What to do with all this Garden Produce??

Every time I show my garden, I get tons of questions about what it is that I actually do with all the produce that comes out of it. My love of gardening actually stems from my love of cooking.

I started “helping” bake bread and rolling pie dough when I was 3. At 4 I was given my first chef’s knife (dull of course) to help chop veggies.

By the time I was 6, I was baking my own cinnamon rolls to sell around the neighborhood out of my sister’s Red Flyer wagon to save up money to buy a skateboard.

At 8 years old, our family went through a major transition and I had to take up a big portion of cooking our family dinners.

My poor family endured MANY nights of “Pasta 3000” (a one-pot lasagne-esque dish I created and named “PASTA 3000”… because I was 8).

I kept experimenting and widening my repertoire, and after a while I started to get less complaints and more compliments.

As we travelled around the world for my parent’s mission work, I spent lots of time in my Babushka’s kitchen in Ukraine baking bread and making vareneke, learning to make curries and dumplings in Asia, and refining my use of peppers and lime in Mexico.

So, I figure it’s high time I shared some of my favorite SUPER SIMPLE garden recipes I use almost everyday:

Sautéed squash

Sautéed squash couldn’t be easier!

1. Put a pan on high heat with a tablespoon of oil.

2. Chop or slice some squash and a few cloves of garlic (or, if you’re me, a whole head of garlic in every recipe calling for ANY amount of garlic).

3. Toss in a tablespoon of salt, a healthy sprinkle of pepper, and cook until the outer edges of the squash start to turn translucent.

4. Pour in a bowl, garnish with a little extra pepper, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and a few sprigs of basil.

5. Serve with Rice and a Soft Boiled or fried egg and you’ve got a whole meal.

Sweet/Savory Crepes

• 1 c. all-purpose flour

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar

• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 1/2 c. whole milk

• 1 tbsp. melted butter

1. Whisk everything together in a bowl creating a batter. Melt a pad of butter in a pan over medium heat. When just melted, ladle in enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan.

2. When you start to see bubbles across 2/3 of the crepe, flip and cook the other side for an additional minute.

Other Simple Ideas

• Braised Bacon,

• Kale and Kohlrabi served over rice

• A soft boiled egg

• Fresh cucumber slices

• Garnish with a little flake salt and cilantro

Campfire Steak Dinner

• Flame-grilled Ribeye steak cooked over the bonfire

• 15-minute from-scratch rolls (See the video below!)

• Potato/pea vine mash.

And, if you haven’t seen them, check out these great recipe videos!