Subtitled: How to Use a Boatload of Vegetables in a Dinner

We bring vegetables to two markets each Saturday. Here is what our booth looked like last weekend at one of those markets (the smaller one):

Delicious, is what that makes me say. Now, here’s a peek at how we turned some of that bounty into a birthday dinner for a five year-old. She requested asparagus with cheese. I (Janet) added a few things (and ironically forgot to include the asparagus and the cheese in the first photo).

This is how we cook.  Start with a ton of veggies and start chopping. This is all our produce, eggs, and bread, and we used it all, with just a little leftovers going back in the fridge after the meal. We also used some broth leftover from a meal of Ault’s Family Farm chicken (that’s in one of the mason jars). The other jar is some almond-based dressing I whipped up for a previous meal. The cheese never did make it into a photo.

We made a sort of improvised turnips-au-gratin, topped with the requested asparagus and cheese.

No recipe here – just layered turnips, onions, butter, asiago cheese, and salt and pepper, finishing with the layer of asparagus and more cheese. 450 degrees for 20 minutes, I believe.

Also made was a kale and egg dish (saute onions and mushrooms (with butter and chicken broth), chopped greens to wilt over top, crack eggs into pockets created on top of the chopped kale, cover and cook until eggs are cooked), inspired by the recipe in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Braised Pac Choi (that is what used most of the chicken broth). Raw salad, composed of a mix of green and red head lettuce and mixed baby greens, topped with carrots and radish. Slices of hearty bread on the side. That was a ton of scrumptious food.

How is this done with three small children? Here’s a peek at what they were doing while I was prepping dinner:

Elletta, gnawing on a raw turnip. (She’s teething but no, not eating solid foods yet.)

Joren, cutting turnips.

Sylvie: helping Dan transplant (peppers, I believe).

But as I mentioned before: don’t think all is pure here: That basket in the back of the photo has in it a card reading “Happy Mother’s Day!” and a dozen homemade (baked) donuts. 🙂

Thanks for enjoying our produce and our posts about what we do with it. Spring is such a wonderful  time!