You don't have to be a great cook if you use great ingredients. Keep it simple. Simple recipes allow the natural flavor of your vegetables to shine through. Our Summer Harvest Cooking Demo will teach you delicious ways to incorporate your garden fresh vegetables into everyday meals. Children love to help prepare the food and are more likely to eat something they picked and helped cook. Every Saturday in July and August we will harvest and prepare something delicious to eat and then post the recipes here.  Soups, Sauces, Simple side dishes, 'Sun Dried' Tomatoes, Pickles, Food Preservation and much more. The "What's Cooking" demo starts at 9:00am every Saturday in July and August.

*Please bring your own picnic ware (plates and utensils)

Try this super simple side dish.
4 zucchini or crookneck squash. Wash and cut into your favorite bite sized shapes about 1/2 inch thick. 
(We used 2 green and 1 gold zucchini and 1 yellow crookneck)
1 medium onion quartered.
2 tbs butter or oil
salt and pepper to taste.
Fresh and Easy brand Asian Ginger dressing

Melt butter or oil in skillet on medium-high heat, brown onions remove before they get soggy, set onions aside. Saute zucchini until tender but not soggy. Remove from heat. add the onions. salt and pepper to taste. Then drizzle with Asian Ginger dressing.
Serve hot. 

Note: Texture is everything when cooking zucchini. Don't let them get soggy.

Super Simple takes only minutes to make.

2 Armenian cucumbers sliced thin.
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped
sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (or both)
Fresh and Easy brand Toasted Sesame dressing

*If the cucumbers are large peal and remove seeds
Slice cucumbers thin with a food processor or mandolin
add cilantro, sprinkle with seeds and drizzle with sesame dressing.

Note: best price -raw sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are available at Winco in the bulk bin section. There's a lot of nutrition in these raw seeds so sprinkle them on all your salads.

Note: Fresh and Easy brand products are always a good choice because they do not contain artificial ingredients or preservatives. Do not use products that contain propylene glycol. It's a chemical thickener commonly found in salad dressings and will block the nutrient absorption of your food.

Ingredients:
1 quality take and bake or frozen pizza.
1/2 lb Italian sausage cooked or pepperoni if pizza doesn't already have it.
Several fresh basil leaves
1 small onion sliced thin
1 bell pepper chopped
1 young zucchini sliced thin
Several colorful vine ripe tomatoes sliced thin and press out excess water.
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Layer sausage, Basil and vegetables on pizza with tomatoes last. Top with cheese and bake according to directions.

This delicious sauce tastes like you slaved over it all day, but really only takes minutes. Tastes so good nobody will know you cheated! The secret is in the tomatoes. Freeze some of your vine ripe tomatoes overnight. The cells will be broken just as if they were slow cooked all day. Run the frozen tomatoes under warm water and the skins will fall off just as it they were blanched. Removing the skins isn’t necessary if you chop your tomatoes small in a food processor.
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
½ pound Italian Sausage
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 6-8 inch zucchini
2 tablespoons chopped basil
4 cups frozen tomatoes chopped in food processor, drain off excess water.
1 jar spaghetti sauce (use a good quality brand like Neman’s Own or Fresh and Easy)


Directions:
Heat oil in large pot. brown sausage.
Chop onions, pepper and zucchini in food processor. Add to pot with sausage and sauté till onions are browned.
Stir in tomatoes, basil and jar spaghetti sauce. Bring to boil and simmer until ready to serve.

This super easy recipe can be served as a main or side dish. Sausage is a great substitute for the ham. And you can substitute kale or spinach for the beans.

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans
1/2 pound ham
1 onion
1 tsp oil
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Chop green beans, ham and onion into bite sized pieces. (about 1 1/2 inch)
Heat oil in pan. Add onion and saute' till just browned (but not limp) Remove onion, set aside.
Add ham. Saute' till fully cooked and browned.
Add green beans and water. Cook till beans are tender but not limp and water is absorbed.
Some hams are saltier than others. Always taste before adding salt.

Make this delicious spread and your family will be begging for more.

Ingredients:
4 Cloves garlic minced
1 stick butter
1 Tbs fresh basil minced

Directions:
Soften butter, stir in garlic and basil. Spread on bread and serve. Leftover spread (if there is any) can be kept for a few days in the refrigerator.

Got Giant Zucchini and Cucumber? Here's a dish that might just make you let them get huge on purpose. Just grab your mandoline slicer and your ready to go.

