Maelynn, managing editor: soybeans, Japanese eggplant, canteloupe

This week was a tough one for me. School started again (for both my son and me) so cookbooks have taken a back seat to textbooks. I did manage to enjoy my soybeans, Japanese eggplant, and cantaloupe.

For starters, I couldn't wait to do something with that beautiful eggplant. I pulled up a familiar recipe for Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Smoky Roasted Romesco Sauce. I've made this a few times and we love it. I sliced the eggplant lengthwise and subbed it for the zucchini. I used a basic marinara that I seasoned with basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes instead of making the Romesco sauce. I served it with a quick garden salad, which turned it into a full meal for us.

I've never cooked with fresh soybeans. I had a fun time popping them out of their covers. My dog enjoyed the errant flying beans. (They fly fast!) I remembered a CL recipe for Roasted Chile-Spiced Edamame from a few years ago that I had tasted during taste-testing but never tried making myself. Surprisingly the recipe didn't get great reviews on our website, but I found them easy to make and quite yummy. Be careful, once you start eating them, it's hard to stop.

The cantaloupe never made it into a recipe. I cubed it and put it in a storage container in the fridge. We finished it over two days. Really, that's our favorite way to eat melon anyway.

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Mary Kay, editor in chief: cherry tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, basil

My parents were the first people I cooked for, and fixing dinner for them still makes me happy. My husband and I spent the past weekend at their 100-acre farm; I brought the tomatoes, peppers, basil and onions that were my share from the Cooking Light CSA to cook on Saturday evening.

It was a little like taking coals to Newcastle. My dad, who turned 85 last week, has an ambitious vegetable garden, and can pretty much outfit his own CSA. He had some beautiful sweet yellow corn. So I made a tasty local-caught catfish variation of Spicy Tilapia Fillets with Sautéed Vegetable Relish, cutting the corn off an ear and tossing it, too, into the the pan. (By the way, my mom husked the corn and fed the shucks to the bull--most of our dinners at the farm come with a floor show!)

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Susan, assistant copy chief: okra, squash, green beans

This was a very good week for me, even though I think it was the one I was most nervous about. I was not excited about receiving okra, but I figured I might as well give it a shot. I had read that cooking okra gives it the gelatinous texture I don’t like, so I avoided that and tried our Spicy Pickled Okra recipe. What a revelation! I bit into my first pod like a child being forced to eat a vegetable in front of company, but it didn’t take long to realize that this was not the slimy okra I feared. It was actually very crisp and quite delicious.

I had no idea what to do with my pattypan squash, but I wanted it to be special because it was so cute. A quick search of MyRecipes.com found this gem from sister publication Sunset. I modified it, of course, for just one squash, and I was able to get two eggs in there. Hollowing out the squash takes some elbow grease, and you must be careful not to puncture the shell, as I did (only slightly), causing some egg white to leak out. I thought the flavor was a bit bland, so I added some Tabasco, and it was bland no more. But I did think these could be a cute novelty item for a brunch or something of that nature.

I used the remaining yellow squash for one of my favorite older Cooking Light recipes, Spring Vegetable Lasagna. I became a fan of that recipe before I  worked here. Photo note: I meant to take a picture of a single serving of the lasagna that would look like the April 2001 cover, but I am nowhere near coordinated enough to pull that off.

I kept it simple with the beans, using our recipe for a Basic Pot of Pole Beans. Notice that I was able to work bacon into the menu once again. My mother probably would’ve cooked them a bit longer to get them softer, but I don’t mind a little texture. Plus, I was hungry. I served the beans with another of my favorite Cooking Light recipes, Roasted Chicken with Onions, Potatoes, and Gravy. Remember the onions I didn’t use last time? They’re in there. By my usual single-person standards, this was a grand feast. Thanks, CSA: I ate very well this week!

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Tiffany, assistant test kitchens director: tomatoes, eggs, cranberry beans (October beans), basil, canteloupe.

This week's delivery presented two big challenges that I think every CSA subscriber can relate to. First, I got something in the distribution that I don't eat: a cantaloupe. I could tell this one was perfection. I could smell it's sweet juiciness. I solved this problem by sharing. Yes, I gave that beautiful melon to a friend who loves them.

