I know most of the food posts that I have done have been centered around eating out but really, I love to cook at home. Cooking, for me, is one of those rare activities in life where I am truly at peace and feel the most relaxed. I need to start cooking more. Period.

I recently set the goal to cook dinner at home 6 nights a week. Also, Reg and I are trying to eat a completely vegetarian diet! So, to spark up the creativity for some fun meals in our home we decided to join a local CSA, JR Organics. For around $25.00 a week, we will receive a small box of seasonal, organic fruits and vegetables. Every week is different so I can say good-bye to falling into any kind of boring eating pattern. Plus, you are supporting a local business and doing something beautiful for the environment–what is not to love? 🙂

Check out this week’s loot…

A bag of shelling peas, 2 bags of mixed greens, a pint of strawberries, 5 blood oranges, 3 medium sized summer squash, 3 avocados, and a bunch of broccolini–all organic! Heaven.

I was really excited and immediately tried to devise a meal that would involve every single item in the shipment. Yes, I am a little crazy. What can I say? I was really excited!

So, I finally calmed down and decided on using the squash, strawberries, and the mixed greens. I really wanted to use the avocado too but they were not quite ready! With the squash, I immediately knew what I wanted to make–crispy, salty pancakes. Yes, pancakes. Just trust me. This was a good one.

I took 2 of the squash and chopped off those ends. Just a little though!

Then I used my trusty old-fashioned cheese grater to grate both pieces. I got a killer arm workout too. Score!

Then I took some chopped garlic…

a large egg…

FRESHLY grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Grating it right before really does make all of the difference in the world…

And FRESHLY ground whole wheat bread crumbs to make…

This! Cheesy, veggie filled “pancake” mix!

After heating up some olive oil, I placed about a tablespoons worth of the squash mixture into the pan. I cooked them for 2-3 minutes on each side until they looked like this:

Hello, delicious.

Speaking of delicious, can we take a moment to look at these strawberries? I am so glad it is strawberry season and, boy, were these babies sweet! I chopped 4 large strawberries and tossed them with 2 cups of the mixed greens and 2 tablespoons of Brianna’s Poppyseed Dressing. This is the first time I tried the dressing and I think I overdid it a little bit. A little definitely goes a long way but I would recommend trying it.

I topped my serving with a bit of crumbled goat cheese.

Bon appétit!

Summer Squash Pancakes

4 Servings

2 medium-sized summer squash

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

3/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup freshly grated whole wheat breadcrumbs*

4 teaspoons olive oil

4 oz. crumbled goat cheese (optional)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cut off one end of each piece of squash and grate into a medium-sized bowl.

2. Add garlic, cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper to squash mixture.

3. Place 2 teaspoons of olive oil into a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat until smoking.

4. Add rounded tablespoons of squash mixture to pan and flatten with back of the spatula. Lower temperature to medium heat and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

5. Repeat with the rest of the mixture using the rest of the oil as needed.

6. Serve immediately and enjoy!

*I broil 2 pieces of whole wheat bread for 3 minutes per side then pop them in my Vita-Mix until crumbly.

P.S. Have you heard? Use the code SPRING10 (in the Message to Seller area) for 20% off any item in the Hello, I Love You Jewelry etsy store until May 22, 2010!

xo,

Jenna