Ingredients:
1/2 giant zucchini with skin on
1/2 giant cucumber pealed (Cucumber skin is really tough on the big ones)
1 clove garlic minced
1 pound colorful cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 Tbs fresh basil leaves minced
Toasted Sesame dressing (Fresh and Easy brand)
Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
Salt to taste

Directions:
Using the thinest blade on your mandoline slice zucchini and cucumber into "spaghetti" about 3 inches long. Use only the meaty part. Discard the seedy core. Place in a large salad bowl. Add garlic, tomatoes, basil and dressing. Toss together. Sprinkle with seeds and add salt to taste.

This creamy soup takes only minutes to make.

Ingredients:
2 Yukon gold potatoes, pealed and choppd
1 small gold squash, sliced
1 Tbs butter
8 cups gold tomato puree, see directions
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil
2 tsp sea salt
1 cup cream

Directions:
Tomato Puree:  Shortcut -freeze tomatoes overnight. This will break the cells as if they had been stewed all day. Allow to defrost enough to cut. Leave skin on. Remove any scars and chop large tomatoes into chunks. Small tomatoes are left whole. Use a food processor or blender to puree until smooth. May need to puree in batches. Set aside.
In a microwave safe dish combine potatoes, squash and 1 Tbs butter. Cover and cook on high for 3 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Transfer to food processor. Add basil and puree til smooth. Set aside.
In a large pot on the stove melt 1/2 cup butter. Add tomato and potato/squash puree. Stir in salt and cream. To preserve natural enzymes cook till hot but not boiling. Serve with french bread and garlic basil butter. See recipe July 23rd.

Variations: try adding other gold vegetable puree. like butternut squash or a couple of carrots.

This simple soup makes a great base for pot roasts and also may be served chilled as Vichyssoise.

Ingredients:
4 leeks trimmed and chopped
2 pounds potatoes quartered
2 Tbs butter
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tsp salt
1 cup cream or milk

Directions:
Melt butter in a large pot on medium heat.
Trim leeks, use only the neck, leaves are too fibrous.
Saute leeks in butter about 5 minutes.
Add potatoes, chicken broth and salt.
Bring to a boil and cook til potatoes are tender.
Remove from heat and stir in cream.
Transfer to blender or food processor in small batches.
Blend til smooth. -Serves 4

*May substitute onions for leeks.
*Shortcut -Precook potatoes in microwave.

Cucumbers aren't the only thing in the garden that make a great pickles.
Try substituting Zucchini, Beets or Carrots for Cucumber. This recipe comes from bhg.com but I reduced the sugar by half.

Ingredients:

12 cups 1/4-inch thick slices cucumbers (about 4 lb.)
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
6 Tbsp. kosher or pickling salt
4 to 5 cups crushed ice
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. mustard seeds
2 tsp. celery seeds
4  slices of peeled fresh ginger 1/4-inch thick


Directions:

1. In a large bowl gently toss the cucumbers, onions, and kosher salt. Transfer to colander set in extra-large bowl, layering with ice, and finishing with a layer of ice. Weight with heavy plate. Chill overnight, up to 24 hours.

2. Meanwhile, for pickling syrup, in large nonreactive (stainless, enamel, or nonstick) saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and ginger. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool, cover, and refrigerate until ready to proceed with recipe.

3. After cucumbers have chilled, remove any unmelted ice and discard any liquid in bowl. Transfer cucumber mixture to nonreactive Dutch oven.

4. Pour the syrup over cucumbers, strain through a large sieve if you don't want the spices floating around in there. Bring mixture just to a low boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

5. With a large spoon transfer cucumbers to hot sterilized pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Bring syrup in Dutch oven to boiling. Ladle hot syrup over pickles to cover. Wipe jar rims with damp cloth. Put on lids and screw bands. To seal, invert jars until cool. Store in refrigerator. Makes 5 pints (40 1/4-cup servings). Process in water bath canner if you want them to be shelf stable for up to one year.

By popular demand I'm posting my secret, super creamy Pluot Ice Cream recipe. Ok, Well I guess it's not a secret anymore. You can substitute other fruit but will probably need to adjust the sugar based on the sweetness of the fruit. This is one of those proportional recipes that you can stretch to meet the size of your ice cream maker.

Ingredients:
2 cups Frozen chopped pluots
1/4 cup Sugar
8 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Stir together pluots and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat, about 8 minutes.  Remove from the heat, Chill the mixture.

Puree in a blender or food processor with the cream and almond extract until smooth.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.