This is such a great time of year for a devoted foodie like myself! I came home from shopping last week feeling incredibly inspired in the food department and ready to start cooking! And oh, there was a lot, a lot, a lot of yummy food shared in my house this week.

After several appetizers that first night (including the first two pictures below), dinner was sea scallops wrapped in bacon and smashed red potatoes with chevre and pesto (I would usually make this with olives, but I forgot to buy some) followed by fresh figs for dessert. Oh my. Now that was a treat!

The chevre was a trial run. We’ve not had any sort of dairy for a long while now. The jury is still out on reactions. It was certainly enjoyable though. We had it with the potatoes and then on a salad later in the week.

We usually avoid soy, but during those 2-3 weeks when fresh edamame is being harvested at our farm, all bets are off. And salt boiled edamame is on! My table that is…
here’s how:
pull all the pods off the plant
toss them into some salted boiling water
boil for 6 minutes
drain
toss with some more salt and eat the beans from the pods

Another weekly favorite around here at the moment is green crispies. At the end of the week I take any greens that I have left in the fridge and add whatever greens I can forage or add from the garden. I tear them all (setting aside the tough stalks) and toss them with olive oil and some other things that strike my fancy. Last week I used balsamic vinegar and added golden flax seeds and that was good, oh so good. After tossing everything together, I put it all into the dehydrator until crisp and then sprinkle with salt before serving (I find it’s better this way, otherwise the salt has a tendency to clump).

For the stalks, I’ve been experimenting with dehydrating them and then pulverizing them in the vitamix to make my own green drink, for adding to smoothies and whatnot. It’s turning out pretty well so far! I’m not sure how it will keep, so I’ve just been adding each batch to a jar in my freezer.

This is the time of year that our very favorite sweet Italian peppers are in season. Last week we fired them up with sweet onions and sausages, adding tomato sauce after a bit and then greens at the very end. This week there will surly be some roasted pepper soup.

What? Like you don’t take your produce outside to play?? Alright, so we don’t usually either, but it was too dark inside to get any decent photos. We actually do play with our produce though. In fact Màiri was entertained by the squash for the better part of a week. I kept putting off making it because I didn’t want to take it away from her! But mmmm….the first squash of the season? Well, there was only so long that we could wait. We prepared it quite simply this week; enjoying it’s rich flavor on it’s own, but I’m sure that in the weeks to come there will be squash soup, squash muffins, squash and apple bake and indian pudding a plenty!

As for the eggplants, I’ve been making my stand by baba ganoush, a mild kid-friendly version, but oh, then I tasted an eggplant dish that my friend Eloise made. It made my toes curl. So of course I needed to make that!

I can’t for the life of me remember what she called it, but here, in her words, is how to make it:

“you marinate the eggplant in pomegranate juice. i use about a cup for 2 eggplants. slice them a little thicker than a half inch.

after a couple of hours roast them in the juice until the eggplant is falling apart. if the juice dries up, toss them with some olive oil.

then, while the eggplant is still hot, put it in a dish and cover it with olive oil. add 3ish cloves of crushed garlic and something like a tablespoon of chopped fresh mint. it’s best when it’s still a little warm or at least room temperature.“

Mine didn’t turn out quite as well as hers or maybe it was something akin to a first kiss? It was still fabulous, but maybe not quite as exciting the second go round. I must say, I’m not the slightest bit inclined towards giving up kissing or eating so, I must like them just fine as they are.

Oh, and there were salads too! (and lots of other stuff that I can’t think of at the moment) The one below was a mix of lettuces with arugula, grated carrots, violas and chevre, served with a maple vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette you need maple syrup-it absolutely *must* be the real thing, don’t even talk to me about the other stuff, olive oil, tamari, either apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar and a bit of salt. Adjust all ingredients to taste. It’s quite the favorite dressing around here.

The cooking for this week is not looking good. This morning Iain went to get some toast out of the oven and flames shot out at him! Which is a large part of why this post is going out in the evening instead of this morning as planned. All is well and everyone unharmed. We put the fire out, but the repair man is not even coming to assess it until Wednesday morning, which means we are without stove and oven for a bit (also means to heat water for say, washing dishes or wiping down a baby). At least I can still have that honey crisp apple that’s been waiting for me.