Summer is here and what better way to enjoy your garden than creating fresh recipes from the produce you grew yourself!
My favorite childhood memories are during the summer when my mom would be gardening in our front yard. I was either playing in the kiddie pool, riding my bike down the long, dirt driveway, or sitting and reading on the huge boulder that we nicknamed the Kermit rock, because the previous owner had painted that cartoon character on there. In between playing, I would grab freeze pops or hang out with my mom and pick the vegetables.
I can still taste the slightly sour Concord grapes with the slimy fruit and imagine the sprouting carrots. My favorite memory was the time she cooked a head of broccoli and realized that she had cooked a caterpillar with it! We had guests and she had to discreetly hide the evidence!
I’m not sure if I just miss my childhood or if that slow, simple country life is calling to me, but I think about it often.
Here are some of my favorite simple, whole food recipes using garden ingredients:
This recipe brings me back to dinner dinners! My dad used to make a similar recipe with onions and cucumbers from the garden, sea salt, and vinegar.
This potato salad would be perfect for your 4th of July cookout. It would be even better with cucumbers added and homemade Mayo.
Do you need a quick, homemade mayonnaise recipe? Here you go!
Another summertime staple using your garden broccoli, carrots, and cabbage. You can make it super simple by omitting the peanuts and just adding a simple slaw sauce with mayo, vinegar, honey, and S&P.
Do you ever pickle your garden vegetables? Here’s an easy recipe to add to pulled pork tacos with queso fresco:
Do you have any success growing strawberries or do the critters get them first? Here’s an easy recipe: