and I usually don't like what I end up eating.

I used to grocery shop on the weekend but have switched things around since my CSA pick up is on Wednesdays.

My action plan:

• Pick up CSA share
• Decide which recipes I want to use or how I want to cook the veggies
• Make my grocery list and then shop

Save money and time and make your list ahead of time. If you know what you need, you're in and out in no time and less likely to get aggravated with the slow-moving cart-pushers.

Oh wait, is that just me?

Meal planning.. some just use paper, some use a chalkboard or dry erase board (you've seen the fancy ones on Pinterest, yes?).. I use my "without you I'd be lost" Gmail calendar.

Most of my recipes are online so for each meal, I put the name and link to the recipe. Tada! Easy to pull up in the evening plus I can just click and drag the meal to a future date if I want to cook it again.

It's weird that I get excited about this stuff, isn't it? Oh well.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

 

Any meal planning secrets you'd like to share?

Jen, MS-MPH, RD, LDN