From the Garden

Why You’ll Love It

The trick is not cooking the corn and mushrooms together.

Oyster mushrooms go into a dry, hot pan first, where they can give up their moisture and develop dark, concentrated edges. Only after they're properly browned does a small amount of olive oil enter the picture. The mushrooms come out, chicken broth goes in, and all that concentrated mushroom fond is pulled back into the dish.

The corn gets almost the opposite treatment: 3–5 minutes and no more than it needs. You're heating it and picking up just a little pan character while protecting what makes fresh corn special in the first place—its sweetness, juiciness and slight pop between your teeth.

Bring the mushrooms back, let that reduced mushroom broth lightly glaze everything, and finish with fresh chives. Now every forkful alternates between sweet, savory, juicy and deeply browned.

And that's why this works with only a tablespoon of olive oil for four servings. The richness comes primarily from browning and fond—not added fat.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12–15 minutes
Total Time: 22–25 minutes
Serves: 4
Serving Size: About ¾ cup

Estimated Nutrition

Estimated per serving: About ¾ cup

Calories: approximately 145–165
Protein: approximately 5–6 g
Carbohydrates: approximately 25–28 g
Fat: approximately 5–6 g
Fiber: approximately 3–4 g

Estimates are based on fresh corn, oyster mushrooms, 1 tablespoon olive oil, chicken broth and chives divided among four servings. Actual values will vary primarily with the size and yield of the corn and the amount of oil retained during cooking.

Complete the Plate

Serve with Lime-Seared Pork Chops. —  MT-28. The fresh lime on the pork cuts directly across the natural sweetness of the corn, while the deeply browned oyster mushrooms pick up the savory character of the seared meat.

Spoon Pan Roasted Corn w Mushrooms — VG-37 onto the plate first and set the sliced pork against or partially over it, allowing some of those dark oyster mushrooms to remain visible. The corn stays sweet and juicy, the mushrooms bring the depth, and the lime keeps the whole plate bright rather than heavy.

Why You’ll Love It

This is a side dish built around mystery rather than volume.

Farro and substantial pieces of King Trumpet mushroom simmer together in chicken and beef broth, allowing the mushroom to absorb the savory liquid and become part of the grain rather than a separate browned flavor competing for attention. The farro is cooked to the grain—not the clock—stopping while every kernel still has a satisfying chew.

Then comes the ingredient that changes everything, used with remarkable restraint. Preserved lemon isn't stirred in by the tablespoon and declared the star. Half goes in first, then you taste. More is added only until there's enough citrus perfume to make you wonder exactly what kind of lemon you're tasting. Fresh parsley quietly lifts the finish.

A quick final toss in a hot skillet removes any superficial moisture and tightens the farro's natural starch just enough to pull the kernels loosely together. Think risotto's cohesion with farro's chew—toothsome rather than creamy, intriguing rather than rich.

And there is no added cooking fat at all. The richness you perceive comes from the two broths, the meaty King Trumpet and the texture of the grain.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: About 10 minutes
Cook Time: About 35–40 minutes
Total Time: About 45–50 minutes
Serves: 4
Serving Size: Approximately ½ cup

Nutritional Facts — Estimates

Estimated per serving: ⅙ recipe, approximately ⅓–½ cup prepared

Calories: approximately 125
Protein: approximately 4 g
Carbohydrates: approximately 25 g
Fat: approximately 1 g
Fiber: approximately 3–4 g

Estimates are based on 1 cup dry farro, 1 large King Trumpet mushroom, 1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup beef broth, preserved lemon and parsley divided into six side portions. No added cooking fat is used. Actual values will vary with the farro and broths used.

Why You’ll Love It

This is summer on a plate—bright, colorful vegetables captured at the point when their natural flavors need very little help.

Sweet corn brings its fresh pop, green beans their crisp snap, pearl onions a gentle sweetness, red pepper brightness, and deeply browned maitake mushrooms an earthy, savory counterpoint that gives the dish unexpected depth.

Then comes an ingredient that doesn't get nearly enough attention: Banyuls vinegar.

Banyuls isn't here to make the vegetables taste vinegary. Its softly wine-like acidity works almost behind the scenes, sharpening the individual flavors while drawing forward the vegetables' own natural sweetness. The corn tastes sweeter, the onions more developed, the peppers more vivid—and the mushrooms gain just enough brightness to keep their savory depth from becoming heavy.

Parsley and chives add a fresh aromatic lift, while Sarawak white pepper contributes a quiet floral warmth that lets the vegetables remain firmly at the center of the plate.

And that's what makes this succotash so useful: it can bring a little summer to almost anything you put beside it—from a simply grilled chicken breast to a beautiful filet of salmon—elevating the plate without ever stealing the show.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: Approximately 15 minutes
Cook Time: Approximately 15 minutes
Total Time: Approximately 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Serving Size: Approximately 1 cup

Estimated Nutrition

Per serving: approximately 1 cup

Calories: approximately 105–110
Protein: approximately 4–5 g
Carbohydrates: approximately 18–21 g
Fat: approximately 2–3 g
Fiber: approximately 4–5 g

Nutrition estimates are based on two ears fresh sweet corn, 1½ cups green beans, ¾ cup pearl onions, ½ red bell pepper, 6 ounces woodland mushrooms, herbs, Banyuls vinegar and 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided across four servings. Actual values will vary with produce size, mushroom variety, oil quantity and final portion size.