Second challenge, I received my bounty on Thursday and went out of town for the weekend. How could I use everything wisely when I wasn't even there? Sooner or later everyone goes away for the weekend, right? I got busy right away and made some of my best dishes yet.

I had gotten some speckled butter beans, fresh basil, several beautiful tomatoes and a dozen of the most wonderful, colorful eggs. I used Cooking Light's recipe for Tuscan White Beans as a jumping-off point. I used thick cut applewood smoked bacon (only 1 slice chopped), left out the rind, and finished my beans with some sherry vinegar. I used the basil to make CL's Classic Basil Pesto, and served it over the slices of tomato. Best part of all this, I could freeze the beans and pesto leftovers! The eggs, I hard boiled when I got back into town and served with some salt, Tabasco, and marinated olives. I was starving and these uniquely beautiful, fresh eggs were incredible.

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Here's a wonderful side-effect of CSA: it's contagious. Our veggie moderator (moi) grew jealous of doling out fragrant specimens of peak-seaon produce to the CSA Challenge bloggers, so I bought my own share. Turns out Grow Alabama has a special deal -- if at least eight colleagues join the CSA, they'll waive the $20 delivery fee and designate your office as an official drop-off location. Now our lobby sees eight boxes of veggies every Wednesday. It's like the love-child of Webvan and farmer's market!

The eggplant in my in-box attracted the attention of my boss' boss, a fellow CSA member of another who also likes the challenge of ingredients he doesn't normally cook. "I don't know that I would have bought okra," he said, "but it made me look up recipes." He settled on Southern Living's Parmesan Okra recipe and gave the results thumbs-up. I made Spicy Pickled Okra, and when I fed some to my Southern-bred pal, he said, 'It tastes just like what my mother used to make."

Here's what Team Carrots faces in their next week of CSA Cooking:

Susan, senior copy editor: squash, okra, green beans

Mary Kay, editor-in-chief: cherry tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, basil
Maelynn, managing editor: soybeans, eggplant, canteloupe (not pictured)

Tiffany, assistant test kitchens director: eggs, tomatoes, basil, cranberry beans (aka October beans, a type of pinto), melon (not shown)

Ann, senior food editor: Japanese eggplant, green bell peppers, eggs

I was stoked to go home with Japanese eggplant—beautiful, pale-purple, slender, delicately curved. I love this stuff cooked with ground pork in a spicy Asian brown sauce. I used our recipe for Steamed Japanese Eggplant with Green Onion-Ginger Sauce as a starting point. Though I wanted ground pork, all I had on hand were chicken thighs. So I ground them in the food processor, and cooked them with garlic and ginger. I steamed the eggplant longer to get it softer, then I doubled the sauce and added a little cornstarch to help it thicken, plus dark sesame oil for nutty flavor. YUM. Or at least I thought so. Full disclosure: My husband and one of my kids didn’t like it.

 The eggs, oh those lovely fresh eggs. I can get down on eggs just as eggs—scrambled, over-easy, poached—I don’t usually want to “hide” them in a recipe application. Three days in a row, my husband and I enjoyed our favorite summer breakfast: toast slathered with Romesco sauce (I can’t get enough of that stuff!) and topped with garden-fresh tomato slices and poached eggs. The yolks are so deeply colored they’re almost orange. And the eggs themselves are like heaven: super-fresh, creamy, delicate, and fluffy.

As for the bell peppers, I have to say they’re not my favorite. They certainly weren’t met with the same excitement as the eggplant or eggs. I’m sliding those in wherever I can. I used one to make sloppy Joes, and another in tabbouleh. I plan to use the last one tonight in meat sauce for pasta. Unless I can figure out how to use them in a gin or bourbon drink, that is.

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Cindy, associate editor, healthy living: Cucumbers, field peas, green beans

Confession: I never made the Haricots Verts with Browned Garlic from last week's share. So the plan was to make them as part of a small dinner party. Alas, when I checked on the green beans that were to masquerade as fancy Frenchmen, I found most of them had turned from vert to jaune (that’s yellow for those of you who slept through French class). Thinking they were maybe ok, but not wanting to harm my guests (and, ok, honestly looking forward to more mingling time instead of shouting “Huh?” and “What did you say?” from the kitchen) I concluded that les haricots and I just weren’t meant to be together. C'est la vie.

