Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #3
Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #3
This week's box was the first box where I thought, "Wow, what am I actually going to make with this?" While it was quite the challenge, I cooked with fruits/veggies that I had never cooked with before, and it was so fun! I tried a pluot, a plum and apricot hybrid, for the first time (delicious) and even cooked with a raw banana pepper. Let's just say that I am happy with the results from this week! Check out what I came up with below... especially with the giant eggplant!
Carrots are my husband's favorite, so this week I decided to surprise him with Carrot Cake Cupcakes topped with a lemony cream cheese frosting. My husband loved them, and it was fun making a dessert with the produce! These carrot filled cupcakes are delicious, and the lemon frosting you could eat for days. I blogged the recipe... link below!
The banana pepper, potatoes, and tomatoes made their way into "breakfast for dinner." I sauteed the banana pepper and tomatoes before adding them to the omelet. This made the omelet so flavorful! Before this meal, I had never tried a raw banana pepper before. Usually, I eat them pickled on a sandwich. But now, I want to add banana peppers to all my omelets! I really liked the flavor they added!
I also love hash browns, especially when I get them super crispy. I cut the potatoes into thin slices and boiled them for a couple of minutes. Once soft, I threw them into a pan with sizzling butter. With a dash of salt and pepper, I just let them stay put as they crisped up. They were the perfect pairing for the omelet!
Butternut Squash, Pluots, Heirloom Tomatoes, & Beets: Butternut Squash Soup with Beet Salad
As soon as I saw the butternut squash, I knew I was going to make soup. My husband and I tried making roasted butternut squash soup last year, and it was a disaster. We roasted an unknowingly bad onion, which ruined the whole meal (talk about overpowering onion soup). So this week I was determined to make a comforting, delicious butternut squash soup. And, I succeeded! This soup was delicious! 10/10 recommend! I started with the recipe attached below and made my own tweaks to it as I went. (I added more carrot, used four cups of chicken broth with two cups of water, added white pepper and a pinch of cayenne, and finished the soup off with a cup of cream.) Seriously, the soup's a winner!
Now for the delicious salad paired with the soup, it was *amazing.* Mix greens with grated raw beets, diced pluots, slices of tomatoes, chopped almonds all drizzled in a balsamic vinaigrette is now one of my favorite salads. Everything married well together and was the perfect side for the warm soup. My one tip is careful with the beets! They stain everything, including your hands. The stain is worth it though... delicious!
Untweaked Soup Recipe: https://tasty.co/recipe/butternut-squash-soup
Eggplant: Pulled Eggplant Sandwich
When I first opened the box this week, my eyes immediately fell on the giant eggplant. Oh no! I felt like I was running out of ideas and searched the Internet for eggplant meal recipes. I came upon this pulled eggplant sandwich, a play on pulled pork, and thought I would give it a try. After spending a whole afternoon on the dish, I give the spices and flavor of the eggplant an A+. They were great. However, the texture was just so off! The eggplant was kind of slimy and just not the texture of pork. We won't be making this recipe again! But hey, would you be able to tell that the picture below isn't pork? Looks ok right? Let me know what vegetables you would use as a substitute for meat!
Zucchini: Salmon with Roasted Zucchini
As you can tell from previous weeks, we love broiling salmon with vegetables. The meal is just so easy and healthy! I love roasted zucchini, and the red bell pepper adds another level of flavor! We topped the vegetables with Parmesan cheese and a splash of lemon juice. 10/10 recommend!
Peaches, Apples, & Cucumber: Snacks
The peaches, apples, and cucumber went fast! We sure do love snacking on apples, peaches, and cucumbers. These disappeared before I could make a recipe with them! With apple season around the corner, I am excited to cook with apples!
How did I do this week? What would you have done with the produce? Let me know if you recreate anything I made this week!
More Links:
What's in the box?
Carrots
Zucchini
Banana Pepper
Potatoes
Potatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes
Butternut Squash
Butternut Squash
Beets
Pluots
Peaches
Peaches
Apples
Cucumber
and 1 Large Eggplant - HUGE
Carrots: Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Banana Pepper, Potatoes, & Heirloom Tomatoes: Omelet with Crispy Hash Browns
The banana pepper, potatoes, and tomatoes made their way into "breakfast for dinner." I sauteed the banana pepper and tomatoes before adding them to the omelet. This made the omelet so flavorful! Before this meal, I had never tried a raw banana pepper before. Usually, I eat them pickled on a sandwich. But now, I want to add banana peppers to all my omelets! I really liked the flavor they added!
I also love hash browns, especially when I get them super crispy. I cut the potatoes into thin slices and boiled them for a couple of minutes. Once soft, I threw them into a pan with sizzling butter. With a dash of salt and pepper, I just let them stay put as they crisped up. They were the perfect pairing for the omelet!
Butternut Squash, Pluots, Heirloom Tomatoes, & Beets: Butternut Squash Soup with Beet Salad
As soon as I saw the butternut squash, I knew I was going to make soup. My husband and I tried making roasted butternut squash soup last year, and it was a disaster. We roasted an unknowingly bad onion, which ruined the whole meal (talk about overpowering onion soup). So this week I was determined to make a comforting, delicious butternut squash soup. And, I succeeded! This soup was delicious! 10/10 recommend! I started with the recipe attached below and made my own tweaks to it as I went. (I added more carrot, used four cups of chicken broth with two cups of water, added white pepper and a pinch of cayenne, and finished the soup off with a cup of cream.) Seriously, the soup's a winner!
Now for the delicious salad paired with the soup, it was *amazing.* Mix greens with grated raw beets, diced pluots, slices of tomatoes, chopped almonds all drizzled in a balsamic vinaigrette is now one of my favorite salads. Everything married well together and was the perfect side for the warm soup. My one tip is careful with the beets! They stain everything, including your hands. The stain is worth it though... delicious!
Untweaked Soup Recipe: https://tasty.co/recipe/butternut-squash-soup
Eggplant: Pulled Eggplant Sandwich
When I first opened the box this week, my eyes immediately fell on the giant eggplant. Oh no! I felt like I was running out of ideas and searched the Internet for eggplant meal recipes. I came upon this pulled eggplant sandwich, a play on pulled pork, and thought I would give it a try. After spending a whole afternoon on the dish, I give the spices and flavor of the eggplant an A+. They were great. However, the texture was just so off! The eggplant was kind of slimy and just not the texture of pork. We won't be making this recipe again! But hey, would you be able to tell that the picture below isn't pork? Looks ok right? Let me know what vegetables you would use as a substitute for meat!
Zucchini: Salmon with Roasted Zucchini
As you can tell from previous weeks, we love broiling salmon with vegetables. The meal is just so easy and healthy! I love roasted zucchini, and the red bell pepper adds another level of flavor! We topped the vegetables with Parmesan cheese and a splash of lemon juice. 10/10 recommend!
Peaches, Apples, & Cucumber: Snacks
The peaches, apples, and cucumber went fast! We sure do love snacking on apples, peaches, and cucumbers. These disappeared before I could make a recipe with them! With apple season around the corner, I am excited to cook with apples!
How did I do this week? What would you have done with the produce? Let me know if you recreate anything I made this week!
More Links:
Box #2 Butter Chicken with Watermelon for Dessert, Very Homemade Sushi: Custom California Roll, Chicken Orzo with Vegetables, Waffles with Peaches
Box #1 Fruit Salad, Broiled Salmon with Vegetables, Eggplant Roll-Ups, Carrots with Hummus
**One of my favorite boxes
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