Ratatouille is so easy to make this time of year when most people have all the vegetables and herbs growing in their garden or can get them fresh at the farmer's market. Yesterday I made ratatouille and told at least 3 people what I made and none of them knew what it was. If you like eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions, and tomatoes you will love this dish. For some protein as a vegetarian meal I would reccomend adding chickpeas to the ratatouille.

1-2 large onions, sliced thin
2-4 peppers, depending on size, red & green, diced large
1 medium zucchini, diced large
1 eggplant, peeled, diced large
5 large cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
about 8 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced large (or a can of diced tomatoes if fresh are not available)
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp oregano

To slice onions, peel, and cut in half at the root end. Place flat side down on cutting board and slice. This way the onion won't roll about.

To peel fresh tomatoes, boil a small pot of water. Cut out the stem of the tomato and score the bottom with a paring knife making an x. When water boils drop tomatoes in one at a time for 30 seconds or so. Remove tomato with a slotted spoon to a colander and let cool. When cool, remove skin and dice.

Heat a large pot or dutch oven, add 2-3 tbsp olive oil, let heat, then add onions and cook until soft. Add diced peppers, zucchini, and eggplant and stir to combine. Cook on high heat until heated through, stirring every few minutes. Add diced tomatoes, bring to a simmer, lower heat, cover and cook about 15-20 minutes until tomatoes have broken up. Uncover and simmer to reduce liquid, add garlic, herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Eat the Ratatouille alone or served over rice or pasta.

4 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground ginger, or freshly grated ginger if available!

Combine marinade ingredients and pour over tenderloin. Let this sit, refridgerated,  for several hours or overnight. Grill or bake tenderloin until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Let the meat rest for about 10 minutes on cutting board before slicing. Serve with Nastirtium Flower Salad or rice and vegetables.

This is the first year that we have enjoyed the benefits of growing Nasturtiums. Although they do tend to take over the garden and you have to control their growth, they are helpful in keeping some of those pests away from the vegetables. As a companion plant they should be grown around cabbages, broccoil, melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, potatoes, and around fruit trees to discourage aphids, white fly, and root pests.

These beautiful edible flowers are high in antioxidants, vitamin C, and have antibiotic properties. While they are not real tasty by themselves (bland with a little spicy aftertaste) they are delicious and beautiful in a salad, on a cake, or in cream cheese or pesto.

Dressing for Salad:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp soy sauce

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Pick the desired amount of flowers. Fill a large bowl with water and place flowers in water gently rinsing them, taking them out one by one and placing in a salad spinner. When all the flowers are washed, spin out the water. Using kitchen shears, cut off the petals just above where they attach to the stem leaving behind the tougher bottom of the flower. Wash some romaine or other type of lettuce ( a firm lettuce will work better to keep the shape of the salad because the petals will shrink down) and using a chefs knife, chiffonade. Toss dressing with lettuce a little at a time until coated. Depending on the amount of salad you are using you should have some dressing left over.  Now toss in flower petals and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired. To toast seeds put a little olive oil in a pan with seeds and cook over medium heat stirring constantly. They will burn easily and brown fast. Serve with Teriyaki Marinated Pork Tenderloin, if desired.

This is the best Zucchini Bread recipe I have ever come across. It has healthful elements besides the zucchini and it freezes well. I have made multipule recipes when I have lots of zucchini's in the summer, freeze them, and take them out for breakfasts in the winter. Kids love this bread!

2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (can be reduced or omited)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
4 eggs
1 medium zucchini, shredded (cut out large seeds)
3/4 cup salad oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees for muffins or 350 degrees for bread. Grease muffin tins or bread pan. In a large bowl combine first 7 ingredients. In medium bowl beat eggs and stir in oil and zucchini. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened (will be a little lumpy). Spoon into baking pan or tins. Bake muffins 25 minutes, bread about 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

10 oz bittersweet chocolate - melted
12 tbsp butter (smart balance works too!)
6 eggs,separated
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 1/2 cups ground hazelnuts (you can use almonds or 1/2 hazelnuts & 1/2 almonds)

Melt butter with the chocolate. Beat yolks and sugar until thick and creamy. Stir in the yogurt and nuts and then the chocolate/butter mixture. Beat egg whites and fold into batter.