On to more positive pairings: For our main course, I wanted to attempt grilling salmon on a cedar plank again (my first try went up in flames). There were sparks, but the result was awesome, especially accompanied by Tangy Cucumber Sauce. I was amazed that the salmon was so flavorful on its own with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper (I’m used to drowning it in marinade). The cool, tzatziki-like sauce elevated it to make-it-again status. Call me a cedar plank convert—-they were only a few bucks at Costco—-and am ready to expand their use with other grilled things.

As an appetizer—and then again as a side, since the yield was so generous—we had Corn-and-Field Pea Dip from Southern Living. Lesson learned: pay attention to both serving yields (8 cups!) and the online reader reviews, which recommended halving the recipe. There was enough field-pea dip to feed an entire football team (if you didn’t tell them it had peas in it), so it’s a good thing it turned out so yummy. I swapped cilantro for parsley--primarily because I was in a hurry and they look similar, but also because I much prefer it. I’d like it even better with grilled corn and a little squeeze of lime.

The recipe called for canned field peas, but since I only had fresh—the opposite of the situation in which I normally find myself—I found reliable instructions via our recipe for Cooked Field Peas. While I’m not the best dinner party hostess (Confession 2.0: I’m frazzled and slightly resentful by the time guests arrive), this menu was pretty easy to prep ahead of time, leaving me plenty of time for wine and late-night laughs with my good company.

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Jason, editorial assistant, culinary school student: okra, corn, soybeans

With five ears of corn, creamed corn seemed like an clear choice, and Creamed Corn with Bacon and Leeks was named one of our all-time best recipes for a reason. This recipe is fantastic (though cutting the kernels off all those ears takes some time), but creamed corn always reminds me of school lunch. So what better to make with it than sloppy Joes? I like spicy, so I went with Chipotle Sloppy Joes. The caramelized onion topping is a great idea—try it on burgers or really any kind of sandwich.

A real school lunch would probably have included fried okra. Oh well, mine wasn't authentic. I addressed my okra with my standard go-to method for roasted veggies: Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you want, then cook at 450 degrees until done to your liking. This will work with pretty much any vegetable out there, and fits any meal because you can change the seasonings to match your main course. It was very good, and not slimy at all.

The obvious choice with the soybeans was edamame, so I made that for a snack a couple nights after my school lunch dinner. Just boiled 'em for about 2 minutes, then sprinkled with salt. Yummy, simple, and full of protein.

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CJ, administrative coordinator: heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, cherry tomatoes

As soon as I saw the gorgeous picture of the Roasted Vegetable Pizza in our 5-Ingredients, 15 Minutes special edition, I knew that was what I wanted to make this week. The recipe seemed easy enough, but it taught me a few important lessons about cooking.

First, read the directions carefully. If they call for "coarsely chopped" squash, if would be useful to notice that before you've sliced the squash into your prep bowl.

Second, humor is a secret ingredient.

Third, don't be afraid to experiment. When things go wrong, you learn. When things go right, it leads to a sense of confidence in the kitchen. Case in point: I dared to change the recipe by adding roasted red peppers. I don't own a jelly-roll pan, so I used one of the trays from my toaster oven for roasting the veggies. I used a baking stone for the pizza. It all worked out. Except one small thing:

 If you are planning to photograph your pizza, go easy on the cheese. (Compare my photo to the professional shot to see what exactly I mean.)

I used the heirlooms in the Tomato, Avocado, and Onion Salad. The heirlooms were so pretty when sliced, and the avocado, onion and basil combined to make a very easy-to-prepare and colorful dish. It gains flavor marinating overnight.

This week's CSA box brought more summer staples, plus a couple of new items: Japanese eggplant and cherry tomatoes so crisp and taught they explode with flavor when you bite into them. Getting more of the same veggies week after week, and figuring out new ways to prepare them to prevent boredom, lies at the heart of the CSA challenge. We'll see what Team Peas does with this week's share.

