May Menu

For those of us who are striving to eat local produce, May is a huge problem. You would think the selection would be thinnest on February—but it is not. There are still onions AND leeks, about five types of squash, lots of mushrooms, apples, all of the summer canned foods, potatoes in the bin, berries in the freezer… menu planning is a snap. May is the down time. Everything is planted, but nothing is producing-- except for the greens. I have kale, mustard, sorrel, several varieties of lettuce, and chard, as well as volunteer orach and amaranth growing in my beds. Sunbow Farm is overflowing in greens: I have to set limits or the living room chair is full on Thursday afternoon. And every single farmer at the market has lovely lush leaves for sale. Not an onion or baking potato in sight. Denison Farms has these HUGE butternut squashes, but I was suckered into two of them at the last Winter Market, and it was not good—mealy. So, this is what we’re eating this week, only slightly exaggerated. I did find a bunch of carrots at the market, as well as a fennel bulb and some morels.


Monday: Kale, rice, and seared tofu
Tuesday: Pasta with chard, dried cherries, and walnuts.
Wednesday: Vegetable Hash—AKA mustard, potatoes, and roasted canned tomatoes
Thursday: Sorrel, potato (last five potatoes there), and leek soup
Friday: Pizza with garlic, greens, tomatoes (once again the canned roasted), and feta
Saturday: Frittata with chard and a salad with radishs (hold the mini-slugs)
Sunday: Sautéed greens and white beans over whole wheat toast.

I’ve used the huge squash to make a quick bread…I am ready for summer.