SIX Tasty, Easy Veggie Recipes for Cooking Outdoors

The mid-summer heat makes me want to work hard to keep the heat outside! That means cooking outdoors. So, let's see how many recipes we can find for the nine fruits and vegetables in my CSA box.

What did I get? 

• Summer squash
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Carrots
• Beets
• Potatoes
• Sweet corn
• Green beans
• Blueberries

Recipe #1: Blueberry Cobbler on the grill!

Let's start with dessert! Grab your cast iron skillet! It's time for blueberry cobbler on the grill! There are a couple of surprise ingredients: ginger snaps and lemon. Yes! You can create this wonderful confection right on your gas or charcoal grill! Who knew? 

Recipe #2 - Balsamic Grilled Zucchini

Balsamic grilled zucchini: Slice summer squash lengthwise, season with herbs, and drizzle with a good quality balsamic vinegar. Throw it on the grill for a few minutes. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

Recipe #3 - Corn on the grill!

Nothing screams "summer!" like corn on the cob. In this article, Food Network chef, Bobby Flay, gives you all his best tips for grilling perfect sweet corn for your next get together. 

Recipe #4 - Honey Glazed Carrots

Carrots from the farmers' market are sweeter than store bought carrots. I don't know if it's because they are fresher, or smaller, or if it's just my imagination. But, as far as my kids are concerned, eating raw, locally-grown carrots is nirvana. As if that wasn't enough, when you cook them, a special magic occurs and the natural sweetness is actually intensified. It sounds crazy, but it's true! Try honey glazed grilled carrots on the grill and let me know if you think I'm right!

Recipe #5 - Beet foil packets!

I showed you how to do roast beets in the oven in this post. Grilling them is just as simple. Wash, quarter, season, drizzle with balsamic vinegar if you wish, wrap in foil, and stick them on the grill over indirect heat for 30-40 minutes. Voila!

 Don't forget the beet greens!

Although the summertime heat is beginning to wilt the leafy green tops of vegetables, there's still enough goodness to salvage! So, don't throw out those greens! Cut them off, de-stem, wash, cut into smaller pieces, and they are ready to use.

Here's what I do! 

Okay, this uses the stove. But, it's for a short period of time. Saute a bit of onion and garlic in some water. Then add your greens, with a little more water. Watch your greens carefully to be sure that they don't burn! When they are wilted, it's time to take them off the burner. My Grandma added a splash of vinegar to her cooked greens. You can try a little lemon if you'd like instead of vinegar. Adding nothing is fine, too. Just be sure to eat your greens! They are good for you!

Recipe #6 - Veggie Foil Packet Dinner

I decided to use my potatoes to create a traditional campfire treat! Foil Vegetable Packets!

This recipe should take you back to your Boy Scout or Girl Scout days, when you made foil packet dinners on overnight camping trips. Traditionally cooked over a campfire, you can also bake them on a grill. 

You won't believe how I cooked my foil packet dinners! 

That's right! I have a solar oven. My older boys designed and built it about ten years ago as a 4H project. It is a HOOT to use! The packets take about five hours and bake at between 225 and 250 degrees in my oven. I have step-by-step instructions, complete with filling and seasoning ideas all written out for you in Veggie Foil Packets Cooked In My Solar Oven.

Don't have a solar oven? No worries! I give you instructions in the post for both your grill and conventional oven as well.

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Hope

If You Can't Take the Heat (Part 2) - CSA Box #8

 

Howdy! Welcome to CSA Box #8. Remember, the whole idea of this series is to show you how you can save money on your grocery bill by centering your weekly cooking around fresh, in-season produce! As an added bonus, you can serve your family really nutritious food, too!

This week we'll take a look at cooking without heating up the kitchen. Here's a link to remind you of all the great recipes I introduced in If You Can't Take the Heat - Part 1. 

Pasta Primavera

Okay, the first recipe that I will talk about actually breaks my rule of not cooking indoors. But, it uses the stove top for just 30 minutes. So, I feel justified in saying that Pasta Primavera is still perfect for a summer evening meal.

This can easily be made with rice based pasta for a gluten free version. Here's what I did!

Pasta - 1/2 pound - cooked - boiled in water for 12 minutes
Tomatoes - 2 - diced
Onions - 2 small - diced small
Zucchini - 2 small - sliced
Yellow summer squash - 2 small - sliced
Onion powder - 1 tsp.
Garlic powder - 1 tsp.
Salt free seasoning (your choice) - 2 tsp.
Lemon juice - 2-3 Tbsp.

