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Eat from Garden - Recipes

Cookie Butter Apple Treats

October 28, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

cookie butter apple treats Harvesting your apples?  Been to your local farmer’s market and bought a bushel of apples?  Cookie Butter Apple Treats may be a new delicious treat to please the entire family while you are processing your apples for the season.  This simple 4-ingredient recipe is easy and yummy.  Any variety of apple tastes delicious with this cookie butter dip recipe, but we prefer Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady (whichever is the best price or whichever apple is ripe on the tree).

Cookie Butter Apple Treats Ingredients

  • 8 Tbsp. cookie butter – room temperature (I prefer Bischoff Cookie Butter so I feel like I’m flying on an airplane)
  • 4 Tbsp. vanilla greek yogurt
  • apple discs – 2-3 apples, sliced crossways
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips – melted  (optional)
  • brine – 2 cups water with 3 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1 Tbsp. salt

Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, add lemon juice or salt into 2 cups water. Stir and set aside.
  2. In a second medium bowl, combine cookie butter and yogurt.  Stir mixing well and set aside.Mix cookie butter and vanilla yogurt together until smooth
  3. Take your whole freshly harvested apples and slice them crossway through the center of the apple.  Apple seed “star” should be in the middle of your circle or disk.  Remove the seeds or centers of each apple disk using a tiny round cookie cutter or a knife. Your apples now look like skinny flat discs or donuts.Slice your apples crossway so the seed stars are showing. Cookie Butter won't fall through if you don't put a large hole in the middle
  4. Place the apple slices into the lemon or salt brine.  Let soak for 1-2 minutes. (This will keep the apples from turning brown.)soak your sliced apples in salt water or lemon water so that they won't turn brown.
  5. Place apple slices on a clean dishcloth or paper towel.  Flip them over so both sides are now somewhat dry.Pat the apple slices dry.
  6. Using a large piping tool,  pipe the cookie butter mixture in swirls on top of the apple discs.  (I like to use the Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator)
  7. Refrigerate and serve.  Yum!
  8. Optional – Melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips.  (Use double boiler on stove or microwave 10 seconds at a time until the chocolate stirs smooth.)  Drizzle or flip with a stick the chocolate over the apple discs.  It is very wise to wear an apron for this task.Decorate the apple slices and drip or flip chocolate on top for a gourmet design.

If you don’t want to do the apple disks, you can simply place the cookie butter dip in a bowl surrounded by any variety of apple wedges reading to scoop.

Cookie butter apple treats are a real crowd pleaser!  And even more delicious and satisfying when you grow and harvest your own apples!  Let Western Gardens teach you how to choose an apple tree for your yard.  It doesn’t have to grow super big to have a delicious harvest.

Snitching your Cookie Butter Apple Treats is common. They are delicious!

cookie butter apple treats

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Fruit, Recipes Tagged With: apple cookie butter, apple dip, apple recipe, apple treats, cookie butter apple treats

Gluten and Dairy Free Peach Cobbler

August 26, 2017 by Vanessa Roush

Having someone over for dessert but you have no idea what to feed them because they’re Gluten Free, Dairy Free, or Vegan? Here’s a recipe for gluten and dairy free peach cobbler that will be sure to impress those with or without food allergies.  And this recipe is just in time for the ripening of your Red Haven peaches from your tree.

Gluten and dairy free peach cobbler recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sliced fresh, frozen, or canned peaches
1-2 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp almond extract
dash of cinnamon (optional, but highly recommended)
3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup almond flour or brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp xanthum gum (you can omit this if you don’t have it, it just makes the flours stick together since they don’t have gluten in them)

fresh peaches from your tree you bought at Western Gardens are the best for this peach cobbler

gluten free ingredients include almond flour, tapioca flour, and almond extract

DIRECTIONS

Peach preparation:

First, peel and slice your fresh peaches and place fruit in 2 1/2 quart dish and drip lemon juice over them.  If you use canned peaches, drain and dump in dish.

squeeze lemon juice on gluten free peach cobblerBatter:

  1.  Cream together melted coconut oil and sugar, then add almond extract. kids in the kitchen making peach cobblerThis peach cobbler recipe is fun and easy for kids in the kitchen
  2.  Add in coconut milk, then rice/almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, xanthum gum and dash of salt.
  3. Mix well and spread over fruit. This will be thick and a tad lumpy.
  4. After this, I like to lightly sprinkle the top with a little sugar and a little freshly ground salt.coarse pink salt for peach cobbler

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes. I bake the cobbler until it starts to look caramelized on top, which gives a bit of a crunch to go with the chewy middle.baked fresh gluten and dairy free peach cobbler

Serve warm plain or with frozen ice cream of choice. I personally like it served up with a little bit of coconut milk if I don’t have any dairy free ice cream on hand. My husband tells me it’s delicious with vanilla ice cream.

Gluten and Dairy Free Peach Cobbler with vanilla icecream

This recipe works great with using brown rice flour, or almond flour. After trying both, our favorite is the almond flour version.

Careful, it’s addicting and you might want to eat this entire dish of gluten and dairy free peach cobbler.

NOTE:  Cobbler can be made with canned peaches, but it is always best made with fresh picked peaches from your peach trees from Western Gardens.  Fall is a good time to plant trees.

Gluten free peach cobbler. Dairy free peach cobbler.

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Recipes, Tips & How To's Tagged With: dairy free, gluten free, peach cobbler, recipes from the garden

National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day

August 5, 2017 by Jenn Crookston

Hello!  I’m Jenn from Housewives of Riverton and am so excited to be here with you today.  Did you know that August 8th is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day?  I am absolutely loving these different national days and have so much fun coming up with ways to celebrate them.
Leave a basket of zucchini on a neighbor's porch. The funny thing about National Sneak Some Zucchini onto your Neighbor’s Porch Day is, what person (who has a garden) isn’t going to be over the moon excited to celebrate this day.  I mean, if you were to start putting some of your zucchini abundance onto all your neighbor’s porches on just a random Tuesday people might think you were weird BUT make it a national day that you can include on a fun note and it’s perfectly acceptable to share the zucchini love!As I was thinking of different ways to celebrate this fun holiday I started thinking of some of my favorite zucchini recipes.  I think zucchini bread has to top the list, I like to pretend it’s completely healthy because it has quite a bit of zucchini in it, perfect for those days when I’m dieting.  I don’t want to make National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day a chore for you so I am not suggesting that you make zucchini bread for all your neighbors but you could include a recipe for zucchini bread (or cookies, cupcakes, brownies…there are so many delicious zucchini recipes) along with the needed amount (or more) of zucchini.  You may just introduce them to a new favorite recipe.
Free printable for National Zucchini day.
To help make this day and the giving easier for you, I’ve created this fun free printable for you to include with your bounty.  CLICK HERE to print it off! I think that cute smiling zucchini would make anyone’s day brighter, he just seems to scream “Hey you, I was thinking about you today!” and everyone loves to be thought of.
I say plan ahead, don’t let this fun new holiday sneak up on you, collect your zucchini abundance, print out a few of our free printable and maybe a recipe or two and hit the neighborhood on August 8th and bring a smile to the faces of your neighbors!

If you’re looking for a fun new way to eat your zucchini you’ve got to try our Zucchini Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting or our Applesauce Zucchini Bread both are serious crowd pleasers and are sure to have your friends and family asking for more zucchini from your garden!  Check out our National Zucchini Bread Day recipe as well.

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Holidays, Vegetables Tagged With: august 8, happy zucchini day, national sneak zucchini day, share with neighbor, zucchini, zucchini recipes

Favorite Edible Flowers from the Garden

August 3, 2017 by Marjorie Carter

Welcome Friends! Glad you are here.

Favorite edible flowers you probably already have in your yard

Edible flowers from the garden are an often overlooked delicious treat.  As a young child, each summer we would visit family living in California.  In the yard was a giant honeysuckle with beautiful red-gold flowers.  My cousins showed me how to pluck the flowers, pull off the green at the base of the blossom, and suck out the sweet nectar; hence, the name honeysuckle.  My young taste buds looked forward each summer to that sweet taste. 

As an adult, I have since learned that there are many kinds of flowers that are edible.  For example, many people know that dandelion blossoms and greens are edible.  However, there are a number of commonly grown flowers that are generally overlooked as a possible addition to a salad. 

Recently, I’ve experimented with flowers that are not simply beautiful but are also edible, with some surprises along the way.

