I recently read on Local Kitchen, that when Kaela throws a bunch of leftover ingredients together, she refers to the end results as “mud pies.” I love the idea and the name reference so much because that’s just how I come up with what’s for dinner most evenings. B.O.B. Bob and I enjoyed a lot of “mud pies” last week because we have an insane amount of lettuce growing in our garden, as well as a mess of fresh strawberries, which are falling over the edges of their pots and containers. The Labneh that I made several weeks ago helped to make several delicious and unique meals with just a few added ingredients. OMG, Jumping Jehoshaphat, Holy Schnitzel; Labneh goes great with almost any dish you can dream up. Between the soft cheese itself, and the olive oil it is marinated in, you can whip up just about anything. Here are some of the tasty ways we enjoyed it last week.
- Night 1: Lettuce salad with sliced strawberries and Labneh cheese, alongside Pepperoni & Cheese Empanadas, and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette made from the olive oil the Labneh was marinated in.
- Night 2: Lettuce salad with sliced radishes and apple sausages, topped with balsamic vinaigrette made from the olive oil the Labneh was marinated in, alongside slices of fresh bread smeared with Labneh.
- Night 3: Lettuce salad, topped with balsamic vinaigrette made from the olive oil the Labneh was marinated in, alongside mini pizzas made with fresh bread smeared with Labneh, and then topped with crispy pepperoni slices, with a few strawberries alongside for color and sweetness.
It only takes one or two ingredients to come up with an entirely different dish, so that you don’t become bored eating the same meal evening after evening. We still have a whole lotta lettuce going on in the garden, so salad is going to be showing up on our dinner plates a lot this week, alongside the fresh strawberries that continue to ripen each day. We also have snap peas that are reaching maturity, along with a few cherry tomatoes that will be losing their green hue any day now. I’ll be digging through the freezer to come up with some new “mud pies” ideas, because Summer meals should be quick and simple, leaving you more time to enjoy the warm breezes, longer days, and lightning bugs twinkling throughout the sky.
