it’s moving week in our house! it feels like we have been prepping to move forever. we are temporarily moving into a basement apartment (8-12 weeks) so most of our stuff has to go into storage…which has made packing a little more challenging. needless to say, this week will be full of simple quick meals! i am still trying to eat down our pantry & freezer and every ingredient in this dish i had on hand. (the onions and yellow squash were from our CSA share last week).
we don’t eat a ton of gluten free grains, but the four main ones that we still incorporate into meals are rice, corn, quinoa and some gf rolled oats. one thing i am pretty strict on is what i cook my rice and quinoa in. i very rarely just cook it in water, but instead always try to use homemade bone broth (i freeze it in big batches). i could write a huge long post on the benefits and nutrients packed into bone broth (and after this move, i will). i drink a big mug of it everyday, but getting it into my kids is fairly challenging. i have found that cooking grains and other dishes in it, is a fool proof way to get some broth into my family’s diet. here is my quick: beef, rice and yellow squash skillet dish!
i am super excited about my 3 new jars of veggies that are fermenting on my counter right now. we got some yummy pickling cucumbers and a beautiful head of red cabbage in our CSA share last week, so i knew i needed to try some new recipes with them. i have two types of cucumbers recipes turning into lacto-fermented pickles, one is a pretty simple garlic-dill and the second has more kick with some cayenne and red pepper flakes. i will hopefully be sharing the recipes in a few days when they are done (i have no clue how they are going to taste). i also made a batch of garden dill fermented veggies, featuring red & green cabbage, a cucumber, carrots, garlic and dill. dont’ they look pretty! i can’t wait to try them.
also, this week i have been busy freezing blueberries. we try to freeze 50-70 lbs each summer and typically those won’t make it through the whole year, but that really is about all the freezer space i can give up. i wash and dry them and then flash freeze them on cookie sheets before putting in containers. we love blueberries in this house!
i have been a horrible blogger. between a much needed mini-vacation to the beach/dunes in michigan, shooting weddings, a large pile of design work, canning a ton of peaches (in the 95 degree heat), house & land closings and now packing for our first move to temporary housing…i have been a little busy. never fear, my husband and i have still been cooking a ton and trying to keep healthy, nourishing meals in front of our family during this busy season of our lives. so, my little blog has suffered a bit, but i do have a bunch of recipes to share (i just need to find the time to share them).
here is a family favorite side dish. our csa share last week was just screaming for me to make ratatouille from it. i had these amazing onions, a huge bunch of fresh basil, a few varieties of japanese eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash! i know this is nowhere near how traditional french ratatouille is made, but this is easy, quick and still has amazing flavor! the only main items used in this dish that were not fresh from our csa were the crushed tomatoes & garlic cloves. that makes me happy!
the picture is right before the ratatouille went into the oven.
side note: a lot of ratatouille recipes include red or yellow bell peppers in them. i think that they would make a wonderful addition. i just didn’t have any.
Hi, I am Jennifer and I am a Functional Medicine Health Coach that is passionate about helping busy moms simplify their family & athletes’ health through clean eating & meal prep