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10 Cool Things To Do With Dill

By on April 30, 2012 in 10 Cool Things to Do With...

So you’ve opened up your Local Box and you’re left in awestruck wonderment at the glory you see before you.  Scrumptious squash, tempting turnips, delicious dill! Wait. Dill? What in the world am I going to cook my family with dill, you wonder. Well, besides  containing the magical ability to turn cucumbers into pickles, dill is actually a fairly versatile herb. Here are some delicious ways to feed your family dill!

1. Try Hungarian style summer squash and dill to quell hungry tummies and expand  your culinary palette!

2. Go Greek for a night and make your own tzatziki sauce! Dill is a main ingredient in this delicious sauce that goes great on a pita sandwich.

3. Dill is an easy, but delicious way to spice up chicken. Lemon dill chicken skewers!? Who could resist?

4. Tyler Florence understands the wonderful potential of dill and seafood! Try out his pan seared salmon with sour cream and dill and you’ll understand too!

5. Potatoes are a staple of American cooking, cook up some roasted dill potatoes if your family seems reluctant to try dill! Potatoes will surely change their minds.

6. Even with summer approaching, we all crave soup sometimes! A chilled cucumber and dill soup  is perfect for lunch in any season.

7. If you don’t feel like using fresh dill, hang it upside down by the stem in a warm, dry area of your house and let it dry out. The dill will be ready to store after a couple days when the leaves crumble in your hand. Make sure to store it in an airtight container!

8. Are you looking for a side dish to complete a meal? Rice is a great place to start, add some dill and make garlic dill rice to spice up any meal!

9. Dill is a fantastic way to add some adventure to bread! Dill and cheddar beer bread is an excellent compliment to a hearty soup.

10. And finally, no list of dill would be complete without pickles. I can’t share with you my grandma’s secret recipe, but here’s a great guide complete with photos for the pickle novice!

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10 Things to Do With Avocados

By on February 2, 2012 in 10 Cool Things to Do With...

No matter how you slice it, life without avocados would be the pits! Each year, the brief Texas avocado season is the highlight of my winter. While the rest of the country endures snow and sleet, I enjoy copious amounts of guacamole and bask in the Texas sun. These months– and local avocados–  are what I think of when people ask me why I love living in Central Texas.

We’re coming into our third straight week of avocados in the Local Box. If you’ve tired of guacamole, here are 10 ideas for using up the bounty! Thanks to our customers on Facebook who suggested these recipes and ideas!

1. Annie H. suggests making chipotle avocado mayo.Combine 1 avocado, 1 tbs mayo, and 1/4-1/2 tsp of chipotle chili powder. “Smash it up together, and it’s delicious on BLT’s or turkey sandwiches,” she writes.

2. “I love avocado smoothies,” wrote Apryl D. She recommends blending together 1 avocado, milk, local honey and cocoa powder for a rich morning treat.

3. Another avocado smoothie recipe: combine 1 avocado, 1 pear, a handful of spinach, a banana, and some almond milk in a blender. Process it until the mixture is smooth, and enjoy ahealthy green smoothie. Che Angela S. called this recipe the Breakfast of Champions!

4. For dinner, try Giada De Laurentis’ recipe for Linguine with Avocado and Arugula , suggests Yvette B. I think this recipe would be outstanding prepared with cilantro instead of basil and served over cilantro corn pappardelle, Greenling’s fresh pasta selection for next week!

5. How about using avocado in a dessert? A few folks suggested this sweet treatment of the fruit, and a quick search online revealed this recipe for Nutella avocado brownies. Be still, my heart.

6. Alisa V. S. offers another avocado dessert– the Avocado Pie.The idea of using avocado in a key-lime-style pie is new to me, but G&S Groves limes can make anything taste good, so I am going to give this one a try!

7. Of course, no discussion of avocados would be complete without at least one guacomole idea. “Cumin and orange do magical things to guac,” writes Elizabeth W.

8. Grapefruit, oranges, jalapenos and avocado come together beautifully in this recipe for Grapefruit & Avocado Salsa , suggested by Sam S. I think that looks especially nice with fish or chicken and a glass of white wine.

9. Speaking of chicken, Laurie H. had a great idea for cooking avocados: “Peel one and stuff it in a Cornish game hen,” she offers. “Cook and devour!”

10. Finally, the most popular suggestion for eating lots of avocados was to simply slice them and served them plain, or dressed with a little salt.

However you decide to enjoy your local avocados, do it quick– we’ve only got a few weeks left in this year’s local avocado season!

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10 Things To Do with Summer Squash

By on August 25, 2011 in 10 Cool Things to Do With...

Summer squash are the stuff of legend. Farmers love them because they survive even the hottest Texas summers, and they’re one of the most prolific plants around. Home cooks love them because they’re inexpensive and tasty. The only downside to summer squash season is figuring out what to do with all of it!

We’ve got you covered. Check out these cool ideas for how to use the army of zucchini and yellow squash that arrived this week in the Local Box.

1. Grate the squash and use it to cook low-carb hashbrowns. This is so simple: to each cup of grated squash, 1/4 cup grated onion and an egg white. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet and cook the hashbrowns over medium heat just as you would potatoes.

