What to Eat This Week – Savor Your Summer Produce

I’m finally getting more than just lettuces and variations on leafy things from my farm share! When there is so much local and fresh produce available, I do everything in my power to make sure we use some in every evening meal. By Sunday, I usually just throw together a quick succotash or stir fry with whatever I have left after the week is over, but once I know what I’m getting from the farm share, I plan a week of delicious dinners. You can do the same once you get the lay of the land in your grocery store – find out what is coming from local farms, and support them by buying what is seasonal and fresh. Everybody wins when we take the time to support our farmers.

Farm shares and fresh, local veggies are #WhatToEatThisWeek @cabotcheese Click To Tweet

So for #WhatToEatThisWeek, we’re savoring summer produce and summer flavors.

Monday

This Veggie Tart is one that you can sub whatever is fresh for the listed vegetables. Mushrooms, squashes, cauliflower, broccoli, tomato, onion — whatever you have available in your area.

Vegetable Tart with Cheddar Cornmeal Crust

Ingredients

Cornmeal Crust:
Olive oil spray
1 cup yellow cornmeal (gluten-free if desired)
4 ounces Cabot Sharp Lite50 Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1⁄3 cup reduced fat (2%) milk
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

Vegetable Filling:
3 small tomatoes, sliced
1 bunch spring onions or green onions, trimmed and halved lengthwise
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 small red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 ounces Cabot Sharp Lite50 Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
About 8 enoki mushrooms
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Tuesday

Every meal doesn’t have to be perfectly sculpted! Tortilla chips, chopped up fresh veg, taco-flavored beef or chicken, and the perfect cheese sauce make a build-your-own nachos dinner everyone will love.

Ingredients

One-quarter yellow onion, chopped
2 whole cloves
2 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup roux *(see recipe below)
4 ounces Cabot Sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
4 ounces Cabot Pepper Jack, grated (about 1 cup)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Wednesday

Summer squash is in full swing! Double your summer flavor fun with these yummy Grilled Zucchini Boats.

Grilled Cheddar Zucchini Boats with Balsamic Leeks

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 leek, halved, sliced and washed
1 tablespoon best quality balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon chopped basil, plus whole leaves for garnish
3 ounces Cabot Alpine Cheddar or Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, shredded (about ¾ cups)

Thursday

Pair a simple green salad with these NOLA-inspired Shrimp & Grits for an unforgettable meal.

Ingredients

Grits:

½ cup grits
1 tablespoon Cabot Salted Butter
4 ounces Cabot Sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)

BBQ Shrimp:

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
¼ cup minced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ cup white wine or cooking wine
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon hot sauce
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
5 tablespoons chilled Cabot Salted Butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Friday

When the veggies start running out, I usually turn to my herb garden to keep us in tasty meals before going to the grocery store. A simple white pizza with fresh basil – and maybe some thinly sliced onion or fresh arugula – is perfect for Pizza Friday.

Ingredients

1 pound favorite whole-wheat or white pizza dough
⅔ cup part-skim or whole milk ricotta cheese
⅔ cup Cabot 2% Plain Greek Yogurt or Cabot Plain Greek Yogurt
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
6 ounces Cabot Monterey Jack or Cabot Pepper Jack, grated (about ¾ cup)
⅓ cup slivered fresh basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Saturday

Black beans pair perfectly with a few summer veggies for this filling and flavorful salad.

Ingredients

1 large (29-ounce) or 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
4 ounces Cabot Jalapeno Lite50 Cheddar or Sharp Lite50 Cheddar, cut into ¼-inch dice (about 1 cup)
½ cup diced red bell peppers
½ cup diced green bell peppers
½ cup diced orange or yellow bell peppers
⅓ cup chopped red onion
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

If you would like to learn more about Cabot Creamery Cooperative, get more delicious recipes, or take a virtual tour of some of our 1,000 farm families, click here. If you find a recipe that you love on our site, please rate and review it – we appreciate your feedback! You can also sign-up for our Newsletters so that you don’t miss a thing.

Dr. Averill (aka <3Ave) is a long-time member of the Cabot team (ca. 2006) and a life-time lover of cheese (the sharper the better!). She’s always been moved by the Cabot commitment to the farmers, our communities, and making quality products. You can catch her on Twitter most of the time, where she leads the @cabotcheese tweeting. When she’s not talking cheese, she’s digging into the past, and just finished her PhD in History.