Zucchini

Last Sunday, the farmers market came to me.  My parents were passing through town on their way up north (up north is Minnesota speak for visiting the cabin, usually on a lake, somewhere in outstate Minnesota).  My parents were heading to Grand Marais and my aunt's place on Lake Superior and they brought me some vegetables from their garden:

• cucumbers
• potatoes
• sugar snap peas (so good, wish I had more)
• eggplant which I breaded and fried and didn't really like.
• shell peas which I froze
• green and yellow beans which I froze as well
• zucchini - some of which I grated and froze so I could make this and this later.  And I made these:
• Sausage stuffed zucchini boats from skinny taste.  I loved these.  I used three zucchini so I had six boats and I could have eaten them all at one meal because they were that good.
• Sausage zucchini spaghetti - I had extra filling so I just added some of the marinara to it and served it with spaghetti the next day.  Delicious.
• Sneaky meatball subs from Iowa girl eats.  What's so sneaky you ask?  The meatballs are made with grated zucchini.  The addition of the zucchini makes these meatballs so juicy and yummy.

I'd say that was a very bountiful harvest for me.

And one last thing to share - my latest popsicle - Neo-neapolitan pops.

Sweet Corn and Quinoa

{Farmers Market}
I love sweet corn season.


Remember when you were a kid and you told your friend you loved something and they would respond by saying you should marry said thing?  Well, I am going to marry fresh sweet corn.


Sweet corn season brings back fond childhood memories for me.  I remember sitting on the front step husking the corn {from our own garden} with my mom, soaking up the hot evening sun and tossing the husks into the silver bushel basket nearby.


Last weekend, I made this sweet corn and quinoa with honey lemon vinaigrette from Iowa Girl Eats for lunch.  It combined an old favorite, sweet corn {fresh from the farmers market} with something I had never tried before, quinoa {it reminds me of couscous}.

Other than my minor boo-boo of being too heavy handed with the lemon juice, I loved this dish.  Don't be intimidated if you have never made quinoa - it is like making rice or couscous.  {Be careful when measuring the quinoa so you don't spill.  Those little guys get away fast and can make a big mess.  Not that that happened to me.  wink wink}  Simple and easy ingredients in this dish pack a healthy and delicious punch.

I enjoyed this dish with some other fresh favorites from the farmers market - blueberries and cucumbers.

Corn and Blueberry Salad

{Pinterest Challenge}
Two weekends ago at the farmers market I overheard Peter at Peter's Pumpkins {my sweet corn vendor of choice} say that he would have sweet corn the following Saturday.  I was so excited!


I have tons of recipes I want to make with fresh sweet corn {and more importantly, nothing beats the taste of fresh local sweet corn.}  I decided to make this Corn and Blueberry Salad  first.  I knew blueberries were in season and hoped cucumbers would be as well.  However, assuming I would have sweet corn was my mistake.  I got to the market 10 minutes after it opened and he was sold out.  Ugh!  But the good news was I got blueberries and a cucumber.  I stopped at Whole Foods to get two ears of sweet corn {from Florida - not exactly local.}

Don't be fooled by the strange mix of vegetables and fruit in this salad.  {P.S. - I made the salad without the cilantro and jalapeño pepper.}  It is so ridiculously good.  It is fresh with some crispness.  I really have just one word for this - Yummy!

Try to stay cool everybody.

Raspberries

{Farmers Market}
This week at the farmers market I picked up some raspberries, raspberries, and more raspberries.


What did I make with all these raspberries?  I'm glad you asked:

• Raspberry Crumb Pie from Gingerbread Bagels - I''ve been on a pie kick recently.  This one is pretty good.

• Triple Layered Rocket Pops from the book Perfect Pops - except mine aren't rockets.  I should have made these for the Fourth of July.

• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Scones from Buns In My Oven - These were my favorite from the weekend.  {Oh wait, there was something better but I'm not ready to share that one quite yet.}  I followed the directions for freezing them and then popped one in the oven this morning for breakfast.  Besides them being delicious, the idea of freezing them is brilliant.  {Especially for a single gal like me who should only be eating one at time.  This way I can bake one whenever I want without the mess of baking an entire batch.}

Raspberries weren't the only thing I bought this week at the farmers market.  I also got:

• Kohlrabi - love to bring that in my lunch.
• Lettuce Mix - nothing beats lettuce fresh from the garden.
• Zucchini
• Cucumber
• Blueberries {Which were in the Triple Layered Pops.}

The last two were part of that awesome dish I mentioned previously.  Stay tuned for next week to get the dish on that.  {Or check out my Pinterest boards and see if you can figure it out.}

Have a great week.

Raspberry Dressing

{Farmers Market}
I love going to the Farmers Market.  I live in a townhouse so I can't have a garden so the farmers market is the next best thing.  I can container garden though and I have two tomato plants this year - one roma tomato and one sweet 100 tomato.  But no tomatoes yet {not even close.  Which reminds me - I need to water my flowers and tomatoes this afternoon.}  The Bloomington Farmers Market is just about the right size - not too big but not too small either.  Yesterday, I picked up these goodies from the market:

• Raspberries
• Strawberries {yes, I know, the season is pretty much over but my vacation coincided with the peak of strawberry season and therefore I didn't get to enjoy very many strawberries this year.  I just couldn't pass these up.}
• Kohlrabi
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Carrots
• Mixed Salad Greens

This is what I made this weekend with my market harvest:

• Tutti-Frutti Pops with the raspberries and strawberries.  I got pop molds and the book Perfect Pops for my birthday and I am having fun trying the recipes.  These are going to be great this week with a heat wave in the forecast.

• Sweet Fruit and Nut Breakfast Wraps with the strawberries.  I might try it with raspberries too.
• Pasta Primavera with the carrots and sugar snap peas.  Had I read the recipe a little closer, I could have picked up mint at the farmers market as well.  Too bad there were no cherry tomatoes at the market.  {I skipped the yellow peppers and goat cheese  when I made this.}
• Salad with the mixed greens and raspberries.  

I made a yummy raspberry dressing for the salad.  Last summer, I made sure I got this recipe from my mom.  I don't know where she got the recipe.  It's so good {and easy to make} and I'm going to share it with you:

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons raspberry vinegar

1 Tablespoon dairy sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Whisk together all dressing ingredients.  Refrigerate, covered, for at least one hour.

Oh yeah, I didn't forget about the kohlrabi.  I'm going to pack that in my lunch this week.


Next week the rumor is that there will be sweet corn at the farmers market.  I. CAN. NOT. WAIT!

Have a great week!