Summer - TheFarmGirlCooks

Category: Summer

A Summer harvest is full of so many wonderful things the Farm Girl doesn’t know where to begin, except to make sure her grill is cleaned. Beautifully grilled vegetables, full bodied salads, and anything roasted make the summer harvest a celebration to be enjoyed!

Grilled Summer Salad Pizza

Posted on March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 by Kasha

Salad Pizza. If I had even suggested such a thing when I was a teen, my parents would have looked at me as though I had two heads. Pizza is crust, sauce, cheese, heat. Now, however, as an adult who appreciates healthier and more colorful adaptations of food classics, I think salad on a pizza sounds divine. Lettuce and cucumber? Not so much. Try spiralized zucchini and tomato with just a hint of cheese. Summer fun (or work, in my particular case) tends to cut into one's meal prep time, even if we rely on easy grilled dishes. Summertime saps...Read More

Stuffed Fairy Tale Eggplant

Posted on August 11, 2015February 25, 2018 by Kasha

It's been a good summer. I've been doing a whole lot of this: Not so much the eating corn thing, but the spending time with this special young man thing. My baby is going to middle school. I think I'm in shock. The time went by too quickly. When I started this blog in 2010, Thomas was halfway through kindergarten and about to turn six. I'm a little emotional, but mostly in a good, proud, smiley way. I'm in awe of the person he has become. The Boy has spent most of his summer vacation working on the farm....Read More

Grilled Bok Choy with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Posted on June 13, 2015February 25, 2018 by Kasha

I've come to the conclusion that I'm the type of person that needs to be completely overwhelmed with responsibilities before I can be remotely effective. I thrive on chaos, I think, and that scares me. I haven't felt creative enough to cook something AND drag out my camera to photograph it in a very long time. Loads of life happenings seem to be forcing me into a period of "get dinner on the table and clean up so you can do more... (insert task here, such as laundry, cleaning, bookkeeping, etc). It's becoming a real drag. However, now that we're being...Read More

For the Love of Quinoa!

Posted on April 22, 2014February 25, 2018 by Kasha

Quinoa (Keen-Wa), this protein packed grain is an amazing base for this nutritious summer salad. Quinoa combined with diced chicken, tender grapes, and sliced almonds make this a powerhouse of summer dishes. My son has a multitude of phrases that he will use rather than curse. I appreciate this, really, because at times I have the mouth of a truck driver and our relationship is such that I can say, "I know using words like this is not the best way to express myself, but you are still a child and 'do as I say, not as I do' is...Read More

Roasted Sweet Potato and Blue Cheese Main Dish Salad

Posted on May 16, 2013February 25, 2018 by Kasha

or.... they eat flowers, don't they? I do, for sure. In fact, at this time of year, when our homegrown onions are sprouty and bound for the compost heap, I get antsy for all things allium. I'm starting to panic a little. I've even gotten to the point where I ration the few onions I have left. I have this issue with BUYING vegetables that are 1) not local and 2) inferior to what we grow here in the fertile valley known as "the Black Dirt region". That's not to say that I don't buy produce in the off-season. I...Read More

DIY Taco Seasoning Mix

Posted on May 9, 2013February 25, 2018 by Kasha

I have a thing for spices, and for Taco seasoning. 'A thing' meaning I cannot stop buying them even if I don't use them. I use a lot, don't get me wrong. It's just that cardamom pods and Bell's poultry seasoning aren't exactly things I use every day. I needed them for a particular recipe and bought them, then they got lost behind the myriad other spice bottles in my closet that undoubtedly fall out onto my head when I'm digging around for something. I took Thomas grocery shopping with me the other day and he decided he wanted tacos...Read More

I Love You, Honey!

Posted on March 1, 2013February 25, 2018 by Kasha

Especially when you're whipped with butter and splashed with vanilla. WHAT?!?!?! Where did you THINK I was going with that? Honey Butter! Slathered on a delicious piece of toast, of course! Compound butters are no stranger to The Farm Girl. This maple-orange butter was equally delicious on roasted acorn squash, baked sweet potatoes and wheat toast. I was in the mood for something sweet and remembered making a honey-buttercream to top a yellow butter cake. It was fabulous, but way more work than I was up for at the time. I had some Irish soda bread on hand so I toasted some slices...Read More

Back to Basics: Homemade Croutons

Posted on January 18, 2013February 25, 2018 by Kasha

I grew up on store-bought croutons from a box. I sprinkled them atop iceberg lettuce in a turquoise Tupperware bowl and doused the mess with bottled French dressing. The rest of the family was content with homemade 'Russian' dressing: mayo, ketchup and sweet pickle relish. Isn't that kinda like Big Mac sauce? I haven't had a Big Mac in years! I'm guessing, though, that like everything else made today, they're not as big as they used to be. Except hearts... hearts are as big as ever and filled with much love. Case in point: The Boy After a particularly rowdy...Read More

Grilled Corn with Parsley-Garlic Butter and Parmesan

Posted on September 12, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

Parsley garlic butter with fresh parsley, to put on anything you can dream up. I was washing up bunches of parsley for our 3 markets last week and the smell caught me right there. You know the place. That place in your nose where the aroma hits you so deeply that it triggers your brain and makes you think you just have to have it - kinda like movie theater popcorn. I brought a bunch home and whipped it up in the food processor with a few cloves of garlic, a stick of unsalted butter, a few tablespoons of olive...Read More

Didja hear the one about the fresh mozzarella?

Posted on August 31, 2012February 25, 2018 by chris

He was two-timing the tomatoes with <gasp> Roasted Peppers! Yeah, I know, I KNOW! Vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil compose the quintessential summer salad. But sometimes a girl gets a little tired of tomatoes. Lest lightning strike me dead in my roll-y desk chair, I will admit that I LOVE TOMATOES. I prefer heirlooms, specifically our signature Polish Plum, fresh and still sun-warmed from the field. I also like a tomato that's been sitting on my counter for a week, even if I have to cut away a third of it because it rotted. Whatever. It's August (or September,...Read More