My parents never made stuffed vegetables when I was growing up.

Now I know why.

Some people like their veggies filled with rice, ground meat, and onions – maybe even a little crunchy topping – but this does nothing for me, especially when the stuffed vegetable in question is a pepper. I think it comes down to two things: seasoning the pepper itself (it usually isn’t), and its texture after being roasted twice (or parboiled and roasted).

The filling may be tasty, but the pepper remains bland. I have yet to find a recipe that asks for it to be seasoned. (Any leads on this phantom recipe are welcome.) Additionally, cooking the pepper twice – once to make sure it finishes “tender,” and a second time with the filling inside – leaves it flaccid.

The only possible redeeming factor in this sad, sad dinner was a balanced, well-seasoned stuffing: and unfortunately, the one I used from saveur.com was lackluster. (You can find the recipe here, anyway.)

Thankfully, the squash turned out much better – probably because its firm, thick flesh naturally lent itself to roasting. Here’s our acorn squash, post-roast:

More adventures in stuffing to come in the future…

In this week’s share:

• Arugula
• Lettuce Mix
• Baby Salad Turnips
• Bell Pepper
• Green Beans
• Keuka Gold Yellow Potatoes
• Acorn Squash
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Green Kale
• Cabbage

The first squash of the season has arrived, and it’s tiny – about the size of a baseball. I’m excited for more autumn crops to arrive.

Finally, a photo of this amazing salsa – unlike last time. I almost forgot to take a picture again: Habanero and I were too busy scooping chipfuls of this smoky and savory dip into our mouths. Clean and cool lime and cilantro balanced the warmth of the chipotle and adobo, keeping us coming back for more.

Unfortunately, I didn’t use plum tomatoes (as recommended in the recipe), so it was necessary to strain some excess water from the final product. I didn’t want to cut corners this way, but I had a tomato from the previous week’s CSA share that was dying to be used (literally). It wasn’t quite worth it, though: definitely stick with the plum tomatoes!

Something else we discovered in this salsa revisit was the Garden of Eatin’s Organic Yellow Corn Chips. I’d bought them because they were on sale, and I was pleasantly surprised by almost everything about them: their realistic bite size (not ridiculously super-sized and cumbersome to bite into); their lightly-salted, clean corn flavor; their crisp texture which held even when left for several minutes in salsa (while I was taking the above photograph). These chips definitely kicked the salsa eating experience up a notch or two.

Tomato Chile Salsa

an epicurious.com recipe

• Olive oil for greasing
• 1½ lb plum tomatoes (about 6 large)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 2 teaspoons sauce from can
• 1 (2½-inch) fresh jalapeño, seeded and remainder chopped (1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat broiler.

Oil a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan (not glass). Halve tomatoes lengthwise, then arrange, cut sides up, in roasting pan. Sprinkle onion over and around tomatoes and broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until tomatoes and onion begin to brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Transfer tomatoes, onion, and any juices in pan to a food processor and add chipotles with sauce, jalapeño, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until vegetables are finely chopped.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro. Season with salt.

Salsa keeps, covered and chilled, up to 3 days. Do not add cilantro until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving.

This is a redux of the green bean and cherry tomato salad I made last summer, with a few amendments. (It’s originally based on a recipe from epicurious.com.) Instead of garlic or onion, I fried thinly sliced shallots in olive oil, using that same oil as the base for the dressing and the frizzled shallots as a topping. Also, I didn’t use Parmesan cheese, as I had before – and I think it tasted better for it.

Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1½ pounds slender green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

Heat olive oil over medium heat and add shallots. Fry until golden, then remove to paper towel-lined plate. Remove oil from heat and reserve.

Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 1½-2 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water and cool. Drain well. Place in large bowl.

Mix reserved oil, vinegar, and oregano in small bowl; toss with beans and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fried shallots.

In this week’s share:

• Thyme
• Red Beets or Chioggia Beets (not sure which variety we have yet)
• Long Green Peppers
• Green Bell Pepper
• Green Beans (these are actually handpicked, and the difference is noticeable!)
• Sweet Potatoes
• Zucchini
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Green Kale
• Broccoli