Edamame Salad

Edamame. It’s not just a fun word to say… it’s fun to eat. I got a big bag of edamame in my CSA share from Ollin Farms and was eager to eat the little green beans. I hadn’t had edamame since they were in season last summer, which seems like a long time ago now!
First, I brought a large pot of water to a boil. Then, I added my edamame (maybe a pound?) in their shells and let them boil with a pinch of sea salt for 3-4 minutes. I fished them out of the water and rinsed them in cold water to stop them from cooking.
Now comes the fun part: shelling them. Ask for help here if you want to eat these within a reasonable amount of time.

I dressed mine with sea salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and 3 cloves of garlic that I grilled, let cool, and coarsely chopped. Yum. The grilled garlic flavor really compliments the buttery flavor and texture of edamame. I’m definitely going to make this dish again.

Pan Fried Zucchini

I can’t believe I forgot how much I love pan-fried zucchini. I totally spaced this out and stood there staring into my fridge thinking, “What the **** am I going to do with all this zucchini?”
Then the hungry voice from the living room yells, “Do we have enough to bread and fry?”
Genius! Yes! We DO have enough to bread and fry. How did I forget that I loved doing that last summer when I had tons of zucchini?
It is easy. Slice the zucchini. Crack a few eggs in a bowl and mix them well.

Get another bowl for your breading. I used whole wheat flour mixed with 1 tsp sea salt and 1 tablespoon Spicy Spanish Paprika from Savory Spice Shop.
Then, get an assembly line going. Dip in the egg, roll in the breading, place on a plate. Then pan-fry them on medium high in a little olive oil until golden and crispy on each side. It’s best to only flip them once so you don’t lose any breading.
Let them sit on some paper towels to drain off any excess oil before devouring them all.
Enjoy.

Stuffed Ronde de Nice Squash

Here’s another veggie I had never purchased, cooked, nor eaten before. This summer I am consistently working with something new to me, thanks to my “CSA challenge” with Ollin Farms.

Ollin Farms sends out a weekly newsletter to let us know which crops to expect as well as provide some extra info on some crops we might not all know so well. Their newsletter said that Ronde de Nice Squash is a French heirloom variety, perfect for stuffing.

Perfect. Stuffed it would be.

This dish was rather easy. First, preheat the oven to 375.

Cut off the tops to 4 Ronde de Nice Squash and scoop out the inside with a grapefruit spoon, my secret little weapon in the kitchen. Leave most of the squash in the skin, but scoop out the inside flesh and set aside for later. Place the squash, hollow side up, in a Pyrex baking dish that has been drizzled with olive oil.

For the stuffing-

Toss 2 cloves of peeled garlic , 1/2 of an onion, 1/2 green pepper, and 1 sliced tomato (I used Roma), in a little olive oil and sea salt. Grill these for a few minutes to give them a nice flavor. Next, grill the squash flesh that has been scooped out for about 5 minutes or so to cook off the excess water. Then, throw about a salad plate’s worth of sliced focaccia bread on the grill and let both sides turn a beautiful dark brown.

When the grilled veggies are cool to touch, coarsely chop everything and mix it in a bowl with 1/2 cup ricotta cheese. Then, crumble the focaccia into the mixture and mix well. Add some sea salt and pepper and you’re ready to stuff.

Spoon the mixture into the Ronde de Nice Squash, re-place the top, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until they’re talking to you (my way of saying “sizzling hot”).

I served these with some Grilled Roma Tomato Sauce, grilled Japanese eggplant, and grilled bread. Can you tell that I like grilled foods?

Enjoy.

Roasted Beets and Raspberries

Lately I’ve found a whole new appreciation for roasted beets. They are really good and subtly sweet, which covers up the earthy flavor I often associate with beets.
I got some large beets from Ollin Farms in my CSA, smiled, and decided they were perfect for roasting. To roast beets- wash them well, drizzle a little olive oil on top, put them in an oven safe dish or wrap them in foil, and bake at 375 for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. Mine here took a full hour.

When cool enough to touch, remove the skin. It should peel off very easily. I sliced my beets and served them with fresh raspberries, chives, and a little champagne vinegar.
Enjoy.

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A Bolder Table is a place where I bookmark my favorite recipes for later along with some occasional musings. It's my personal digital recipe compilation... Let's say it's my cookbook. Thanks for stopping by! -Megan
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