We’re also going to have rhubarb-strawberry crumble.

Rhubarb-strawberry crumble

After eating, I’d have to say that tonight’s veggie burgers were probably the least tasty of the three – they were mostly brown, and mushy textured. The recipe included nuts, which is what gives the mushroom-pecan paté a good texture – but I think the walnuts in these burgers were just overwhelmed by the beans and being pureed in the food processor. And I used a can of refried beans in lieu of the whole pintos called for – plus, I made the burgers from leftovers – it’s probably still worth a try with fresh ingredients. And, I still have high hopes for the crumble. Which were fulfilled. I increased the sugar just enough (since rhubarb’s tarter than strawberries), the Nigella Lawson trick of adding leavening to the topping worked a charm (the principle being that if you add leavening, the topping rises when baked – so you have more topping, that’s crispy & light, without adding more butter, flour, or sugar, heavy-ing everything, and risking upsetting the ratio), and the orange zest & juice were a good sub for lemon.

On Thursday I taught a cooking class for using up the stuff in your CSA box, at the kitchen of a church on the west side. Gorgeous dining room; not so well-equipped kitchen. We made 5 dishes: Dressing in the bowl supper salad, crispy zucchini or summer squash rounds, ramen salad, butter braised turnips and their greens (or other greens, like spinach) and strawberry pizza. There was one vegan, no gluten, eater in the group. I reduced the sugar in the ramen salad from what I usually use, and left out the seasoning packets, since they have some form of chicken in them. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with those seasoning packets. In some Mollie Katzen recipe or other, where she’s introducing ramen noodles, she instructs: first open the noodles, and throw out the seasoning packets. But I met the ramen salad at potlucks here in WI, where it turns up alongside the equally bad for you broccoli salad, that includes bacon, lots of white sugar, cheddar cheese, often sunflower seeds or other nuts, and often raisons. The seasoning packets seem to give the ramen salad that true junk food potluck taste. This no seasoning packet version was good, though, in a more healthful way. We didn’t get the cabbage sliced quite thin enough, nor the noodles quite toasted enough; blame it on the church kitchen electric stove (tilted burners). I also braised the turnips in olive oil instead of butter, so the vegan could eat them. And we made some plain grilled zucchini.

On Friday I served the first of the summer small plates buffets at School Woods – meatball sliders and little mushroom pate sandwiches, spring rolls, caramelized onion dip (I used Heidi’s recipe, but instead of adding onion powder, I added a pinch of brown sugar & a little soy sauce to the onions when they were almost done) chips and carrots, cucumbers and sugar snaps for dipping, olives and wasabi peas munch mix, and cheesecake squares for dessert. Prosecco Negronis and peach tea lemonade. Everything was good, but I think the sliders were the biggest hit, although I liked the mushroom pate sandwiches, with grainy mustard and lettuce on whole wheat cocktail buns. In fact I might even have one for dinner tonight, so maybe I’ll get a picture. Speaking of leftovers, the meatball sliders cooked in a tomato sauce, and there’s some of that sauce and a few meatballs left – which should be just enough to construct a good zucchini Parmesan, with the zucchini rounds leftover from the class.

Reduced-sugar ramen salad

Reduced-sugar ramen salad

Meatball sliders in foil

Meatball sliders in foil - only three left

Spring rolls: lettuce, peanut sauce, cabbage, carrots, cellophane noodles, herbs (cilantro, basil, mint)

Spring rolls

Leftover cheesecake squares

Leftover cheesecake squares

Leftover cheesecake squares

Crispy zucchini - the foundation of zucchini Parmesan

Mushroom pate slider - 4th of July lunch

Mushroom pate slider - 4th of July lunch

Mushroom pate slider with tomato garnish (and enough light)