Posts by Julie Oudman Perkins
Lunchbox Challenge: 12 Days to Packing a Better Lunch
Anyone else struggling with the daily lunch-making process??? Maybe you eat the same thing EVERY SINGLE DAY and you’re ready for some fun with your food? Or maybe your lunch leaves you lethargic, and you want energy for your afternoon? Or maybe you’re tired of your kiddos complaining about their lunch, and you want to…
Read MoreFresh Salsa
This week in our CSA we had the perfect trio for making fresh salsa: tomatoes, red onions, and cilantro. I grabbed some of our hardneck table garlic, picked a few sprigs of parsley from our PYO herb area, shucked an ear of sweet corn, and toasted a teaspoon of cumin seeds. Aside: I could’ve used…
Read MoreBlack Garlic and Cream Cheese Stuffed Lunchbox Peppers
Yesterday afternoon, Dan presented me with a delightful gift: a bulb from our first round of this season’s black garlic. I got right to work: Cream cheese on the counter to soften? Check. Black garlic removed from each individual clove? Check. Salt shaker handy? Check. While waiting for the cream cheese to come to room…
Read MoreFried Okra
I was a little taken aback the first time I met okra in its raw form. What was this strange looking spear? A green bean on steroids? Back then, I looked it up in my trusty Simply in Season cookbook, and I found recipes for okra curry, okra saute, and fried okra. Guess which one…
Read MoreSimple Sautéed Swiss Chard
One of Dan’s all-time favorite sides is a simple sauté of Swiss chard with garlic and salt. I brightened his version with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. You could also try adding chopped fresh herbs or a different fat to change the flavor. So many possible variations for this nutrient-packed green! Scroll down for…
Read MoreSweet Turnips–Tips for Storage and Fresh Eating
This week our CSA members are receiving hakurei turnips, a Japanese salad turnip that’s so sweet and crisp it can be eaten raw. In fact, when we did a little sampling of these turnips during our Spring CSA, a farm member familiar with these delicious little orbs bit right into hers in the CSA distribution…
Read MoreEggplant Crostini with Goat Cheese and Mint
Our standard eggplant-based summer meals are the same year after year: Eggplant Parmesan and Ratatouille. But alas, as the eggplant continues to come in throughout the summer, I don’t always have the time to make these dishes. So I started to explore other ideas for eggplant, like this one for eggplant crostini. The variations for…
Read MoreHow to Store Peppers–Fresh or Frozen
During our Summer CSA, our farm members receive all kinds of peppers: green and yellow and red bell peppers, lunchbox peppers, mild child peppers, and hot peppers. How to store all this pepper goodness? If you’re planning to use your peppers within a week or so, place them in a sealed plastic bag and keep…
Read MoreThe Mojito–A Refreshing Way to Use Fresh Mint
My first mojito experience was fourteen years ago, the summer Dan and I spent 6 weeks backpacking around Europe. We were in Sevilla, Spain, hanging out with friends of friends, still recovering from an incredible (and somewhat painful) eleven days hiking a portion of the Camino de Santiago across northern Spain. What I remember most…
Read MoreHow to Store Tomatoes for Freshness and Flavor
At lunch today, Dan and I enjoyed slices of a ripe Marnero tomato. Perfection. This heirloom tomato–pictured ripe above–will be sold at our farm this summer, and we want to make sure our CSA members and farm stand customers know how to store these beauties so they can get the same flavor experience we had…
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