Complete the Plate

Seared Salmon with Quick Dill Jus over Summer Succotash — SF-10

This is more than a natural pairing—the succotash was built directly into the salmon dish. A deeply browned salmon fillet brings richness, while a concentrated dill jus adds a fresh aromatic layer without becoming a heavy sauce.

The succotash does the balancing act underneath: sweet corn and pearl onions play against the salmon's richness, maitake mushrooms bridge the savory flavors, crisp green beans bring contrast, and that understated Banyuls acidity keeps the entire plate bright.

The result is exactly what a great side should do: make the centerpiece taste even better without asking to become the centerpiece itself.

Why You’ll Love It

This is where the POW comes from.

The zucchini is deliberately cut into substantial Cravewell Cut pieces, creating broad, irregular faces that can sit against the hot skillet long enough to develop genuine char while the centers remain juicy. You don't stir it into submission; you give those surfaces time against the pan.

Only then does the harissa arrive. That sequence matters: putting it in after the zucchini has browned lets the chili paste toast against the vegetables without scorching before the squash gets its color. Red pepper follows, then garlic and red onion just long enough to lose their raw edge while retaining their character.

The finish is what makes every bite a little different. Lime cuts through the warm harissa and assertive garlic; parsley keeps everything fresh; and the Spanish olives go in so late that they never turn the entire dish olive-flavored. Instead, every so often you hit one and get a concentrated little burst of briny salinity.

And all of that happens with just 1 teaspoon of Cravewell Umami Oil for six servings. The skillet should finish nearly dry—the flavor clings to the vegetables rather than becoming a sauce underneath them.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: About 10 minutes
Cook Time: About 12–15 minutes
Total Time: About 25 minutes
Serves: 6
Serving Size: 1 vegetable side portion

Estimated Nutrition

Estimated per serving: ⅙ recipe

Calories: approximately 40–50
Protein: approximately 1–2 g
Carbohydrates: approximately 6–7 g
Fat: approximately 1–2 g
Fiber: approximately 1½–2 g

Estimates are based on one-sixth of the full preparation: two medium-large zucchini, ½ red bell pepper, garlic, red onion, 1 tablespoon harissa, approximately eight small Spanish olives, parsley, lime and the full teaspoon of Cravewell Umami Oil.

And we caught another bookkeeping gremlin: the recipe correctly says Serves 6, but its existing nutrition block says “¼ of recipe.” Put that beside VG-38 on our fix-it list.

Complete the Plate

Serve with Tunisian-Crusted Pork Loin Roast — MT-33 and let the two dishes do completely different jobs.

The pork gives you that crisp, mahogany North African spice crust surrounding exceptionally lean, juicy meat. This zucchini answers with char, garlic, harissa and lime—but because the Spanish olives remain isolated little bursts rather than seasoning the entire pan, the vegetables don't simply repeat the flavors already on the pork. The original roast was specifically designed around that contrast.

Add Preserved-Lemon-Scented Farro with King Trumpet Mushroom W-GR-07 between them and the whole progression comes back:

The pork is the centerpiece. The farro creates the mystery. And then the zucchini brings the POW.

Why You’ll Love It

This is what happens when technique does more work than ingredients.

Instead of predictable rounds or half-moons, the squash is cut on an angle and rotated a quarter-turn between cuts. Those irregular facets aren't merely decorative—they create multiple broad surfaces that can make direct contact with the skillet. More contact means more opportunities for browning while the thicker, uneven centers remain tender.

Then the vegetables enter the pan in sequence. Squash goes first and gets the time it needs to develop real color. Red bell pepper follows so its edges can char without becoming limp. Spring onion whites and paper-thin jalapeño arrive only for the final couple of minutes, while the green tops go in at the very end. The result is a pan of vegetables that still taste distinctly like themselves rather than one uniformly soft sauté.

And it takes only 2 teaspoons of Cravewell Umami Oil for the entire pan. That's enough to encourage browning and add an underlying savory note without turning fresh summer vegetables into an oily side dish.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: About 10 minutes
Cook Time: About 10–12 minutes
Total Time: About 20–22 minutes
Serves: 4 as a side
Serving Size: ¼ of the vegetable preparation

Estimated Nutrition

Estimated per serving: ¼ recipe

Calories: approximately 55–65
Protein: approximately 2 g
Carbohydrates: approximately 7–8 g
Fat: approximately 2–3 g
Fiber: approximately 2 g

Estimate is based on one-fourth of the zucchini, yellow summer squash, red bell pepper, spring onions and jalapeño with its share of the 2 teaspoons Cravewell Umami Oil. Optional pepitas are not included.