Sunday Menu 🥑🥞🌮 no. 28
How I'm using every single part of our CSA this week (stems, greens, all of it!) and all the plants we've been filling our bellies with lately.
The Sunday Menu is a look at what I’m cookin’ up to feed my vegan family of 6, kitchen sounds, fave ingredients, and other reflections on all things delicious. Grab a snack and let’s hang out in the kitchen…
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Hello from a gloriously cool and rainy Sunday. What is it about a rainy Sunday that just feels so soothing? Playing soft music in the kitchen, pancakes smothered in homemade blueberry chia jam, lazy meanderings around the home— reading picture books, setting up an easel we found on the side of the road for a morning of painting on the deck (and a house smelling of temper paint and walls lined with art), a day that unfolds slowly. It’s the sweetest.
Wherever or whenever this email find you I hope you are well. The world hurts my heart these days 💔 and I seek comfort in putting my energy into the things I can control. One of those big things for me is what we eat. I love cooking for my family, enjoying fresh summer ingredients, flexing my creativity, involving my kids in the process, and knowing that even the small decisions we make— like what we put on our plate— fosters a sprit of compassion and is an act of doing our part to heal the world in a small way. 🙏
Today I’m sharing a look at the colorful summer meals we’ve been enjoying— a mix of using what we’ve already got on hand in the pantry and freezer and summer produce from our CSA and garden. I thought it would be fun to walk you through how I plan to use everything we got in our CSA— from top to bottom. So, you know the drill— pour yourself a cup of something comforting, and settle for some chit chat about all things delicious from our humble little kitchen.
I like to think of my fall, winter, and spring meal planning efforts as training for the more spontaneous rhythm of summer cooking. . When we pick up our CSA on Saturday morning, or mosey through the farmer’s market, or pluck ripe goods from our garden, I rarely have a set plan for the week ahead. Instead, I work with whatever is fresh, abundant, and in season—letting the ingredients direct our meals. There’s something satisfying about using a bit of creativity to piece it all together. And honestly, when the produce is as vibrant and flavorful as it is in the summer, you don’t need much else to create something delicious.
Today, I’m sharing how I plan to use what came in our CSA box this week, along with how I prep and store everything to make sure nothing—truly nothing—goes to waste.
So here is what came in this week’s CSA:
4 heads of broccoli
2 quarts of apricots
1 bunch of beets & greens
1 head of red lettuce
2 heads of cabbage (purple and green)
1 bunch of green onions
lettuce, beet greens & beets
First thing’s first— I wash, and dry the lettuce and beet greens. The lettuce will be the first thing we use since it has the shortest life. I love a fresh greens salad tossed in a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, freshly ground pepper and some flakey sea salt— that’s all it needs! I’ll throw in some other veg like grated or shaved carrot, thinly sliced radish, or tomato chunks if we have them but it’s plenty delicious as is.
The beet greens can also be used in a salad, or tossed in a smoothie, or sautéed with a little olive oil, salt and a splash of fresh lemon juice. What I’ve learned about beets is they last much longer— and the greens hold up much better— after they are separated. The beets are tucked into the produce drawer and will be used as beet pepperonis on our Friday night pizza (y’all, these are SO GOOD). If we weren’t going to use them on our pizza though I would wash them, quarter them, and pop them in the freezer to be tossed into smoothies. Of course many people love roasted beets, but they aren’t my fave.
green onions
I put the green onions in a little jar of water and tuck them into the fridge. Giving them something to drink will help them last so much longer. I’ll thinly slice them and use them on stir fry or in fried rice, etc. You can also add them to salads and so many other things for a little burst of flavor. Easy peasy! Sometimes I’ll slice them up and put them in a glass container to have them ready to go, they last about 5-6 days like that.
purple and green cabbage
The purple and green cabbage heads will last FOREVER in our fridge. I’ll use them in slaw for taco night and the green cabbage to garnish tacos. Both cabbages are great in stir fries as well. We also make a rainbow salad that my kids taught me from their farm to school program (I know, the best!), which they love. Here is the simple and yummy recipe from the “recipe book” they brought home at the end of the school year: