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Vegetables

Garlic & Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

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Mashed potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple in nearly every home.  They are simple to prepare…but if you don’t do it quite right they can turn out gluey and stiff.  This is my favorite way to make them, and my favorite way to eat them!  They turn out perfectly delicious every time.
Mashed Potatoes mainIf you are in charge of mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving this year, these could make you a very popular person!  The garlic and rosemary give it a subtle flavor, so it will compliment your turkey and sides without overwhelming your guests’ palates.  They are creamy and delicious and the perfect texture…so light and fluffy that you won’t even realize that you’ve had three servings!

* I have made these mashed potatoes with raw garlic added to the boiling water, and I’ve made them with roasted garlic added right before they get mashed.  It’s delicious both ways, so do it the way that speaks to your mashed potato loving heart!

*This recipe doubles easily if you have a big crowd to feed.

*I have mashed this recipe by hand and using an electric stand mixer.  I prefer using a mixer because it’s so much faster and easier!

*Yukon Golds are another great variety for mashing.  I have also used Russets, but I don’t like the texture *quite* as much.  Many people love Russets for mashing though, so try what sounds best!  Stick with it if you like it, or try something else if you think they could improve.  No matter what you choose, you really can’t go wrong!

Mashed Potatoes 2If you need some flavored butter for your holiday spread, be sure to try this Chive Butter (pictured above) or Garlic-Basil Butter.  You can enjoy these flavored butters on mashed potatoes, steamed or roasted veggies, crusty bread or soft rolls.

Spinach Salad with Marinated Tomato & Basil

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Tomatoes in a salad are nothing new.  More like an old standby, really.  But if you are new to marinating tomatoes before you add them to your salad, this recipe just might knock your socks off!

Spinach SaladPerhaps unless you’re shopping at a farmer’s market, homegrown garden-fresh tomatoes really have no equal.  Even a good, expensive tomato from the grocery store can never compare in flavor and texture to a vine-ripened, juicy tomato from the garden.  John Denver even sang about homegrown tomatoes!  If you’ve never heard the song, give it a listen.  It’s cute…and true.  Winter without homegrown tomatoes is most definitely a “culinary bummer!”

The balsamic dressing for this salad is simple and goes together quickly, but it adds a wonderful dimension to the tomatoes.  With just a few simple ingredients, your side salad will become the highlight of your meal!

Spinach Salad 2Give this simple salad a try and you might just start marinating all your tomatoes!

For more great recipes using tomatoes and basil, check out:

Caprese Appetizers

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These beautiful caprese appetizers are the perfect addition to any meal.  They are light, full of flavor, and fun to make!  You will love them because they are easy and delicious…and when the tomatoes and basil come out of your garden, they’re inexpensive too!  (And who doesn’t love that?!)caprese appetizer 5

One of the very best summer tastes is a garden-fresh homegrown tomato.  And one of my favorite garden-fresh tomatoes is the Sunsugar cherry tomato.  They’re sweet and delicious…and perfect for an appetizer like this!  Especially if your plants are producing more than you can eat and you need more ideas to use them up!  (Because when my sunsugar plant starts producing, I can hardly keep up with it!)

caprese appetizer 3

Stack it with some basil, balsamic, bread & cheese, and you’ve got an appetizer that just might ruin your dinner!

For the most amazingly easy way to slice cherry tomatoes in seconds, see our tutorial!

caprese appetizer 2 This is a fun appetizer to customize any way you want it.  Change up the order of ingredients, or the way you assemble it!  Or even make each of them different.  No matter how you put them together, they taste incredible and you won’t be able to stop at just one!  It’s the perfect combination of flavors…which means you might not save room for dinner.  But when the appetizers are this good, who cares?!

Fat-Free Sweet Potato Fries

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fat-free sweet potato fries 3

If you are looking for a delicious, healthy side dish or snack, fat-free sweet potato fries are a perfect choice!  They are simple to put together, loaded with good nutrition, and they’re always a crowd pleaser!  They’re fantastic with our homemade garlic-cilantro aioli.  We love this simple aioli because it goes together in 30 seconds in your blender!  We love recipes that are quick, simple, healthy and that taste great…and both of these recipes fit the bill!  Give these sweet potatoes a try and let us know what you think!

fat-free sweet potato fries 4

*If you don’t mind some oil on your fries, try tossing your uncooked sweet potato wedges with 2-3 tablespoons of avocado oil before seasoning them.

*Root vegetables can take a lot of salt.  Don’t be afraid to give them a good sprinkling.  {Don’t go overboard, but don’t skimp unless that’s how you like them}

*If you’re worried about your sweet potato wedges sticking to your foil, try crinkling the foil before you place it on the baking sheet.  This way the potatoes will be touching less of the foil’s surface, which means you will have less sticking when they come out of the oven.

fat-free sweet potato fries 1

Garlic-Cilantro Aioli

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Aioli.  You’ve heard of it.  Maybe even seen it.  But what in the world is it?  Well, you’ve come to the right place for answers!  Aioli is a garlic-flavored mayonnaise typically served with fish, seafood and vegetables.  It’s a French word with Latin roots:  ai–>garlic (allium) and oli–>oil (oleum).  Garlic Oil.  Yup.  We’re making garlic oil today!  With a little cilantro thrown in for good measure.

