After googling my options, I settled on the Pioneer Woman’s recipe as a solid basis from a trusted source. Seriously, go check it out, because the recipe is good, and the pictures are awesome.

Side Note: I seriously think people may devote too much creativity to coming up with mac & cheese variations. I can understand wanting a roux/no roux option (although, really, if you can whisk, you can make a roux), but I found an overwhelming jungle of options, even when I narrowed it down to trusted sources.

My variation included whole wheat pasta (some people don’t like whole wheat pasta, but I really really do) and about a million cheeses. Okay, really, probably 6; the co-op has baskets with smaller pieces of whatever kinds of cheeses they’ve been cutting lately, so I got several different kinds (two cheddars, a gruyere, and a raw milk monterey jack) and added some bits I had at the house (parmesan, mozzarella).

It was so delicious I had to put it away to prevent myself from eating way, way too much. Yummy dinner, yummy leftovers. This is what I live for.

Macaroni and Cheese: A+

In an attempt to balance things out, and also because we got a ton of broccoli from our farm share this week, I tried a recipe I’d heard great things about: Ina Garten’s Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli. I stuck pretty close to the recipe on this one, and man, it is tasty. So tasty that Ian, who does not love broccoli as I do, said it was really good. Which gives me like two broccoli recipes that Ian likes. It’s a start!

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli: A

Side Note 2: Ina Garten may be old news to some, but she only came into my life earlier this spring, when I was flipping through the channels and came upon her making her Spring Green Risotto, which first hypnotized me then compelled me to cook it within the week. I can say with a straight face that this recipe changed my life, since it introduced me to mascarpone, which I had a brief but delicious affair with this spring. But it’s also a great recipe for the first vegetables of the summer. Delicious.

Now, I still may struggle, but I’ve got a couple of go to delicious recipes, and the firm confidence that I really like fennel a lot. It’s so crunchy! And liquorice-y! But not TOO liquorice-y! So full of fiber, Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

We got a bunch of fennel when we went to work at our CSA farm a few weeks ago. At our CSA, members need to work one day during the season. The day you work, you can take home the veggies left over after all of the farm share bags are filled. It is one of the great pleasures of my farm workday. This year, I scored some fennel.

This salad is easy (if you can chop and stir, you are golden), cool (minimal cooking), and highly nutritious. Hurray!

For another super delicious fennel recipe, try this Tomato, Avocado and Fennel Panzanella from Two Blue Lemons. I wish I had this in front of me right now!

Fennel, Quinoa and Carrot Salad

For salad, use approximately equal amounts. Or not. It’s your salad:

• Fennel – including stalks, sliced finely (use a mandolin or just practice your knife skills).
• Cooked Quinoa – I just get salted water boiling (double the volume of the quinoa), throw in my rinsed quinoa, and cook over low heat until the water is absorbed.
• Carrot – peel (or just scrub, if you are using yummy fresh carrots) and grate.

Just mix it together.

For dressing (this is how I make my cumin dressing, but if you have a recipe you like more, it will still be delicious):

• Juice of one orange (plus some zest if you feel the zest love), or equivalent
• Juice of one lemon (zest if desired), or equivalent
• Juice of one lime (zest if desired), or equivalent
• 2-3 tablespoons of cumin
• ~3 tablespoons olive oil, more if desired
• salt to taste

Just whisk it together. And pour it on the salad. And mix it in.

I like to garnish this salad with cashews. They add nice texture, nice flavor, and some protein. I have eaten this salad warm (from the residual heat of the quinoa) or cool, and it’s been yummy either way.

To help me get my game face on, I made this Sesame noodle, Green Bean and Carrot Salad from Epicurious. With a few revisions.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spicy-Sesame-Noodle-Green-Bean-and-Carrot-Salad-5472

Revisions: I added tofu for protein. My go-to tofu preparation, as someone who is convinced that I don’t need to eat meat constantly, but also as someone who is not completely convinced about tofu, is to cut extra firm tofu into quarter-inch cubes and fry it in a hot, enameled cast iron skillet with a bit of oil (in this case, canola and a bit of sesame oil) and some Sriracha, which adds flavor and seems to make things caramelize a bit better than leaving it out.

I also used a bunch more green beans, because I had a crap ton from our farm day at our CSA farm (Spring Hill Community Farm; they are awesome) and wanted to use them up before they went bad. And I threw in some Sriracha, not solely because I am obsessed, but also because my pantry was shy a hot pepper or two.

The big surprise with this recipe was just how orangey the orange zest made it. Although this won’t make it into the rotation like Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans with Feta, overall, this recipe did what I asked it to: provided good nutrition to counteract the next day’s State Fair gluttony, while tasting pretty good. A solid B.

The quantities in this recipe sound very precise, but it’s pretty flexible. It’s really “as many potatoes as will fill a 12-inch skillet and a good size bag of green beans.” Potato recipe based on a skillet-roasted potatoes recipe from Cook’s Illustrated (June 2005). The rest of the recipe from the weekly newsletter from Spring Hill Community Farm.

• 1.5 lb small or medium red bliss or yukon gold potatoes (this is good with every little potato I’ve tried)
• 2 tb olive oil plus enough olive oil to equal the amount of juice you get from the lemon
• 3/4 lb green beans
• 1/3 c chopped fresh basil
• juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 lb crumbled feta

1. Heat first 2 tb of olive oil in a heavy-bottom 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. If you have cast iron, this is an awesome time to use it.
2. While the oil and skillet heat up, cut your potatoes. If using small potatoes (1.5 to 2 in diameter) halve the potatoes. If using medium potatoes (2-3 in diameter), quarter them.
3. Once the oil in the skillet is shimmering, add your potatoes, cut side down, in a single layer – you might want to use tongs.
4. Cook potatoes without stirring until golden brown (5-7 minutes).
5. Turn the pototoes (I suggest using tongs again), either to second cut side down (medium potatoes that you quartered) or skin side down (small potatoes that you cut in half).
6. Cook without stirring until golden brown on second side (probably another 5 to 6 minutes)
7. Stir potatoes, then redistribute in a single layer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender (try one) – this will probably be 6-9 minutes.
8. Once you get your potatoes in the pan, put a pot of salted water to boil over high heat.
9. While the water boils and the potatoes cook, trim the ends off of your green beans and cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces
10. When the water is boiling, add the green beans and add until they are crisp tender or just shy, 4-7 minutes (take them off the heat when they are a little less done than you like; they’ll keep cooking after they’re removed from the heat). Drain.
11. While the green beans are cooking, chop your basil.
12. Juice your lemon. When it’s juiced, whisk the lemon juice together with an equal amount of olive oil. You can also add some lemon zest from your lemon if you’re feeling sassy. I’m becoming a huge fan of zesting, because it is a little bit of effort to add a lot of flavor.
13. Put the potatoes and green beans in a large boil as they finish cooking. When both are done, add your basil, olive oil/lemon juice, and feta. Season with salt and pepper as you like.
14. Oh man, yum.