Pinot & Pineapple

This week has been a whirlwind and I must admit I am a bit behind in using all of my vegetables. I am going to finish them up tonight though. It was a challenge getting all of the vegetables eaten in 6 day’s time this week as I have been super busy with work and I was with clients both Thursday night and Saturday night. Okay, okay, enough with the excuses, let’s see what we did this week…

I did a lot of roasting this week. I know it sounds odd to even think about using the oven much in the middle of August, but honestly it is so much easier to roast something in the oven than to stand at the stove continuously and saute something.

I roasted the extra-large tomatoes and made some delicious roasted tomato soup. This soup, paired with a salad of the baby arugula and one of the Middle Eastern cucumbers, made for a very satisfying lunch. I made pickled beets by first roasting the beets, peeling them, cutting them into wedges then pouring a hot solution of apple cider vinegar and sugar over them. Then I let them sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours before enjoying them. I love making my own pickled beets. They taste great and are free of the high fructose corn syrup you may find in the jarred stuff at the grocery store. I roasted the eggplants and made a small batch of baba ghanouj, a Middle Eastern eggplant dip, that I enjoyed with some pita bread. Speaking of roasting for the sake of making a small batch of something, I roasted the tomatillos and made a small bowl of salsa verde with some cilantro, scallions, lime juice and a serrano chili pepper. We enjoyed this salsa with some tortilla chips while watching the Olympics - Go Team USA!!!

Not every vegetable was roasted this week. The ear of bi-color corn was boiled then happily nibbled by my husband. The squash was sliced then sauteed with some onion and garlic and I am going to enjoy it for my lunch today with the last of the roasted tomato soup. The rest of the cucumbers were sliced thinly then paired with sour cream and dill for a delicious salad. We enjoyed this salad along side some spicy Buffalo wings on Sunday night. Last but not least, the pole beans are going to be cooked for tonight’s dinner.

Phew… that was 9 vegetables in 7 day’s time. Check back tomorrow to see what we receive in our mystery box!