I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for cooking inspiration during the week to keep my meals fresh and interesting. It’s easy to get in a rut and feel intimidated by all the produce in the fridge, staring you down while you struggle to know what to do with it. The beauty of a weekly veggie share is that it can inspire us to try new dishes, cooking techniques and flavor combos! Here’s how this week’s share inspires me:

Raspberries are obviously prime for snacking, but with three half-pints, why not transform those tasty berries a little? My weeknight dessert lately has been raspberry milkshakes – it’s quick, easy, and sooo satisfying on a long, hot day. I use an immersion blender, but any type of blending machine you have will work. I eyeball a couple scoops of ice cream, a handful or two of raspberries, and a splash of milk, adding more as I blend for the desired consistency. The fresh raspberry flavor is unreal and better than any milkshake you could buy. 

Had your fill of sauteed green beans last week? Consider making dilly beans! Use a couple cloves of garlic from a previous week’s share, a couple sprigs of dill, trimmed green beans, and if you like a little spice, some red pepper flakes. Boil equal parts water and vinegar, enough to cover your beans in a mason jar, and 1 tablespoon salt and submerge the beans in the brine. Pop them in the fridge, wait at least 24 hours to enjoy, and you’ve got delicious pickled dilly beans to enjoy!

Our sweet onions are some of the most flavorful onions I’ve ever had, and if I were you, I’d caramelize them and add as a topping to any meal. One trick to speed up the notoriously long process is to add water towards the beginning of the cooking process, pop a lid on it, let steam for 10 minutes, then uncover and stir continuously until they are a rich brown and jammy.

While the obvious thing to do with a summer CSA cabbage is to turn it into a slaw (see recipe below), maybe try roasting it in large wedges. When cabbage is roasted, the outside gets delightfully crispy while the inside gets tender and soft, and its flavor is transformed into something a little less aggressively BRASSICA. Once out of the oven, brush with a mixture of oil, miso or tahini, herbs of your choice, ginger or garlic, and lemon zest and juice for a more flavorful, summery dish.

However you enjoy your share, I hope you relish the bounties of summer on your plate. Happy eating!

~Flynn