Here's who got what:

Ann, senior food editor: Japanese eggplant, eggs, peppers

Cindy, associate editor, healthy living: cucumbers, field peas, green beans

CJ, administrative coordinator: heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, squash

Jason, editorial assistant, culinary student: okra, corn, soybeans

If you haven't checked out the Cooking Away My CSA Google group, you really should. Besides the dialog on Twitter (search #CAMC), this is a great place to discover what others are doing with those armfuls of summer zucchini and kale. Turns out, they're making veggie chips! Blogger Tild of Tildology swears her Red Russian Kale Chips, tossed in olive oil and sea salt and baked in the oven, won her friends' kids over to kale. Cook Local did a similar experiment with Zucchini Chips, but took a pan-fried approach. If you need more ideas for zucchini and fruit, check out the Cherry Zucchini Muffins on Lisa is Cooking and see a step-by-step blog on jamming on Green Your Plate, which features some delicious-looking Blueberry Nectarine Freezer Jam.

We always like to see what others are doing, because the possibilities seem truly endless. Here's what our staff made this week:

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Phillip, deputy editor: watermelon (1 small), cucumbers (4), green peppers (2) -- pinch-hitting for Mary Kay this week

My mom drove over from Georgia to spend the weekend with my partner and me at Smith Lake. (You might recognize her Apple Date Bars, a childhood treat that the magazine lightened in 2006.) Mom brought recipe boxes filled with childhood favorites, so cooking and photographing fit perfectly into our weekend of making new memories centered around food.

One small watermelon goes a long way. Its first appearance: Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions and Feta, served with a summer standby: pesto-marinated grilled chicken. Pickling the red onions softened their bite, but retained a nice twang that contrasted beautifully with the sweet, refreshing melon and salty feta. Confession: The photo is a stunt salad assembled the next morning. Friday's 9 p.m. dinner was served on a candlelit porch suited better for tableside lingering than amateur food photography. Now I truly know why Cooking Light photographs food in natural light.

Noon is never too early for a cocktail on a 95-degree Saturday. Watermelon and Cucumber Tonic (shown at the top of this post) was refreshing, easy to make, and even easier to enjoy with a “Snacks Around” (Mom’s term for a hodge-podge meal) mixed flatbreads, proscuitto, soppressata, Manchego cheese, arugula, zucchini, dill dip, and smoked almonds. Since cheese cloth is in short supply at the country market, we used paper towels in a sieve to strain the melon mixture. Gin’s juniper tones gave the froofy pink drink a bit of gravitas. The tonics are shown in my favorite glasses, one of which I promptly dropped and shattered. (It happened three sips into my first cocktail, not my second, for which I downgraded to plastic.)

The remaining cukes appeared in our dinner of Salmon with Spicy Cucumber Salad and Peanuts. It’s another recipe well suited to a hot summer night—light, refreshing, and satisfying. We made two adjustments: The salmon was grilled instead of pan-seared, and we had no parsley, so we made do with mint. I couldn’t think of a suitable side, so I just boiled edamame and tossed it with kosher salt—a new dish for Mom, but one that I think (hope) she enjoyed.

Finally, the green pepper was simply diced and tossed with basil, garlic, and red onions and cumin-rubbed corn that I had grilled Saturday night in anticipation of an easy Sunday supper at home to cap off a wonderful weekend. Served it with seared hanger steak and arugula salad.

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Tiffany, assistant test kitchens director: okra, soybeans, one gigantic portobello

Just this year I've begun to really like okra so seeing a bag of it in my CSA goodies was a real treat. In the past I found them rather slimy. Although that does something for gumbo, it never did much for me. My fiancee, however,has loved okra forever, and I credit Stanton's technique with my turnaround.

The secret to slimeless okra: Simply thread the okra on a skewer with cherry tomatoes and onion. While grilling for 4 minutes per side, brush the vegetables with a mixture of kosher salt, EVOO, sugar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and water. We've cooked okra this way five times this summer, and each time it's fantastic. I was curious why this preparation is effective at curbing the slime, and I found a great post on Mental Masala that explains it.

Our soybeans were a treat and a cinch to work with. I love to steam them whole, toss them in a little soy sauce and rice vinegar, and pop them out of the shell straight into my mouth. It's a great mid-day snack filled with soy protein. Plus, soybeans seem so much more fun than most foods.