Important points to remember about edible flowers:

  1. Pesticides – If you are going to eat any of your flowers, be sure you never use pesticides or other chemicals on any part of the plant that produces them. Your edible flowers could become not so edible.
  2. Research – Before sampling something, please be sure you research whether or not it is safe to ingest. Not all blossom are edible flowers.  Also, even if the flower is edible, it does not automatically follow that all other parts of that plant are also edible. Those honeysuckles blossoms I loved to taste as a child are safe, but the berries produced by the same vine are not.
  3. Allergies – As with any other food, be aware that some people are allergic to some flowers. If you already know you are allergic to a particular plant, avoid eating the flowers.
  4. Birds vs Humans – Just because birds can eat a berry, doesn’t mean that they are safe for human consumption.
  5. Cleanliness – Remember to wash the blossoms before eating them.  This will help remove any dust, dirt, or small insects that may be hanging out on the petals.
  6. Environment – The flavor of flowers will be impacted by how much water the plant receives, the timing of when you harvest it, the soil conditions, and the variety (and sometimes even the color of the flower). 

A few Edible Flowers to Try:  

Chamomile can make a tasty tea

Chamomile – Photo Credit: Pixabay

Chamomile – These simple white flowers are lovely and they also make good herbal tea.  I’ve grown them a few times and had to learn to harvest the flowers while the plant was young or the flavor became less to my liking.  Plus, my home grown chamomile had a more “wild” taste than the product I buy in teabags at the grocery store.  It was a bit of an adjustment.

Roses are edible flowers.

Rose – Photo Credit: Pixabay

Rose – Roses are not only a beautiful and dramatic garden favorite, they are edible.  I’ve heard of sugared rose petals, though I’ve never personally tried one.  Rose water is a popular ingredient in a variety of dishes, from cakes to beverages. 

Herb blooms like basil blossoms are edible flowers.

Basil Flowers – Photo Credit: Pixabay

Herbal Flowers (dill, basil, thyme, mint, etc.) – Eating the flowers from your herb garden can provide new options for seasoning your foods.  The flowers generally taste much like the leaves but can be a milder flavor, or a spicier flavor, or different enough that maybe you don’t like it as much as the leaves.  Give them a try and see what you think! 

Sage blossoms in a green salad.

Sage blooms in salad – Photo Credit: Marjorie C.

I personally love the flowers from sage.  They remind me of honeysuckle because of their sweetness, which was a surprise to experience.  We add edible flowers to salads or eat them straight off the plant.

Sage edible flowers

Sage – Photo Credit: Marjorie C.

Tulip – This spring we tried eating our tulips.  They basically grow wild in our back yard. My daughter described the flavor perfectly, “sweet red lettuce”. 

Lilacs and tulips are common flowers we can eat.

Lilacs and Tulips – Photo Credit: Marjorie C.

Lilac – I learned only recently that lilacs are edible, too!  I have about half a dozen lilac bushes on my property (thanks to the previous owner).  I love their scent and now look forward to trying out the taste next spring.  I will have purple, pink, and white lilacs to sample.  I think I’ll try a blind taste test to see if I can identify the color of the blossom from its flavor. 

Squash blooms are edible.

Squash Bloom – Photo Credit: Pixabay

Squash – The blossoms from pumpkin vines, zucchini plants, and all other varieties of winter and summer squash are edible. Everyone knows that we all end up with more zucchini than we know what to do with by the end of the summer.  Consider plucking some of the flowers earlier in the growing season and stuffing them, frying them, or making them into soup.

Eat some tasty daisies.

Daisies – Photo Credit: Pixabay

Others – A few other varieties of edible flowers that are common across Utah include: lavender, pansy, peony, marigold, nasturtium, violets, hibiscus, dandelion, clover.   Read about additional  Favorite Edible Flowers.

Finally, just because a flower is edible doesn’t mean it will taste good to you!  Some will taste better to you than others.  Be safe and have fun sampling!

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Flowers, Gardening, Utah Gardening Tagged With: chamomile, edible flowers, edible garden flowers, flowers safe to eat, flowers to eat, garden flowers to eat, herbal flowers, lilac blossoms, rose petals, safe to eat flowers, sage blossoms, squash blooms, tulips

Homemade Ketchup Recipe

June 5, 2017 by Jenn Crookston

WELCOME Gardener, Happy to see you here checking out a delicious Homemade Ketchup Recipe for all those tomatoes you are growing!

Homemade ketchup recipe from Western Gardens in UtahAre you looking forward to summertime and all the amazing foods summer brings?  I love picnics and bbq-ing, basically anything that allows me to eat outside and on dishes I don’t have to wash afterward.  One consistent condiment is ketchup, it seems like ketchup goes with just about every summertime meal.
I love trying new recipes, especially recipes that are simple and include items I always have on hand.  Every year we plant a variety of tomato plants and I enjoy using them in the summer and fall.  Unfortunately half of my family are not tomato lovers so I find myself giving tomatoes away so they don’t go to waste.  This year I am determined to learn how to can tomatoes so I can use them all year round and they’re perfect for this Homemade Ketchup Recipe.