This recipe calls for a 10" springform pan but since it is such a delicate cake I would recommend 2 well buttered 8" cake pans. This way you can put a little frosting in the middle and have a layer cake.

Bake at 350 degrees until firm to the touch and cake tester comes out clean. This is a very moist cake so when tested there may be a little cake stuck to the tester.

For the topping: To a 1/2 stick butter, softened, beat in 4 oz semisweet melted chocolate. Spread on cake when completely cooled.

It’s Tuesday, June 23, the height of strawberry season, and we are finally rewarded with a sunny day for picking after a weekend of heavy rains. My daughters and I are headed to the local “pick your own” farm to gather our year’s worth of the delicacy. This is an annual tradition for us that has become even more important to us in recent years as we have committed to eating as much local food as possible. My older daughter is 10 and has matured into a fine strawberry picker instead of just a strawberry eater, making my job much easier.


The scorching sun is on my back as I kneel in between the rows of vegetation, being careful not to land my knee on a fallen strawberry. The quarts fill quickly and easily as I enjoy some much-needed conversation with a friend who has met us here. There are many good specimens to choose from; we make sure to pick ones that are ripe but not mushy and always inspect them for insect damage. I do not begrudge the insects their taste of the red sugary fruit, but am careful to leave them in the field with their half eaten meal.

My 4 year old wanders around eating her share of the hot sweet berry. I take my first sample after picking for a while, waiting for the one that I cannot resist. It is the perfect strawberry, shaped just right and bulging with ripe juice. I bite slowly into the succulent berry leaving only the stem in my fingers. I flick the stem into the next row as the strawberry melts in my mouth. It is warm from the sun and sweet on my tongue, making the saliva rush into my mouth from the glands, disintegrating with the slightest pressure. This is how they are to be eaten, hot from the field, but we only get this pleasure once a year.

“I filled another one Mom.” Olivia’s voice gently pulls me out of my strawberry induced trance. What help she is now, unlike Sylvia who’s tummy is full and who is insisting that I eat the berries she’s picked just for me, making sure that I am eating my share. We have soon picked all we need and start helping fill my friend’s basket, as she doesn’t have a helper yet. Her son is only 2, and he is delighting in the feeling of squishing the hot juicy berries in his hands. She tries to give him ones that the insects had for their lunch so that the perfect ones don’t end up on the palm of his hand or running down his leg.

On the ride home we feel full of more than just berries; we have accomplished much…16 quarts of strawberries in a little over an hour and a half. On the way home we also stop at another farm to buy fresh local whipping cream. At home I stir up some biscuits, and we are tempted to skip dinner and just eat the fresh strawberry shortcake as our meal. At the end of the day, 8 quarts of fresh strawberries are chilling in the freezer getting ready to provide us with their fresh taste for our smoothies or on our waffles this fall, winter, and into the spring. With the rest of the berries we will make jam, strawberry sorbet, and eat as many as possible while they are fresh.

Growing peppers, zucchini's, tomatoes, and onions this year? Maybe you also have some local garlic that you grew or bought at the farmer's market! This Mexican Stuffed Pepper recipe is an original from my kitchen and uses mostly vegetables that you have in your garden or can get at a farmer's market. The filling is as easy to make as it is to eat.

1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
dash of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
5-7 peppers, depending on size and shape
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat a large skillet over high heat, add olive oil and onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Add garlic, rice, vegetables, and seasonings. Cover and simmer until liquid from vegetables is all absorbed, stirring every minute or so. Taste for seasonings and add more to your liking. Wash peppers and cut them in half, removing the stem and seeds. Place in a baking dish, spoon filling into each pepper half and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the peppers are soft.