Saute the onions in a few Tbsp of water for 5 minutes or until softened and translucent. Add the squash and cook for 10 minutes. Add spices, tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Throw the veggie mixture on top of the cooked pasta and stir. Squeeze lemon juice over the top and serve!

That's it! Seriously!  Look at how delicious this looks!

HINT! While you are boiling that pasta, go ahead and throw in an entire pound of pasta. Use half of it for the pasta primavera. Then, use the other half to make pasta with pesto. Voila! In just 30 minutes, you have not just one, but two meals!

Pasta with Pesto

Pesto can be made so many ways! Carrot top pesto, ramp pesto, and radish green pesto are all just as wonderful as the traditional version made with basil.

HINT! I make a huge batch of pesto and then freeze it in empty yogurt cups. I use one of the frozen pesto cubes for 1/2 pound of cooked pasta. Just throw the freshly boiled pasta on top of the cube and the residual heat will melt the pesto cube.

LOW CARB TIP! Don't eat wheat pasta. I generally don't either. So, I will tell you that this recipe is great with garbanzo bean, red lentil, rice, or other gluten free pasta. It's also perfect for spiralized summer squash or cooked spaghetti squash!

Here's my recipe for no oil radish leaf pesto. 

Easy Cabbage Slaw Salad

I love cabbage slaw, but I never eat mayo! For one thing, I'm vegan. For another, it is incredibly full of fat and excess calories. Years ago, I figured out that I could still eat my favorite salad and it could be made quickly and be full of fiber, low in fat, and high in nutrition!

Here's what I do!

Slice the cabbage in half, remove the core, and then just use a knife to chop the cabbage into bite-sized pieces. Throw it in a big bowl.

Add toppings. Every time I make this salad it is different, because I  use whatever I have on hand. I'll bet you could think of a few more!

green onion
fresh blueberries
tomatoes
red peppers
corn
edamame
carrots
celery
raisins or craisins
black beans
nuts  - just a few! (walnuts, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, or raw sunflower seeds)

Add Dressing: 

You can eat this salad as much as you'd like, because the dressings I use contain no added oil or salt. That's right! You don't need oil! It contains 100 calories of fat per Tablespoon and is a very concentrated source of calories.

Dressings: (From Jane and Ann Esselstyn): Their 3-2-1 Dressing is my go-to dressing. I use it every, single week for the vast majority of my salads. This YouTube video is worth your time to watch. In it, these great ladies give you a lot of ideas for dressings that are both delicious and nutritious.

Oil Free Lemon Ginger Dressing:  This is a recipe that the 14 year old sous chef and I created a couple of years ago. It's one of our popular cheap eats recipes. It's very versatile too. You can put it on top of quinoa salad, or even use it to anoint the top of baked potatoes. Enjoy!

Zucchilattas

That's a fancy way to say that you are going to fill tortillas with zucchini, tomato, and some other yummy veggies and then eat it. Oh boy! Does this sound easy and delicious! The recipe says to heat in the oven for 15 minutes. In this heat, I generally use our small toaster oven or the microwave to keep heat out of the kitchen. Click on the title of the recipe and it will link you directly. 

Raw Beet Salad

If you've never tried a raw beet salad, please do! This is where I admit to you that a decade ago when we joined our first CSA, I thought I hated beets. Nope! I just hadn't given them a good try. This is not your Grandma's pickled beet! This is delicious and features an easy, fresh vinaigrette. 

Spinach Blueberry Salad

Taste of Home features this fresh, summer, no cook salad. You could easily substitute kale or another green for the spinach called for in the recipe. 

Carrot Tops!

Don't throw away those carrot greens! Nope! They are very nutritious! I use them in soups all winter long for a last minute splash of color and a taste that takes me back to warmer weather days.

 HOW TO USE: Remove them from the stems. Just grab the end of the larger part of the stem and pull. It will separate the leaves from the stem (much like you de-stem kale). Use in salads, soups, or any other dish that you'd like. 

To freeze:  Wash thoroughly, lay in a single layer on a large cookie sheet. Place in the freezer until firm and then remove to freezer bags. You will not believe how amazing these taste in the middle of winter when you are crazing the summer sweetness of fresh produce! 

 Step-by-Step Instructions for Freezing Produce 

Putting Food By for Winter: Freezing

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Your turn!

How do you beat the heat and still feed your family? Since I'm not much of a griller, I'd love to hear some ideas and recipes from those of you who love to light up the gas or charcoal grill. Thanks so much! 

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Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope

IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT - CSA Box #7

You know the old saying: If you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen. I don't mean this in the traditional sense of exiting a confrontation. Instead, let's apply it to the extreme summer heat of the Midwest and literally, get out of the kitchen (or at least avoid the heat as best as we can).