Garlic-Cilantro Aioli main

You’ll be so happy you tried today’s recipe.  This aioli is so easy to make…it all goes in the blender, and you’re done in 30 seconds!  There’s nothing I love more than an easy, quick, delicious recipe!

So far we have enjoyed our garlic-cilantro aioli  with Roasted Artichoke, Fat-Free Sweet Potato Fries (we will share that recipe with you next week!) and we even used it as a sandwich spread.  You just can’t go wrong with this aioli!  Comment below and let us know how you like to eat your aioli!

Garlic-Cilantro Aioli 3

Roasted Artichoke

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Roasted ArtichokeIf you want to impress your dinner guests, serve them this fabulous roasted artichoke!  It may take a long time in the oven, but with only a couple of minutes of prep, it can be roasting while you prepare your meal, weed the garden or take a nap!  And the flavor it develops from roasting is well worth the wait.  As you may have noticed by now, roasting is one of our favorite ways to prepare veggies!  If you like it steamed or boiled, try it roasted and you may never go back!  We served this with a delicious garlic-cilantro-lime aioli that was made in the blender in about 30 seconds!  Click here for this yummy recipe, you will love it!

 

To eat your artichoke, pull the leaves off, dip the part of the leaf that was attached to the artichoke in your sauce, put it in your mouth, close your teeth on the leaf, and pull outward.  The soft, delicious part of the leaf will come off the more fibrous, woody part.  Discard the leaf when you have eaten the soft part.  Enjoy!

Roasted artichoke 2

Baked Zucchini Fries

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Baked Zucchini Fries 2Baked zucchini fries are not only fast and easy to make, but it’s a great way to use all that zucchini in your garden when your plants are giving you more than you can use (and give away!).  This makes a great summer side, and it’s a great alternative for zucchini when you’re tired of zucchini bread, brownies & cake!

These baked zucchini fries can be prepped in less than 5 minutes, then just toss them in the oven while you worry about the rest of your meal.  They are crispy and delicious and they go great with just about any main dish!  Whether you’re grilling burgers or broiling chicken, these will be a great addition to your meal.

Baked Zucchini Fries 1

Berry Green Smoothie

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Berry Green Smoothie 2 If you are looking for a little variety in your green smoothie repertoire , try this Berry Green Smoothie!  It’s loaded with greens, but still has enough fruit to make it sweet for my picky kids.  Green smoothies are the best when it comes to great nutrition that I can actually get IN my kids!

Smoothies are great for getting fruits and veggies in kids and adults alike.  If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat a variety of veggies, try juicing small amounts of your vegetable choice and putting it in a smoothie.  It will give them added nutrition while helping them acquire a taste for those veggies they think they don’t like!  Sometimes all it takes is a little exposure for kids to realized they actually do like it!…

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Roasted Broccoli

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Roasted Broccoli 2 We discovered roasted broccoli last year at our house, and veggies have never been the same.  I don’t steam broccoli anymore because roasting is so easy and delicious, and holds more of the nutrition in.  Great as a simple side dish, or even to go in a casserole, you will love roasted broccoli!

We wanted carrots to go with our broccoli, so I added a big handful to the bag before I tossed it with the avocado oil.  They finished roasting at the same time, and they were a fabulous addition to our meal!  I added freshly ground Real Salt and pepper, and they tasted buttery when they came out of the oven!  Since no butter is used (but we love butter at our house!) it was a healthier choice with all the flavor! Roasted Broccoli main Avocado oil is my go-to oil for roasting because it has such a high smoke point (500 degrees!).  Other oils can be substituted for roasting, but since this is my current favorite, it’s what I list in the recipe.

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Snail Beer Trap

Snail Beer Trap

Ingredients

  • 2 disposable plastic cups
  • an old pencil
  • a can of beer OR DIY Yeast Snail Bait
  • DIY Yeast Snail Bait:
  • 1 Tbsp of flour
  • 1 tsp of sugar
  • 1 tsp of yeast
  • 2 cups of water

Instructions

  1. Dig a hole to fit one of the cups in your vegetable or flower garden, near your plants.
  2. Place one cup inside the hole, making it level with the ground, so the snails don't have to climb far.
  3. Carefully poke 4 drainage holes in the bottom of the remaining cup. Poke two more holes near the top, just under the lip, for the pencil to go through. This will ensure a gap between the cups so you can easily remove the top one to dispose of the snails the next morning.
  4. Place the cup with the holes and pencil inside the cup buried in the ground.
  5. Pour the beer or DIY Yeast Snail Bait inside the cup, leaving about an inch of headspace. The snails will climb down into the cup, and drown in the beer.
https://westerngardens.com/roasted-broccoli/
*I start checking mine at 10 minutes, but it usually takes 15.  Smaller pieces may be done more quickly than larger pieces.

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