The portabello we received was enormous. It was Stanton’s turn to make dinner, and he likes to “clean out the fridge.” Fortunately, we have a fridge full of some really great things (thanks, Grow Alabama!). He made Cilantro Rice with Chicken, which was delicious. The rice tastes very rich with a little twang from the cilantro. We had cooked chicken breast which he substituted into the recipe and, of course, he used the portabello in place of the shiitakes. We both really liked it!

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This week's CSA box brought a few new treats along with many summer classics (corn, peppers, cucumbers and other things not shown here--we chose to shoot just the highlights). It was one heavy box packed with all this summer goodness: a watermelon, a huge portobello mushroom, some ginormous heirloom tomatoes, soybeans, green beans, potatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, squash, okra, eggplant, corn, onions, and eggs.

Our staff has really enjoyed the Cooking Away My CSA challenge. (Did you know it has it's own Twitter group? Search for #CAMC.) Some bloggers have been forced to try foods they otherwise would never buy. Others have been inspired to get a bigger dose of fresh foods on their plates. One member of Team Carrots says she has even taken up a little backyard farming.

"This has inspired me to plant an herb garden," Maelynn says. "I have SO much basil. I take the dog out extra just to walk by and smell it."

Mary Kay is going on a much-needed vacation, so Phillip, our deputy editor, is subbing in. Phillip loves to entertain but usually cooks for two. A fan of kitchen gadgets (the more the better), he enjoys cooking intuitively. There's not much he dislikes, besides eggplant and sea urchin. Cooking: experience: his mom ran a restaurant, he bussed tables at 13, and he cooks avidly at home.

Here's who got what this week:

Phillip, deputy editor: small watermelon, cucumbers (4), green peppers (2)

Maelynn, managing editor: potatoes (1 lb. tiny), heirloom tomatoes (2), beans, squash (a bunch)

Tiffany, assistant test kitchens director: soybeans, okra, 1 large portobello mushroom

Susan, senior copy editor: onions, corn (5 ears), eggplant (2), eggs

This month's Virtual Supper Club theme is regional cuisine. Our reader-bloggers decided to pick a menu that highlighted favorite foods of their native regions, but came together well as a menu. Quite a challenge, we thought, considering their diverse geographies. Well, they pulled it off with a winning menu that we hope you'll consider trying.

Make sure to visit their blogs to read more about our members' recipes and regions. And especially to see their delicious-looking food photography, like the Key Lime Pie above, prepared, styles, and photographed by Aggie. Don't you just want to lick the screen? We love photos like this, because it shows that our recipes really do look scrumptious even when a professional stylist and photographer aren't present to work their magic.

Regional Cuisine Menu

Bruschetta with Peach Salsa and Melted Brie -- Val (British Columbia)
"Along the occasionally rugged roads of the Okangan Valley, in the interior of British Columbia, there are countless seasonal farm stands selling fresh peaches and other fruits, and pies. Here you can also sample great wines and artisan cheeses produced in the valley."

Spinach Salad with Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette -- Hélène (Quebec)
"My parents had friends that had a sugar shack and helped during the spring to make maple syrup.  We always had real maple syrup on our table all year long."

Pan-Seared Shrimp Po-boys -- Jamie (Northwest FL)
"I wanted to showcase shrimp that comes from the Gulf of Mexico. In Pensacola, we are about 3 hours from New Orleans, Louisiana, which has a great effect on our local cuisine. These sublime sandwiches are a well-known New Orleans dish."

Key Lime Pie -- Aggie (Central Florida)
"I have lived near the ocean for most of my life and prefer the more laid back lifestyle of beach living. Key Lime Pie always takes me there no matter where I am."

Double Maple Cupcakes -- Shelby (Upstate New York)
"One of my favorite things I remember doing with the syrup would be dipping my mom's homemade fry cake donuts in the syrup and then eating them. I even remember pouring maple syrup on my cereal to sweeten!"

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Join the club! If you're a food blogger and want to join the fun, send us an email or leave a comment here with a link to your blog. We'd like to welcome our newest honorary members:

Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen: A non-Southerner who lives in Atlanta with her Southern-born husband, she brings to our (virtual) table a Cooking Light spin on a Southern classic: Oven-Fried Okra.

Sharon of Culinary Adventures of a New Wife: A new bride and avid home cook in San Diego, she brings Coconut Banana Bread with a Boozy Twist. This is her riff on our Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze, which was voted the best quick bread in Cooking Light's history.

