Last week I bought more vegetables than I needed for meals. And then on Saturday I got my awesome CSA box stuffed with all kinds of fun vegetables. As exciting as all of this was, I was up to my ears in vegetables and I am leaving town on Wednesday. Things would go bad… unless… yes! I’ll cook EVERYTHING!

Sunday afternoon I decided that everything had to be cooked. We could eat a little with dinner and take some for lunch. Here is what I had to work with:

• Kale
• Red potatoes
• Swiss chard
• green onions
• garlic scapes
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• brussel sprouts

(Garlic scapes are the stalks that grow out of the top of the garlic while it is in the ground. They have wonderful garlic flavor that is more mild than a clove of garlic. You can chop them like you would a scallion and toss them with just about anything for light garlic flavor — cook them or don’t. Your choice. Not only do they add great flavor, they also add color which garlic cloves obviously do not. They are my new favorites.)

Dish #1: Swiss Chard and Barley

• Swiss chard — cleaned and chopped
• 1 cup of barley cooked (add the barley to a pot of boiling water for about 40 min or so. Drain.)
• Garlic scapes — chopped
• Green onions — chopped
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Cracked red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt & pepper

When you chop the chard, separate the red stems from the leaves. They are tough so they need to cook longer than the leaves. Heat the oil in a pan. Saute the onions and garlic scapes until fragrant. Add the red pepper flakes, salt & pepper, and a few shakes of balsamic. Then toss in the stems of the chard. Once they are tender, toss in the leaves. Stir everything together until the leaves are wilted. Stir in the barley so it is coated in the oil and vinegar mixture.

This was a delicious dish — savory from the garlic scapes and green onions, tart from the balsamic, and extremely nutritious. You could substitute any flavorful liquid for the balsamic and any seasonings that you like. You could also use rice or beans instead of the barley if you prefer.

Dish #2: Mashed potatoes with green onions, garlic scapes, and basil

• Red potatoes
• Green onions — chopped
• garlic scapes — chopped
• basil — chopped
• butter
• milk
• salt & pepper

Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. (I like to leave the skin on but it is your call.) Once the water boils, cook for 15 minutes. Check to see if they are soft. Drain and mash. Add a hunk of butter to the pan — at least a tablespoon, but you can add more if you would like more buttery flavor. To quote the great Paula Deen, “you can always add, but you cain’t take away!” Saute the onions and garlic scapes in the butter until fragrant. Reduce the heat to low and put the mashed potatoes in the pot with the onions and garlic scapes; stir. Add a little milk (whatever kind you have on hand) until it is creamy. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Once the potatoes are well mixed, remove from the heat and stir in the basil.

These potatoes were terrific! So flavorful! I will definitely be making these again.

Dish #3: Zucchini and Yellow Squash salad

This one was my favorite. I love zucchini and yellow squash but I never buy it because my husband doesn’t like it. Cooking separate dishes is usually not worth the effort. Getting these veggies in my CSA box gave me a reason to cook them! This recipe actually came on the note in my box this week. They include recipes every week, but this is the first one that really grabbed me. It sounded delicious!

• Zucchini and squash — chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/4 cup of butter
• garlic scapes
• cilantro
• salt & pepper

Melt the butter in a pan. Once melted, toss in all of the other ingredients. If you use a pan with a large surface area like a frying pan, you can get a nice carmalization going on the zucchini and squash. Because I was cooking so much, I was trying to reuse as many pans as I could to cut down on clean up time. I used the same big pot that I used for the potatoes; I just rinsed the potato-residue out. This just meant that the zucchini and squash sort of steamed in the butter because every piece couldn’t touch the hot surface of the pot. Whatever you use, keep stirring to make sure everything is nice and buttery, and to ensure even cooking. When the zucchini and squash are cooked through, remove from the heat and fold in the cilantro. (I love cilantro, but you could use any fresh herb you like — basil or mint would also be great.) Easy as that!

I think this was my favorite dish. The garlic scapes sort of infused the butter and the squashes sucked up all of that delicious flavor. Then with the cilantro… oooooh… very good. Even though it is hot when you prepare it, I actually think the flavors are best when it is served room temp or cold. If you do serve it cold, make sure you let it completely cool before putting it in the fridge! There is a lot of moisture in those squashes and putting it right in the fridge will make it soggy with condensation.

Dish #4: Roasted Kale

Kale is a leafy green that you can easily find in your regular grocery store. It is very firm and has a lot of great flavor. There are many ways to cook it, but my favorite is to roast it. If you can push the buttons on your oven, you can make this dish.

• Kale — pull the leaves from the stems. The stems are too tough to eat.
• Olive oil
• Sesame oil
• Sesame seeds
• Black pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Chop the kale into manageable pieces. Toss the kale with a little olive oil, a few dashes of sesame oil (a little goes a VERY long way), and a bit of black pepper — just enough to coat. Don’t add too much! Spread it on a baking sheet in one layer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Put it in the oven for about 15 minutes, but check it after about 10 minutes. The edges will get brown and the leaves will wilt just a bit. Don’t let the edges burn, but do let them get nice and toasty. To see if it is done, taste a piece. It should have some bite too it, but it shouldn’t be tough.

I love roasted kale. It gets a great roasty flavor that is complimented by the sesame oil and seeds. Roasting the kale is also a different way to serve greens. You can only have steamed or sauteed greens so often. This is a great way to mix up your usual routine (or create a new routine!).

Dish #5: Roasted brussel sprouts

Don’t run away! Brussel sprouts are GOOD, I promise! I think these little guys got a bad reputation because people thought that they had to be steamed. Steaming them makes them gross. No other way to put that. We eat a lot of brussel sprouts… only roasted or grilled. This time I roasted them.

• Brussel sprouts
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Three ingredients! That’s it!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Trim the little stem off the bottom of the brussels. You’ll see… that little nub at the bottom that doesn’t look tasty… cut it off. Then cut them in half long-ways. Throw them in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sometimes I use garlic powder or some cayenne. Depends on my mood. Whatever you use, just use a little. These little guys get excellent roasty flavor, so don’t overdo it with the seasonings. Spread them cut-side down on a baking sheet. You want them to be flat. Put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Check them after 10 minutes — it could take up to 20 minutes for them to cook depending on how large they are. Once the cut side is brown and the leafy side is a little wrinkly, they should be done. Poke them with a fork to check. There should be a little resistance, but not too much. Soggy is bad! But so is raw.

I promise you’ll love these. You could do the same thing on the grill. Just put the halves on a skewer. I usually put the skewers on the warming rack of my grill so the thin little outer leaves don’t burn before they cook through. You are really cooking them the exact same way as if you roasted them.

Phew! All done. That was a lot of cooking, but now I don’t have to worry about things going bad. By the end, my kitchen was hot as… well, you know… and I had a small buffet of side dishes lined up on my counter. They were all wonderfully delicious, easy to make, and easy to adapt to your preferences.

Let me know if you make any of them!