2. While the grater’s out, grab another squash and some gin to make a Zucchini-Tini.

3. Oven baked zucchini chips are kid-friendly and would make a terrific addition to a school lunch box. To make them, slice a zucchini as thin as possible with a mandolin or sharp knife. Toss the slices in a few tablespoons of olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper, chili powder and paprika. Bake the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. It will take about two hours on your oven’s lowest setting for the chips to become crispy.

4. You don’t really need to cook squash at all to enjoy them. Slice a few squash into 1/4 inch rounds and dip them like chips in Zucchini Hummus.

5. Most people have a favorite zucchini quick bread in their recipe box. This recipe for zucchini bread is unusual because it combines shredded zucchini with a traditional yeast dough, resulting in a perfectly tender cinnamon raisin bread that can be made by hand or in a bread machine.

6. Grilled zucchini is a cheap way to feed a crowd at a Labor Day cookout. Just slice a few summer squash lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices and toss in a bowl with Italian dressing. (About 1/4 cup dressing per squash.) Grill the zucchini slices until they’re tender, about 4 minutes per side.

7. Another recipe for the grill: Grilled Sausage and Apple Stuffed Zucchini. This one would work with yellow squash or zucchini, but I think that acorn squash would be killer with the sweetness of apples. The Asian pears in this week’s Local Box would substituted well for the apples, too.

8. These zucchini dessert squares are like a traditional jam bar, but with a sweetened zucchini filling. You won’t believe it’s zucchini when you eat them– the filling tastes just like apples!

9. While we wait for pumpkins to come into season, try this zucchini pie recipe. I actually love this dish for breakfast. It really does taste like pumpkin pie, and I make it a little healthier by skipping the crust and baking the filling directly in a buttered pie pan or 8-inch square casserole dish.

10. Not a fan of zucchini pie? Elise Bauer’s popular zucchini chocolate cake should do the trick.

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10 Things to Do With Basil

By on July 5, 2010 in 10 Cool Things to Do With...

Have you gotten tired of making pesto with all the basil we’ve been getting lately? Yeah, me too. Pesto is great and all, but it does get old. After you’ve made and frozen all the pesto you can stand, check out these other tasty ways to use basil.

1. Add sliced or chopped basil to your favorite canned tomato soup to give it a touch of homemade-ness (is that a word?). My favorite is Amy’s Chunky Tomato Bisque.

2. Layer sliced heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves on a plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a classic Caprese salad.

3. Make this caper-basil vinaigrette for salads, or go ahead and serve it on the twice-grilled peppers with Buffalo mozzarella in the same link above. It’s one of our favorite appetizers.

4. Use it to make bruschetta, an Italian spread that also features fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Spread it on small pieces of ciabatta for an easy hors d’oeuvre.

5. Muddle it (mash it up to release its flavor) and add to lemonade for a refreshing twist on a summer favorite. If you are so inclined, add vodka to make it a hard lemonade.

6. Use it to make a delightfully herbal bread.

7. Tired of only using basil in Italian food? Try it in this Thai chicken stir-fry.

8. Add a handful of roughly chopped basil to a cup of extra-virgin olive oil and let it sit in the fridge for several days. Strain out the basil, and you have basil-infused oil to use in salad dressings, drizzled over your Caprese salad, or tossed with grilled vegetables. Store in the refrigerator.

9. How about basil in dessert? This basil-blackberry crumble looks tasty. For that matter, try mixing sliced basil with your favorite fruit for an easy summer snack. Peaches and strawberries come to mind first…mmm.

10. Use it in a sandwich with grilled summer vegetables.

How else do you like to use basil?

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10 Things to Do With Carrots

By on June 10, 2010 in 10 Cool Things to Do With...

We get a ton of carrots around here and it’s easy to run out of ideas for how to use them. Here’s a list of ways that ranges from basic to a bit more exciting. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but when you get your next batch of orange, carroty goodness and are drawing a blank, this list should help you out.

1. Finely chop them and add to pasta sauce to sweeten it up. Follow this basic recipe to make your own, or simply simmer with your favorite jarred sauce for a quick meal.

2. Cut into sticks to eat with your favorite dip, as a healthier alternative to chips. Some of my favorite carrot dips are salsa and hummus.

3. Roast and serve as a simple side dish, or add to salads. I like to roast a big batch of veggies on the weekend, then chill and add them to salads during the week. Try this recipe, and omit the maple syrup for something more savory.

4. Make them the focal ingredient of a quick soup, like this curried carrot soup.

5. Use them in a salad. Ok, before you roll your eyes saying “Steph! I know to put carrots in a salad! That’s not why I’m reading this post!,” just hear me out. We’re going to think outside the box here. The carrots could be part of the dressing like in this decidedly non-boring avocado salad with carrot-ginger dressing. Or, they could be in the salad itself, like in this Moroccan carrot salad.

6. Make dessert, taking advantage of carrots’ natural sweetness. How about this Indian carrot pudding, or something fancier like this carrot-buttermilk tart?

7. Forget pickled cucumbers. How pedestrian! Pickle your carrots, instead!

8. Cube and add to your favorite pot roast recipe. I’m partial to an Italian-style roast, similar to this one, using Italian-style canned tomatoes.

9. Eat ‘em for breakfast, like in these carrot pancakes, or these carrot cake breakfast cookies.

10. Really, really can’t stomach another carrot? Just make chicken or vegetable broth with them. It’s a great way to use up other veggies you have lying around, too, and homemade broth tastes a million times better than store-bought.

How else do you like to use carrots?

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