Pamela of Cookies with Boys: A SAHM of two and a lover of cookies, Pamela brings Cheddar Burgers with Red Onion Jam from our July issue.

September theme: Light lunches (Sept. 3)

This week's CSA challenge was mostly about using summer staples (corn, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers), though we did find a few treats (peaches, okra), and a couple surprises (winter squash?!) in our box from Grow Alabama. 

Elsewhere in the country, CSA members are getting armfuls of beets, which seem to be one of those love-it-or-fear-it vegetables that dazzle some cooks and petrify others. Is it the color? The texture? Who knows. So we wanted to spotlight a creative use of this ingredient from a fellow CSA member. We found just the inspiration we needed in this stunning creation of Borscht with Dill Pollen and Shoestring Potatoes from Passion4Eating. Gorgeous!

Here are a few other highlights from the Cooking Away My CSA Google Group started by Heather Lalley of Flour Girl:

• Borscht with Dill Pollen and Shoestring Potatoes on Passion4Eating
• Cherry Lavender Jam from Dirt on My Food
• Lemon Balm Liqueur from Flour Girl

If you're a CSA member, we hope you'll join us! Now here's what Team Peas made this week:
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Ann, senior food editor, mom of twins: corn, yellow squash, spaghetti squash

This week’s theme is QUICK. I’ve been crazy-crazy busy, so I stuck close to some tried-and-true recipes. Though I adore our Caramel Corn Ice Cream and originally planned to make that, I just didn’t have time for it. So I made the equally awesome Creamed Corn with Bacon and Leeks (above). I pulled this together in a flash on a night when I got home late, alongside some grilled chicken and sliced tomatoes. The kids and hubs loved it, especially the bacon. One thing I remember from making this before—my food processor doesn’t have a great seal, so I pureed the corn and milk in a blender. (I’ve had it spew out of the processor before. Starchy corn all in your hair? Not fun!)

One of my stand-bys for yellow squash is Yellow Squash Ribbons with Red Onion and Parmesan (right). Make it once, and you won’t need the recipe any more—it’s that easy (and so quick!). Plus, it's really pretty. Instead of Parmesan, I topped with “bumpy cheese” (that’s what my kids call feta) tossed with mint. My friend Lauren was over for dinner when we had this. She’d never had squash prepared this way and was excited to go home and make it for her family.

I had the best intentions to make Spaghetti Squash Gratins with Chunky Tomato Sauce, but I fell short there, too. Instead, I roasted the squash, scraped out the spaghetti strands (the boys LOVED watching that), and tossed them with salt, pepper, grated lemon rind, and browned butter. Seriously, is there anything that ISN’T better with browned butter?

On my next turn, I hope to have more time to play and experiment with my CSA goodies. But at least this time, my family still ate some great food on a tight schedule.

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Jason, editorial assistant and culinary student: eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes

In an effort to eat more sustainably, I've been trying to cut back on meat consumption, especially when cooking at home. Except for bacon. I love bacon too much to give it up. With a dozen fresh, local eggs at my disposal, a frittata seemed an obvious choice for a vegetarian dinner (well, "vegetarian" in that bacon isn't the main ingredient). Mini Bacon and Potato Frittatas caught my eye, but I made a few modifications: I added my CSA tomatoes and fresh basil from my garden, baked it in a Pyrex dish instead of muffin tins, and topped with some local goat cheese from Bulger Creek Farm. It was wonderful: fresh-tasting, healthy, and filling all by itself for dinner. I think this will be a frequent creation at my house.

Since the frittata calls for some egg whites, I had egg yolks left over. Waste not, want not; I whipped up a batch of Aioli. I've had a disastrous experience attempting homemade mayonnaise in the past involving an unstable Kitchenaid falling on the floor, spilling oil everywhere, and putting a nice gouge in my floor, but this recipe was super-easy. It took about 30 seconds, didn't break, and was delicious the next day on BLTs with the tomato I had left.

