big bowl of summer vegetables

big bowl of veg!

While my husband was away for his two-week bicycle adventure, I was left at home to make do with our CSA share. For the past 2 years, we’ve shared our farm share basket with another couple, as one whole share is just too much for a couple. It works out great. But for two weeks, I was going to be the only one eating those organic vegetables. So what’s a girl to do with a gigantic haul of vegetables carried by bike & stuffed into 2 panniers back to her kitchen?

While I did pass a few cukes off to a neighbour and had a bunch of friends over for a “Help Me Eat Up My CSA Haul Luncheon”, I still had a lot on my plate, so to speak. I quickly realized that often by the end of the day I’d be sacked and poking around the vegetable crisper for ideas could result in popcorn for dinner just to make things easy. So one morning, I just decided to put together a bunch of random veggies in a bowl and call it breakfast.

big bowl of veg!

I had some great local corn and fresh dill (not from our CSA) and diced up some green beans, broccoli, mizuna, chard, garlic and red onion. I wanted all the vegetables to cook at similar rates and wanted everything to be about the same size as the corn. I sauteed everything in a bit of olive oil and squeezed lemon over everything when it was almost done. I also had a few remaining drops of heavy cream in the fridge, so that went in as well.

My huge bowl of summer vegetables was tasty. Everything was local and fresh and the corn provided such a great amount of natural sweetness and the dill was the perfect herb here. I called this breakfast, but it would be best as a fantastic side dish – perfect alongside some roasted chicken, a tomato-corn biscuit pie or a black bean burger. And because the taste is reliant on fresh and local, use whatever you’ve got on hand. Zucchini, summer squash or your favorite garden herb would be smart additions. Whatever you’ve got lots of in your garden or CSA share, throw it in!

big bowl of veg

Elsewhere: Hankering for cake? Try this simple Swedish Visiting Cake recipe over at Poppytalk.

16 comments to “big bowl of summer vegetables”

  1. 1
    Claudia   September 2, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    Corn may be the new bacon. Why does everything taste better… sweeter…with corn? With all the produce coming in (really, everyone’s garden has been on steroids), this is a satisfying bowl. That dab of heavy cream – surprising and satisfying.

  2. 2
    Maddie   September 2, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    I’m so bleary-eyed in the morning, it’d be hard to employ my knife skills without chopping off a finger. But I bet the ingredients could be prepped the night before, and cooked quickly in the morning? If so, I’m sold…we’re always trying valiantly to get through our week’s worth of veggies, too!

  3. 3
    Jacqui   September 2, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Wow, hands down this “big bowl” takes the cake when it comes to using up what’s in your fridge!

  4. 4
    Joanne   September 3, 2010 at 3:20 am

    I didn’t get a CSA share this summer because I couldn’t get anyone to go in on it with me. But next summer, I’m definitely doing it. I’ll just start eating the veggies for breakfast. 😛

    This sounds delicious!

  5. 5
    Bijoux   September 3, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    Looks incredibly tasty and healthy and yes, to me even a splash of cream qualifies as healthy 🙂 I’ve never heard or seen mizuna before, must Google 🙂

  6. 6
    Sues   September 3, 2010 at 7:58 pm

    Sometimes there’s nothing better than a big bowl of veggies for dinner. But yes, sometimes cake is nice too 🙂

  7. 7
    newlywed   September 4, 2010 at 7:57 am

    Looks great…I’d love to try tossing some scrambled eggs in there as well.

  8. 8
    kickpleat   September 4, 2010 at 9:53 am

    Claudia, I love corn in most everything! I does add so much to a dish.

    Maddie, you could try to prep the night before….or just make this for dinner! No need to be a weirdo like me!

    Thanks Jacqui! You do what you gotta do.

    Ha, Joanne, sounds like a great plan!

    Bijoux, I think the splash of cream is quite nominal, so I wouldn’t worry about it either! Mizuna is a type of mustard green. It’s pretty delicious.

    Cake is definitely a good thing for dinner, Sues!

    Newlywed, sounds perfect! Or a lightly poached or fried egg on top. Yum!

  9. 9
    Redmenace   September 4, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    Wow! That’s a lot of veggies. Looks so delicious!

  10. 10
    Dana   September 6, 2010 at 4:59 pm

    I let go of my CSA because I wasn’t thrilled with the quality but I do miss the creativity that comes with having one. I don’t miss the “what the hell am I going to do with all this kale” crises however. This is my kind of breakfast! Nice and savory and super healthy.

  11. 11
    kickpleat   September 7, 2010 at 12:46 am

    So true, redmenace. It was.

    Dana, last year we weren’t sure we’d continue with our csa because we just kept getting way too many bitter greens. This year has been so amazing! And so was this breakfast 🙂

  12. 12
    Ashley   September 8, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    Given that I prefer savoury things to sweet things I am loving this breakfast you’ve created!

  13. 13
    kickpleat   September 9, 2010 at 3:37 pm

    Thanks Ashley, who says we have to eat regular breakfast foods?

  14. 14
    bonniebonnielass   September 12, 2010 at 3:51 am

    I would eat this for breakfast any day.

  15. 15
    kickpleat   September 13, 2010 at 10:27 am

    Bonnie, enjoy 🙂

  16. 16
    catherine   September 30, 2010 at 8:39 am

    i made this recipe last night and it was completely satisfying and delicious! i replaced the heavy cream with with greek yogurt since i had that on hand. it was a delicious variation and added a nice zip!

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