Giardiniera

Makes about 6 pints. Giardiniera makes Italian sandwiches pop, if you’re not simply enjoying it straight from the jar. This recipe, from The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich calls for 2 ½ quarts of vegetables.

Daikon Pickled in Sweet Miso

Makes about 1 pint. The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich includes detailed canning instructions and dozens of pickling recipes from around the world, such as these obsession-worthy daikon radishes pickled in sweet miso. She notes: The method using cheesecloth requires less miso and eliminates the traditional miso-zuke technique of submerging vegetables in a bowl of miso and rinsing before eating.

Ready-made Topping

I sometimes forget how helpful it is to prep some of our vegetables into what I think of as “meal components.” So for this week’s bounty of jalapenos, I’m making what we call “fajita mix” although it’s good for adding to tacos and nachos and topping a bowl of chili (if we ever get any cool weather) and scrambled eggs and burritos … I could go on. ~Conne

Odds & Ends Shepherd’s Pie

This garbage-can approach to shepherd’s pie makes use of odds and ends languishing in the produce drawer. We used carrots, celery, diced green beans, tomato ends, field peas, bell peppers, garlic and onions. An early fall version features sweet potato, green beans, onions, sweet peppers, turnip greens, and summer squash.