The small cucumbers screamed pickles. Not wanting to copy the Easy Refrigerator Pickles Susan made last week, I went with Dill Pickle Spears from our sister magazine Sunset. Their texture was nice and crisp and they tasted pretty good, if a bit sweet (next time I'd cut the sugar in half), but steeping the pickling spice in the vinegar mixture as the recipe calls for turned the liquid an ugly brown color that made the pickles themselves brown too. On the upside, I've got three more cans of pickles that are good for two years: Sunset's Canning Instructions are versatile and simple to follow.

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CJ, administrative coordinator: peaches, acorn squash, butternut squash, okra

For my second go at CSA cooking, I searched for a complete meal that I could proudly serve to friends.

Here's the menu I chose:

• Bourbon-Glazed Pork Chops with Peaches
• Baked Polenta with Cheese and Okra
• Mint-Orange Squash
• Macaroon-Baked Peaches

I began with the polenta because it had the longest bake time. I used shredded cheddar rather than slicing a block into cubes. (Melted cheese is melted cheese, right?) This dish browned beautifully. However, I thought it tasted rather blah, though it did have an interesting texture. Next time I would add some onion and roasted red pepper.

Next, I prepped the squash and the macaroon-baked peaches. These both called for baking times of 30-35 minutes. I skipped the cayenne pepper in the squash. The mint smelled wonderful as I cut it. Grating zest from an orange became a hit-or-miss proposition. I seemed to get as much on the counter top as in the dish I was using. I'll be seeking technique lessons from one of our test-kitchen experts before "zesting" again. Shifting to the macaroons and dates for the dessert peaches, I chopped dates and crumbled cookies. Of course, I tasted. I love coconut! I chose to use orange juice rather than lemon juice. Then, I stuffed the peaches and both dishes were ready for the oven.

Last, I began preparing the marinade for the pork chops. By this time, I was feeling the heat of the kitchen, so I upped the bourbon slightly. I prepared a grill skillet and put the pork chops topped with peaches upon it. The result was knock-your-socks-off delicious. Finishing the meal with the macaroon-baked peaches put a smile on everyone's face, which reaffirmed my choices. Ahhhh, such a nice feeling.

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Cindy, associate editor, healthy living: eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, pole beans

It ain't pretty--it's my dinner.

I hope that old song won't mind if I spin its title to describe this week's foray into my share of the CSA box. After a long weekend of overindulgence at the lake with friends, I knew I needed a dish that was filling and nutritious for as few calories as possible. Enter Eggplant, Potato, and Chickpea Casserole.

I'm a sucker for any dish that contains the word "casserole," but this recipe appeared to lack the signature cheesy gooeyness that makes me proud to call the casserole my friend. I was skeptical--especially when I saw it emerge from the oven looking less than closeup-ready.

You know what? I didn't even miss the dairy factor (really!). I swapped the red or yellow bell pepper called for in the recipe for one of its more homey sisters, the green bell pepper from this week's CSA. I even learned a new trick: throwing freshly broiled peppers in a plastic bag so it's easier to remove the skins. It really works! I skipped the optional lemon, but I think it would've been a nice addition. The huge serving size--2 cups for 324 calories; yes, please!--means I'll have light and tasty leftovers for tomorrow's lunch (and dinner!). I'm going to try it wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla. Maybe this wasn't the smartest dish to make in the August heat (that oven stays hot for a long time), but it has me looking forward to the comfy flavors of fall.

I was also planning to make Haricots Verts with Browned Garlic with the beans in my share, but decided to wait for tomorrow night when the hungry husband is back in town.

It's time for our this month's Virtual Supper Club. If you're just tuning in, make sure to read their inaugural post to hear how this group of avid cooks got together. Plus you can steal their menu ideas and ogle their inspiring photos, like this shot of Spinach Salad with Stone Fruits and Maple-Spiced Pecans, by Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen.

Our August theme is Regional Cuisine. The theme was picked by our reader-bloggers, who hail from Florida, British Columbia, upstate New York, and Quebec. To be honest, we wondered how they'd pull it off. Each dish would be chosen to reflect the flavors of a blogger's province. But would they all work together as a menu?

Stay tuned to find out right here, this Thursday.

If you're a food blogger and fellow CL cook, we hope you'll join our Virtual Supper Club. Blog a Cooking Light recipe that reflects your region and email us a link to your post (we love to see photos!) -- we just might feature you on the blog.

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Photo: courtesy of Aggie's Kitchen