Homemade Ketchup RECIPE:

*Whole Peeled Tomatoes, I used 1 large can Whole Peeled Tomatoes (1lb 12oz can)
(I’m looking forward to canning my own tomatoes this year to use for this recipe and many others)
*1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
*1/2 teaspoon Garlic Salt
*1.5 tablespoon Honey
*1-1.5 teaspoon Mustard
*1/4-1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
*1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
*1 teaspoon Onion Powder (can add more to taste)
boil your homemade tomatoes for your ketchup

Homemade Ketchup Recipe INSTRUCTIONS:

*Place all ingredients into a medium-size pot.
*Bring ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat.  Once boiling turn down and simmer for 60 minutes.
*After 60 minutes remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
*Once cool pour into blender and blend until smooth.
*Pour into air-tight container and place in refrigerator for up to 14 days.
Making homemade ketchup from your garden tomatoes is simple and delicious!
While this recipe isn’t the quickest it is quite possibly the simplest recipe you’ll find out there and it is delicious.  I highly recommend making it a couple of days ahead of time, if you can, the more time the flavors have to blend the better it will taste.  I love the rich flavor, I personally love that you can taste more of the tomato flavor and my family all loved it, even the tomato haters, so you don’t have to worry that the flavor is too strong.

I’m excited to bring this delicious ketchup to all our summer gatherings, I can’t wait to try it in homemade fry sauce too!
If you’re planning a bbq this summer or attending one, you need to try one of these amazing salads that are serious crowd pleasers!

Mom’s Potato Salad

Chicken Pasta Caesar Salad

Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Gardening, How To, Recipes, Utah Gardening, Vegetables Tagged With: eat your garden, garden tomatoes, homemade ketchup, homemade ketchup recipe, ketchup lovers, recipe, recipes, tomatoes

Banana Zucchini Bread Recipe w/Chocolate Chips

April 20, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

WELCOME Zucchini Chefs, Here is a yummy recipe to try!

Here is a family favorite zucchini bread recipe for your celebration of National Zucchini Bread Day on April 25th.  On the 24th, pull out your leftover frozen grated zucchini from last year’s harvest or load up the kids and let them each choose a fresh zuc from the local produce store.  Have all your recipe ingredients ready for the next day’s celebrations!  On the 25th, mix, bake and eat some bread, load up the kids and go buy new quality zucchini seeds from Western Gardens or any local independent garden center, and start the seeds indoors.  The kids will love seeing these easy and fast seeds sprout and seedlings grow. If you live in the Salt Lake area, you’ll be safe to plant them outside in your garden after Mother’s Day in May!

Photo by Meal Makeover Moms with a Flickr CC0 license

Bookmark or pin this recipe for summer deliciousness and for next April’s National Zucchini Bread Day!

Banana Zucchini Bread Recipe by Amy Christensen / Cahoon Cook Book

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 cup zucchini, grated

1 cup banana, mashed

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, mini preferred

Combine first 6 ingredients together mixing well.  Add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 hour.

Makes 3 small loaves.

 

Happy National Zucchini Bread Day everybody!

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: frozen zucchini, National Zucchini Bread Day, zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini bread recipe

National Zucchini Bread Day

April 20, 2017 by Heather Leister

Welcome Zucchini Lovers. Celebrate with us!

national zucchini bread day is April 25 - zucchini bread recipe

You are just in time for National Zucchini Bread Day!  If you included zucchini in last summer’s garden then there’s a good chance that your freezer is well stocked with leftovers from last year’s harvest. This easy to grow squash is notorious for producing more crop than gardeners know what to do with. If you still have a ziplock bag, or two, of frozen zucchini hanging around then you’re in luck! Now is the perfect time to defrost your zucchini leftovers because April 25th is National Zucchini Bread Day.

sliced zucchini bread for national food holiday

Photo Credit: Flickr Commons

Who doesn’t love an excuse to celebrate a national food day? With zucchini bread you have a way to satisfy your craving for warm carbohydrates while also getting in a serving of vegetables. Not to mention fiber! It’s always a plus when your fiber comes in the form of delicious bread. As an added bonus you’ll be able to either use up freezer leftovers or have an excellent excuse for finally starting your garden.

zucchini for national zucchini bread day

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

If you don’t already have zucchini in your freezer, don’t panic. Pick up the produce at your local store and use fresh zucchini in your bread recipe. Then head to the garden center for seeds and celebrate National Zucchini Bread Day by planting something that you will enjoy both in a few months time and at next year’s celebration!

several varieties of zucchini seed packets

Quality seeds for a successful crop! Choose varieties that will thrive in your area.

