Savory Sunday: Roasted Beets

By Anastazja Kolodziej

While rummaging through the fridge a few weeks ago, I noticed I still have some beets that we harvested from the community garden plot. I’ve already made soup and warm tortellini salad with the beets and beet greens, so for this recipe, I’ve kept it simple: roasted beets. 

Ingredients: 

·    Beets, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

·    Olive oil

·    Salt

·    Pepper

Steps:

·    Heat the oven to 420 degrees.

·    Arrange the cut beets in a baking sheet or dish and toss with oil, salt, and pepper. 

·    Roast for 30 minutes or until soft and tender. Serve immediately. 

This is my final post for this column as I wrap up my internship with Washington Gardener for this summer. Thank you all for reading!

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"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.

SavorySunday: Vegetarian Thai Basil Stir-fry

By Anastazja Kolodziej

For this week, I wanted to make a recipe that allows the Thai basil from our community garden plot to really shine. The best part of this stir-fry — which has the Thai basil as one of its main flavors — is that you can customize it as you wish. You can include other vegetables, add meat or tofu, or swap the rice for noodles! This recipe makes four servings.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups rice
• 2 green peppers, cut into strips
• 5 carrots, julienned
• 12 oz green beans 
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 1 cup Thai basil, loosely packed 
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• Water

Steps: 

• Cook rice according to package instructions.
• Warm a pan and add oil. When shimmering, add garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, add carrots, peppers, and green beans.
• Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and water in a bowl to make the sauce. 
• When the vegetables are soft, add sauce to the pan and mix thoroughly. 
• Once the rice is done, add Thai basil to the stir-fry and let it wilt. Serve the meal with the rice on the bottom, topped with the stir-fried vegetables and sauce. 

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.

SavorySunday: Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta

By Anastazja Kolodziej

For this week, I picked two pints of gorgeous and delicious cherry tomatoes grown in our community plot by a fellow intern,Hadley Baker. You can make the tomatoes in this recipe as structured or saucy as you like — for a saucier dish, keep the tomatoes on the pan for longer. This recipe makes four dinner servings. 

Ingredients:

·  1 lb pasta

·  2 pints halved or quartered cherry tomatoes

·  3 medium garlic cloves, chopped finely

·  1 cup of basil, chopped coarsely, plus more for garnish

·  1/4 cup olive oil

·  Salt, to taste

·  Pepper, to taste

·  Lemon pepper, to taste

·  Shredded parmesan or mozzarella cheese, to serve

Steps:

·  Cook pasta al dente, according to package instructions.

·  Meanwhile, warm olive oil in a pan. Once it’s shimmering, add garlic and cook until fragrant.

·  Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and lemon pepper and cook until tomatoes burst, stirring occasionally. 

·  Once the tomatoes have reached your desired level of sauciness, add basil. When the basil is incorporated, add pasta to the pan and mix until the sauce covers pasta well. Serve with cheese and top with basil.

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.

Savory Sunday: Easiest Garlic Bread Ever!

By Anastazja Kolodziej

This recipe, using garlic grown in our communitygarden plot, is a quick and easy variation on garlic bread. Because the recipe uses raw garlic, the garlic bread has a slightly spicy taste. This goes well as a side or as a snack! 

Ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove
• 2 slices of rustic bread
• 1 teaspoon of butter
• Oil, as needed. If you prefer a strong buttery taste, use only butter. Using a combination of butter and oil will still offer a buttery taste without making it too overwhelming.

Steps:

• Melt butter on a pan. Fry bread, flipping it so both sides are golden. You may need to add oil to the pan to get the bread fully fried. 
• Rub a clove of garlic on both sides of each slice, and serve immediately. 

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.

Savory Sunday: Cucumber Dill Salad

By Anastazja Kolodziej

This salad goes well as a side with any potato dish and, in the summer, works great for a cookout! It’s simple, quick, and very refreshing.  We used 'White Wonder' cucumbers we grew in our community garden plot. This recipe serves two people. 

Ingredients:

• 1 big cucumber
• 2 tbsp sour cream (or more, to taste)
• 1 tbsp dill, thinly chopped
• Salt, to taste 
• Pepper, to taste 

Steps:

1. Peel the cucumber, remove the seeds, and slice it thinly. This can be done with a knife or on the long side of a box grater. 

2. Salt the sliced cucumber and let it sit in a colander for about two hours to "sweat" the excess water from the cucumber. 

3. Drain off the liquid. This step is vital — otherwise, the salad would be too wet, and the sour cream would get watery. 

4. Mix in the rest of the ingredients with the cucumber. Serve immediately. 

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.

Savory Sunday: Mushroom Basil Pizza

By Anastazja Kolodziej

It’s summertime, which means that for many of us, our basil is in full growth mode. This recipe, which uses basil from our community garden plot, is a good choice for those days when you want something seasonal that’s different from the regular tomato sauce pizza. 

Ingredients:

·  Pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)

·  1 cup basil, with some extra as garnish

·  1/2 cup olive oil

·  About 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·  1 large clove of garlic

·  Salt, to taste

·  5 Mushrooms,sliced

·  Mozzarella cheese

Steps:

1.   Combine basil, oil, Parmesan and garlic in a food processor and blend well. You can also use an immersion blender, which is what I used. You may need to add more oil if the mixture is too thick to blend.

2.   Spread out pizza dough on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 530 degrees.

3.   Spread basil sauce on pizza dough. Add mozzarella and mushrooms. I used fresh mozzarella, which adds an additional dimension to the pizza.

4.   Bake for about 13 minutes, or until the crust has browned.

5.   Top with fresh basil leaves.

This recipe makes one medium pizza, enough for dinner for two people.

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.

Savory Sunday: Garlic Chickpeas

By Anastazja Kolodziej

To celebrate the (virtual) garlic festival being held today by the Takoma Horticultural Club, I have a tasty and quick recipe for garlic chickpeas using garlic we grew in our community garden plot and had just finished curing. 

Ingredients:

·        2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

·        4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed

·        ⅓ cup olive oil

·        Salt

·        Pepper

·        Lemon pepper

Steps:

1        Heat two tbsp olive oil on a pan. Add crushed garlic. I used only three cloves because the ones we had grown were huge, but four or five regular-sized cloves should work.

2        Once the garlic is fragrant, add chickpeas. Pour the rest of olive oil on top and season with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper to taste.

3        Cook chickpeas for about 15 minutes, or until they have browned and absorbed the garlicky flavor.

This recipe makes four servings. I served the chickpeas as part of a dinner bowl that included millet, lettuce greens, chopped cucumber, avocado, feta cheese, and a quick tahini-maple sauce!

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.