Farm-Fresh Veggies in Castle Rock!
This is the time of year to pounce on all the fresh, organic veggies you can and slice them into totally tasty, healthy entrees and side dishes to go with all that grillin’ and chillin’! The Castle Rock Farmer’s Market opened a few weeks ago at Douglas County High School, 2842 Front Street, with tons of fresh produce and other seasonal favorites. This is a new location for the market – the parking lot of DCHS – to make room for the market’s expansion and convenient customer parking. You’ll find all the best picks there, from apples and cucumbers to peaches and squash and every letter of the alphabet in between! For new ways to prepare healthy veggies, scan these 2018 farmer’s market-inspired recipes we found that’ll make your mouth water and your heart happy!
Simply Great Grilled
Anything meat can do, squash can do, too. Well, sort of. It doesn’t raise your triglycerides, that’s for sure! From easy grilled balsamic vegetables to grilled romaine leaves, Delish shows you 20 ways to chargrill a vegetable, just the way you like it. Want a little more pizazz? Check out the grilled peppers with goat cheese, asparagus with Caesar seasoning and cauliflower skewers with feta. What’s not to like about a tangy snap on your palate?
Mixed in with all the other barbecue-type recipes are a few from Delish that are more on the salad side. Like Watermelon-Mint-Cucumber and Feta. Seriously, doesn’t that tickle your saliva glands? How about Avocado-Tomato-Corn salad? With a little lime, olive oil, cumin, cilantro and jalapeno – this is one dish deeper than guac, with more for your taste buds to love.
For any potluck, picnic, or summer barbecue cookout, this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is a mélange of red onion, Greek olives, feta, tomatoes and cucumbers with a lemon-parsley vinaigrette. Bring this to the potluck and they’ll be asking you for the recipe.
Quick and Easy, Nice and Breezy
We SO want to love our vegetables. We like what they do for us nutritionally, the fiber factor, how they help us manage the all-important waistline. So, for quick vegetables that really will make your mouth water, look at The Kitchn’s collection of quick and easy dishes. From Bacon and Basil Wrapped Corn, and Pesto Zoodles (zucchini “noodles” made with a spiralizer) to Snap Peas with Meyer Lemon and Mint, these 50 summer recipes will help you take advantage of the bounty of summer veggies from the local farmer’s market.
Sometimes the simplest recipes are simply the best. Like this delicious caprese recipe from the Genius Kitchen. Using vine-ripened tomatoes (from the Farmer’s Market) fresh basil and fresh mozzarella cheese, you sprinkle with salt, pepper, extra-virgin olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic. And. It’s. Perfect.
Elegant and Extremely Edible
Oh my. Bon Appetit says that produce that grows well together goes well together and as proof they offer up Tomatoes and Verts with…wait for it, anchovies. It’s a salad, yes, and they suggest it accompany their grilled turbot. Or for eggy elegance, try the Eggplant and Cabbage Frittata with lime, serrano chile, garlic and ginger– for dinner, of course. And if you’re not confident about your frittata flipping skills, they have an option – finish it in the oven. There’s plenty more where those came from, including corn sides with hazelnuts, pecorino and mint, or charred with chile and cheese…for your noon-to-night consuming pleasure.
The Castle Rock Farmer’s Market with all the same vendors and many exciting new ones, is open every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Fresh Favorites Near Crystal Valley
Castle Rock is so close to the master-planned community of Crystal Valley you can scoot over to the farmer’s market in minutes – with plenty of sights and sounds to draw your time and attention along the way. Head over to the beautiful model homes from Richmond American Homes, Kauffman Homes, and D.R. Horton and see the variety of ranch and two-story designs, priced from the $300s.
