Cindy made Roasted Beets, Avocado, and Sunflower Seeds. We were all surprised to hear that this delicious salad was dressed with nothing more than olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. The recipe included the beet stems, which Cindy was concerned would be too tough, but they ended up providing a nice counterpoint texture to the beets and avocado.

Kaija made Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds, and Parmigiano. Also very simply dressed with lemon juice, chile flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper, but again great flavor especially with the nuttiness of the toasted almonds and the sweetness of the dates. We also enjoyed the use of the celery leaves in addition to the stalks.

Kaija also made Rigatoni with Broccoli and Sausage. I had actually made this dish earlier in the week, but it was so good I was happy to have it again. Cooking the broccoli stems with the sausage and the broccoli florets in the pasta water is genius. The ricotta and parmigiano brought everything together wonderfully.

I made Cauliflower Ragu. My least favorite of the dinner – this dish was fine but rather uninspiring. Everyone agreed it was a nice part of the overall meal, but not a dish they would be excited to eat on its own. Also at the end when the recipe said to taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, lemon, or cheese, I ended up doubling the amount of lemon juice and adding quite a lot more salt and pepper.

Brad made Parsnip, Date, and Hazelnut Loaf Cake with Meyer Lemon Glaze. Very moist and with a lovely flavor that we all thought must have come from spices, but it turned out must have been from the parsnip, as there weren’t any spices other than a bit of black pepper in the glaze.