Grilled Okra

I loved grilled okra.  Use skewers and put the okra across two of them like a ladder.  Brush with olive oil and grill.  Very yummy and not slimy.  We also grilled some of the squash, so easy to slice with an onion, potato, and zucchini, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and put in aluminum foil.  I started grilling both of these first and then put some salmon on the grill that had been wrapped in cedar paper. I sliced some of the fresh cucumbers and made a dip with cottage cheese, mayo and ranch seasoning- An easy meal that doesn't take long.

Last Night's Dinner

Last night I used several items from my CSA box.  The main portion was made with eggplant and peppers.  It is Eggplant Casserole with Olives, Bell Pepper and Cheese from Farmer John's Cookbook.  This isn't a quick recipe as it takes almost 2 hours to make but it is easy.

Ingredients:
Eggplant (I use more or less depending on what came in the box)
Sweet and hot peppers (the more colors the better)
1 C. Tomato Sauce
1/3 C. Black Olives sliced
3 eggs
1 C. Ricotta Cheese
3/4 C Parmesan (I use a mix of Romano, Parmesan and Asiago)
Fresh Basil, chopped
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice eggplant into 1/4" slices and brush both sides with olive oil, lightly season with salt and pepper.  Arrange slices on a baking sheet.  Bake until eggplant is soft and golden, between 10 to 20 min.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees.  Cut peppers into chunks and toss around in a bowl with some olive oil.  Spread the pepper chunks onto a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes.
In a bowl, mix ricotta, eggs and half the parmesan cheese together with the basil and salt.
Lightly grease an 8" or 9" square baking dish with oil. 
Layer the veggies and other ingredients this way:
1/2 the eggplants slices
1/2 the ricotta mixture
1/2 the tomato sauce
all of the peppers and olives
1/2 the ricotta mixture
1/2 the tomato mixture
1/2 the eggplant
the rest of the parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees until cheese has melted and browned for about 45 minutes.

I served this with some Naan (our favorite quick bread), fried okra (sliced okra tossed in corn meal and fried in peanut oil) along with the rest of the Arugula in a salad.

Baby Arugula

Tonight I used half of the baby arugula to make a salad.  I pulled off the ends and tossed with salt and a viniagrette then added toasted walnuts and shredded romano.  A wonderful mix of flavors.  The complete the meal I roasted a chicken with some rosemary and texas tarragon from my garden.  Made some risotto and added a rustic rosemary artisian bread.

Community Supported Agriculture

After subscribing to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for the past year, I am in love with fresh vegetables.  I get a box every other week of what is in season along with a dozen fresh eggs.  I am feeding a family of 5 with my box.  This weeks box brought me okra, yellow squash, zucchini, one acorn squash, potatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, really hot peppers, onions, mixed eggplant, basil and baby arugula.