Cajun Rice Dressing with Eggplant

One of my favorite summer vegetables is eggplant. I was delighted open Week One’s CSA basket and find that it included these two beautiful eggplants. Eggplant can be prepared in so many ways, it’s hard to pick a favorite recipe. Here is one that I adapted to include this vegetable: Cajun Rice Dressing with Eggplant. I made it for our family–my husband and I ate the entire dish in one meal.

Eggplant - IMG_7036_1

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Project

This fall I feel like I’m on the television show “Chopped”. I am participating in CSA through my employer. On Monday I get a box of fresh produce from a local farmer to bring home and cook. Get ready, open basket, wait for the buzzer to go off and I’ve got a week to cook the box of food. It’s a fun challenge! And generous helping of fresh vegetables for our family.

Week One CSA - 2 - IMG_6986_1

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Roasted Tomato Soup

Do tomatoes grow in Louisiana? Yes, they do. I have not had much luck, however, at growing them in my garden. But thanks to roadside stands and farmers’ markets, I purchased some juicy, ripe tomatoes. And I saved a recipe for “Roasted Tomato Soup”, hoping for the right occasion to use it.

Roasted Tomato Soup - IMG_6752

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In Search of the Best Summer Tomato

My favorite summer vegetable is a vine ripe, juicy tomato. You won’t find this in a grocery store for reasons of transport and storage–plus tomatoes don’t ripen appreciably once they are picked and chilled. A farmer’s market, roadside stand or a summer garden is where you’ll find ripe tomatoes. My annual summer search for the best tomato met with success in a very unusual way during a recent trip to Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.

Homegrown Tomatoes - 2 - IMG_6613

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Dill Pickle Potato Salad – Unplugged

Some foods are just better when they are homemade. One of these is potato salad. There is no comparison with prepared potato salads from a grocery store. In Louisiana, it seems that potato salad accompanies almost every type of social meal. Most cooks have a favorite recipe or two and so do I. One of my favorite recipes includes dill pickles and pickle juice.

ingredients for dill pickle potato salad - IMG_5981_1

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