For the next couple of weeks, we'll look at recipes that can be made with the crockpot, in the pressure cooker, on the grill, or with no cooking at all!  There definitely are ways that we can still provide meals for hungry families, without filling up the house with additional heat.

Let's begin with three recipes for the crockpot and no-cook three salad ideas.


(My posts contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I will receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. Thank you.) 

CROCKPOT RECIPES: 

1. Slow cooker vegetable soup. 

Sometimes, it's a great idea to take a page out of our grandparent's cooking manual. Having been through the Great Depression, our grands (or maybe great-grands, depending on your age) understood the importance of not wasting food. That's why at least once a week they made soup to use up all the odds and ends of vegetables left in the house.

I adore a great, big bowl of vegetable soup, no matter what time of the year. Here's a link to the recipe I like. It's not written for the slow cooker. Just add all the ingredients to the crockpot, place on "high" for 4-6 hours or "low" for 8 hours. I add a little liquid smoke and a couple of bay leaves. This soup is "souper" versatile. Basically, add what you have on hand and it always tastes great!

2. Crockpot Stuffed Cabbage

It's the website Spruce Eats to the rescue. I use them a lot and always seem to be able to find the perfect recipe. These cabbage rolls are easy peasy to throw together and walk away. Last night I used both purple and traditional green cabbage rolls. Pretty!

When you get home from work, just add a fresh salad and dinner is on the table!

3. Crockpot "Roasted" Beets

I discovered this week that there is a way to get that amazing flavor of roasted beets without using your oven! Yes!! This is life-changing for me. I absolutely adore oven roasted beets. But, I hate heating up my house in the summer. Once again, enter: the amazing people at The Spruce Eats. I have used them multiple times for recipes and always been very pleased with the results. 

SALAD RECIPES: 

1. Vegan Broccoli Apple Salad

Remember, those decadent summer salads as a kid? You know, the kind with mayonnaise dressing? Well, this broccoli salad from Vegan in the Freezer is even more delicious, but it's healthier, contains fewer calories, and features an easy vinaigrette. It will leave your guests begging for second helpings and the recipe!

2. Tomato Basil Corn Salad

This is not only classic, it's also easy and delicious! I'm absolutely convinced that color is critically important in how we experience food! That's why I particularly like this salad!

I have made Graham Kerr's version of it in the past. Anyone over the age of 50 will remember Graham as the Galloping Gourmet. He's a real gentleman, answering me personally several times when I had questions about food prep! Alas! I could not find his recipe on-line. Although, this one from Epicurious is very close. I used frozen corn, but my anticipation is building as FRESH corn season is just around the corner! When you use freshly grilled sweet corn, this is a treat worth repeating night after night!  

I love the colorful green and purple varieties of cauliflower! They make such a pretty salad! I'd like to introduce you to rainbow vegetable rice! This recipe will be featured in a brand new, soon-to-be-released cookbook by popular author, Kathy Hester. My sister, Robin, is one of the recipe testers for Kathy's new cookbook. So, while Robin was in town last week, we tested this recipe.

Let's just say, it was so amazing that I've already made it again! What a fantastic idea!  

2. Rainbow Vegetable Rice

This is simply a combination of riced cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. It makes 14-20 cups and you use it as a base for any number of different dishes. Kathy has a huge number of adaptations listed in her upcoming book. We tried two of them. Here's a link to Kathy's amazing website. You'll be able to find information soon on her soon-to-be-released new cookbook.

We added herbs, spices, nutritional yeast and plant-based milk to create "cheezy riced vegetables", which we used as a topping on baked potatoes. We also made it into a riced vegetable pilaf. 

However, in keeping with this "non-cook" portion of today's post, you could simply add a dressing and it becomes a delicious and easy summer salad. There you go! No heat in the kitchen!


If you don't have a ricer, get one! I love it! So, easy to use and clean up is a breeze! 

Here's one that does it all! 8 attachments and great customer reviews! 

Mueller Spiral-Ultra Multi-Blade Spiralizer, 8 into 1 Spiral Slicer, Heavy Duty Salad Utensil, Vegetable Pasta Maker and Mandoline Slicer for Low Carb/Paleo/Gluten-Free Meals

$50 WEEKLY MENU EXCLUSIVELY FEATURING KATHY HESTER RECIPES! 

To see more of Kathy's recipes, I used her website exclusively in my newest "$50 menu" post. I show you exactly what I made to feed my family for an entire week for just $50!

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To see all of my CSA posts, click here. 

To see all my $50 Weekly menus, click here. 

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Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope