It’s asparagus season and hopefully you have more than you know what to do with and are able to share with family and friends. I use only the very top 5-6” of the spears. If any of the remaining stem is still tender, I save it to either dehydrate or make Cream of Asparagus Soup.…

The first of this month my second son turned 20 (can you believe that!?) and for his birthday dinner I made (among other things) fried squash blossoms. What?!? You haven’t tried this yet? What are you waiting for? Here’s the recipe. These are really so very, very tasty and a wonderful way to use the zillions…

This dish is the perfect combination of spicy and crunchy, a great way to use some of the zucchini in your garden. Ingredients: 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 lb zucchini, diced 1 med onion, diced 1 small bell pepper, diced 1-2  jalapeño pepper (depending on taste), seeded and diced 3 C tomatoes, peeled, seeded and…

Man has used salt to brine or fermenting vegetables for millennia. It is one of the easiest ways to preserve the goodness of vegetables all year long. Sauerkraut is one of the easiest foods you can preserve. There are two ways to make sauerkraut: in a big batch that you later process in a water…

If kohlrabi is new to you, this is a good dish to start with. But don’t stop here. You should also try Kohlrabi Salad. I could eat these fritters all by themselves as a meal. The cool mint-green Creamy Avocado Sauce makes it even yummier.  Remember, I love avocados, but no one else in my…

Don’t throw that Easter ham bone away! Even if it has just a tiny bit of meat left on it, there’s still plenty there to make a nice soup. I especially like ham cooked with navy beans, but any variety will do. This makes 6-8 servings of soup and each serving has 2½ servings of…

There is nothing food-storagey at all about this soup, but I have to share this recipe from my friend Laura Dallman, because it is such a good, hearty soup. It is commonly served during the holidays here in the Dakotas and Minnesota. Laura brings it each year for our Thanksgiving dinner and we LOVE it.…

This contrasting flavors and textures of this salad are a great surprise. Your family will ask for seconds. The color of red onion will stand out but you may prefer the flavor of sweet onion. Fennel is so easy to grow. You’ll want to have some all summer long to use in recipes like this.…

This is a wonderful way to use all the tomatoes and cucumbers coming out of your garden. Fresh, light and colorful, it is a good companion to sea food and chicken. For added color, I like to use a variety of different colored tomatoes. Ingredients: 2-3 large tomatoes, about 3 C diced 1-2 large cucumbers,…

Nettles are one of the first weeds to emerge in the spring and can quickly take over your yard if you give them half a chance. Now you can make good use of them. They are a very nutritious food: high in trace minerals and more nutritious than spinach. They have a diuretic property, so…

Nettles are one of the first plants to emerge in the spring. They are super-high in Vitamin C and minerals. They also have diuretic properties, so they are considered a good tonic or cleansing green. In other words, this is a super-health food that comes just when we most crave something fresh after a winter…

Sometimes it’s hard to get enough vegetables into your family’s diet. You think picky toddlers are difficult? Try stubborn teenagers. One of my favorite ways to hide veggies is using veggie powder. You can put it into soups, casseroles and (my favorite) meat loaf or meat balls. I use it in the place of crackers…

No garden should be without kale and collards. These easy-to-grow green leafy vegetables are both from the Brassica family (which includes cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussel sprouts and broccoli.) What makes these so great? Well, first of, they are packed with nutrition. Studies show that they may prevent several kinds of cancer. And they taste good! These…

My kids don’t like beets, but this dish has made them, well, tolerant, of beets. It is my favorite way to eat them. Quick and easy, this is a good way to use of the beets from your garden that you’ve been storing all winter long. Ingredients: 2 – 3 beets, enough to make 4…

Radishes are a great first crop for children to start learning to garden. They grow quickly and are fool proof. I plant radishes with my carrots. They are quick growing, so they help define my carrot rows long before the tiny carrot seedlings emerge. But then I’m left with a hug radish crop. What to…

The joke is “Leave your car windows rolled up in the summertime or someone will deposit a bunch of zucchini in your car.” But the truth is, there is no such thing as “too much zucchini.” Honestly, there are so many amazing ways to use zucchini, why would you ever want to give away this…