Mid May happens to be an excellent time to plant zucchini seeds because the ground has begun to warm up. You can also begin your seeds indoors, but if you want to direct-seed and avoid transplanting then it’s best to wait until the soil temperature measures around 60-degrees. Check with your local independent garden center to know when it is ideal for planting your seeds. In Utah along the Wasatch Front, gardeners remember Mother’s Day as the time when the rest of the garden can be planted.  Cold crops can be planted as early as March.  Zucchini is definitely not a cold crop.  

grate and freeze fresh zucchini for national zucchini bread day in april

Photo Credit: Flickr

In the fall, if your plants have done well, you will most likely find yourself giving away zucchini. To friends, neighbors, coworkers, maybe even strangers. Even after all that generosity you should still have plenty of zucchini left to freeze for the following year. Preserving the squash is easily done. Wash the zucchini in cold water, pat it dry, then cut off both ends. Use a cheese grater to grate the plant and then store the grated zucchini in a well-labeled ziplock bag in the freezer. The vegetable should keep in the freezer for approximately eight months. Which means you’ll be prepared and ready to bake when National Zucchini Bread Day comes around again!

Click next for a simple delicious Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip bread recipe.  It will please everyone!

Western Gardens | Utah

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Vegetables, Veggie Gardening Tagged With: Food Days, National food holidays, National Zucchini Bread Day, Squash, zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini recipes

Wheatgrass Juice Basics

March 28, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Welcome Friend! Happy you came by again.

Did you make an Easter project growing wheat grain into wheatgrass?  In our Wheatgrass Easter Egg project, we grew enough wheatgrass that would cost $3 or more if you purchased at the local market.  If you find it difficult to throw away that gorgeous green wheatgrass, try your hand at making Wheatgrass Juice.  Here are the basics.

Learn a few basics about making healthy Wheatgrass juice

Basic How-To’s:

Harvest when wheatgrass is about 4-8 inches in height.  

Use sharp scissors and cut just above the roots.

Wash grass blades and chop with knife into ½-1 inches lengths.  This size is easiest to work with unless you are feeding them into a manual grinder.  In this case, no need to cut the blades smaller.

Use about ¼ – ½ cup of wheatgrass for one serving. Use your favorite method to extract the juice from the grass. (see methods below)

For best nutritional value, drink the wheatgrass juice within 30 minutes.

Wheatgrass juice can be mixed with other juices for a better taste.  There are hundreds of recipes ranging from adding lemon juice, spinach leaves, cinnamon, and a myriad of other ingredients.  Choose one and give it a try!

Mortar & Pestle method:

Slow but sure, use a mortar and pestle to make wheatgrass juice.Place grass in a mortar with about one tablespoon of water.  

Grind the grass with the pestle until water turns a very dark green.

Pour into a small glass the water and grass through cheesecloth or a coffee filter.  Place the grass pulp back in the mortar. Add another tablespoon of water and grind again until water is dark green.  Filter the water again and replace grass back into mortar.

Continue this process until the water doesn’t turn dark green anymore.

The spent ground grass can be composted.  

 Blender method:

A basic blender can be used to make wheatgrass juice.

Place about ½ cup wheatgrass in blender with 1 cup water.

Pulverize for one-two minutes.  

Strain and discard the pulp.  

Manual Juicer method:

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=204681

Manual Grinder for DIY wheatgrass juice. Photo used under Wikimedia Commons GNU License

Follow the instructions for the machine you are using.

Did you know…

Wheatgrass is gluten free because it is taken from the sprouts rather than from the plant when it is old enough to produce the wheat seed.

Ancient Egyptians used wheatgrass for the effect on their health and beauty.

Wheatgrass is a good source of potassium, vitamins A, C, E, K, B6, dietary fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, iron, zinc, copper manganese, selenium and even protein.

According to Charles Schnabel, a wheatgrass proponent in the 1940’s, “fifteen pounds of wheatgrass is equal in overall nutritional value to 350 pounds of ordinary garden vegetables.” 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Eat from Garden - Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: gluten free, gluten free drink, juice methods, wheatgrass, wheatgrass juice

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