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Happy July!
With this week’s box featuring many new vegetables like candy onions, dill cucumbers and enoki mushrooms, I couldn’t pick just one to focus on so I decided this week’s blog should feature them all!
Too many fresh local vegetables... what a wonderful problem to have! We sure are fortunate to live in Halton with the best farms and farmers. Happy Cooking!
Recipes:
Enoki Mushrooms with Garlic & Scallion Sauce
Created By: Adapted by Pam - For the Love of Cooking
Enoki Mushrooms are best cooked… just don’t overcook them! This recipe is easy and full of flavour making them a wonderful side dish for your favourite protein.
Ingredients:
7 oz enoki mushrooms
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1-2 small cloves of garlic, minced
1½ TBSP soy sauce
1 scallion, finely chopped
¼ tsp sugar Sriracha, to taste
Instructions:
1. Being gentle, trim away about 1-inch of the root section from the mushrooms. Next, use your fingers to tear the enoki mushrooms into small bite-sized bundles.
2. Prepare a wok or skillet with boiling water, and carefully blanch the enoki mushrooms for 1 minute. Remove and drain on paper towels then line them up on a small serving plate.
3. Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 seconds.
4. Add the soy sauce, scallions, sugar, and sriracha. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Don't overcook. the garlic and scallions--you want them to taste fresh and sweet not bitter.
5. Slowly pour the well-whisked sauce over the enoki mushrooms and serve. Enjoy.
Quick Pickled Cucumbers – Refrigerator Pickles
Created by: Melissa Griffiths
Who doesn’t love pickles?! These make the perfect topping for your burgers, sandwiches or as s snack right out of the dish!
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar (apple cider, white, and rice wine are all good)
2 TBSP sugar optional
1 to 2 tsp salt
Sliced garden cucumbers (about 2 cups)
Sliced onion or green onion (about 1/2 cup) additional vegetables as you like (bell pepper, whole cherry tomatoes, etc.)
Instructions:
1. In a small bowl add the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine and until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the cucumber and onion. Taste and adjust the ingredients to your liking.
2. All the cucumbers should be covered in the brine, if you have lots of cucumber or are making a big batch, make more brine.
3. Let the mixture rest in the fridge until you are ready to eat. The flavors develop over time, so an overnight soak is great but mine are normally gone by dinner.
Cheesy Onion Ring Chips
Created by: Holly Owens
Did you know? ‘Candy’ is a variety of sweet, mild onion; If you love onion rings you will love this twist on the classic! As for pairing them, think about cooling dips or fresh salads. They're a great companion to a zesty ranch dressing or a refreshing Greek yogurt dip with herbs. And if you're feeling fancy, why not serve them alongside a juicy grilled steak or a lemony piece of grilled chicken? The possibilities? Endless!
Ingredients:
2 candy onions, sliced into 1/4-inch discs
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional for a kick)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Separate your onion slices into individual discs.
3. In a shallow dish, mix together almond flour, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.
4. In another shallow dish, whisk your eggs until well beaten.
5. Dip each onion disc into the egg wash, let the excess drip off, and then coat it in the almond flour mixture.
6. Place the coated onion discs on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each disc.
7. Generously sprinkle shredded cheese over each disc, trying to keep the cheese on the onions rather than on the baking sheet.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
9. Allow the onion ring chips to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the baking sheet with a spatula.
Potato Salad with Baby Red Potatoes
Created By: The BakerMama
Potato Salad with Baby Red Potatoes makes a flavorful summer BBQ side dish. With red onion, salty bacon, fresh parsley and tender red potatoes, it’s my favorite potato salad to make any time of year!
Ingredients:
2 pounds baby red potatoes
4 slices thick bacon, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 tsp granulated sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. Place the potatoes in a large pot. Fill the pot with water to 1-inch above the potatoes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium and let the potatoes simmer until easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse with cold water until they’re cool enough to handle. Slice each potato into quarters and add to a large mixing bowl.
3. In a medium skillet, cook the diced bacon and red onion until the bacon is crisp and onion translucent.
4. Pour the bacon, onion and grease over the potatoes in the large mixing bowl. Toss to combine well.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, vinegar, Dijon mustard and sugar until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the bowl with the potatoes. Gently stir to combine.
7. Toss in the chopped fresh parsley.
8. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.
Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes
Created by: Yumna Jawad
This Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes is a quick and easy dish that comes together in 15 minutes. It's an amazing pasta with cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil. Perfect weeknight dinner.
Ingredients:
8 oz spaghetti
¼ cup olive oil
2 pints cherry tomatoes
3 garlic cloves minced
½ tsp salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ cup fresh basil chopped, plus more for serving
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water and drain.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt and crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, 1 more minute. Use the back of a spoon or a potato masher to carefully mash the tomatoes to release their juices. Continue cooking until the tomatoes continue to burst and create a sauce, 5 more minutes.
3. Transfer the drained pasta on top of the tomato sauce along with the basil and parmesan cheese and toss to combine. Add as much of the reserved pasta water as needed to reach the desired consistency.
4. Serve immediately with more fresh basil and parmesan cheese, if desired.
Crisp Cucumber Salsa
Created by: Taste of Home- Kiersten Hickman
This cucumber salsa is a fantastic way to use cucumbers, combining their crunchy texture and super fresh flavor with tomatoes, hot peppers, herbs and more, mixed up with a tasty dressing. A delicious snack!
Ingredients:
2 cups finely chopped dill cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 TBSP minced fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Baked tortilla chip scoops
Instructions:
1. In a small bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.
Friendly Reminder: Looking for additional inspiration? ALL recipes from the past two years are available on the blog for reference.
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