garden vegetables Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Summer Veggie Slaw

July 23, 2012 by Marie 27 Comments

Here’s another way to start using up all the zucchini and other veggies and herbs that your garden is producing, just gather everything together and make this Summer Slaw!

It’s quite easy to do if you have this handy julienne peeler, otherwise a mandoline slicer would work as well.
Note: I cut my squash in the middle so that when I used my peeler I wouldn’t have long “spaghetti” like strips but rather shorter ones like in coleslaw.

The ingredients I used were:

Yellow squash
Zucchini
Red pepper strips
Match stick carrots
Radish, sliced and cut into strips
Green onions sliced diagonally
Red onion strips
Very fresh shucked corn or precooked
Fresh picked basil and parsley
Torn spinach leaves

No exact amounts here, just use what you have and place everything in a big bowl like I do, tossing and adding until you have a nice color balance with your veggies and herbs.

For added flavor I tossed in strips of Parmigiano Reggiano, but you can get creative and use any aged cheese you like, Fontinella and Provolone work as well because the cheese can easily be cut into strips.
For my dressing I used a simple olive oil and fresh lemon juice but if you wanted something creamier that would work also.

All the ingredients are raw except for the corn, I had two cooked cobs leftover, but feel free to use super sweet fresh corn straight from the cob uncooked.
Gently toss everything together, taste for flavor adding salt and pepper and a little grated cheese if you like, then pile high on a platter. If I had pine nuts I would have added them.
After I took the photo I added in some slivered almonds and a little crumbled feta.

This was a great side dish to my cedar planked salmon!

The perfect summer meal on a very hot day!

27 Comments Filed Under: Featured, Side Dishes, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: garden vegetables, julienned zucchini, summer bounty, veggie slaw

I Made Kale Chips, and Hated Them!

July 5, 2010 by Marie 30 Comments

I knew I was going to make these chips sooner or later, recipes have been floating around the blogosphere for a while now and I couldn’t wait to try it myself. You see I have a daughter who loves kale, she convinced me to try it, and now I too love kale. In fact we’re growing two different kinds in our garden this year and it’s growing like crazy!

I sent her home with a huge bag of raw kale last week so she could make her salads with it, I tried giving her the kale chips, and she “No thanks!” This is coming from a kale loving person, and even she didn’t like them!

I guess it’s a love hate thing but to me it tastes like crispy seaweed that turns into dust in your mouth. Maybe I should have flavored them up more or done something different, or maybe I should just let it go and eat it the way I really like it, in salads and braised.

The way I made them was simple. Wash your kale real good and then make sure it’s nice and dry. Cut your kale leaves off the stem and tear them into bite size pieces. Toss in olive oil, place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake until crispy about 20 minutes in a 300F oven.

If any of you kale chip lovers have some tips you want to share please feel free to do so, maybe there’s still hope!

My husband who has the green thumb pulled our first eggplant and my favorite tiny clustered tomatoes today and the basil is growing out of control!

It must be all that watering he does! Enjoy your short work week, and Buon Appetito.

30 Comments Filed Under: Greens Tagged: garden vegetables, kale chips

Grilled Pizza and a Garden Salad

July 21, 2009 by Marie 34 Comments

Making pizza on the grill has become a summertime favorite for us. The dough cooks up in a matter of minutes, and it always creates a nice crisp crust. Whether you have a good source for buying fresh pizza dough or you make your own, if you haven’t tried this yet put it high on your list!

I like to roll my dough out a little, but when you put it on the grill it changes it’s shape, but that’s the beauty of it! Make sure your grill is nice and hot. Brush the top with olive oil and put that side down on your hot grill. Brush the raw side with olive oil and then flip the dough when you see grill marks underneath.

Have all your ingredients ready because now you will be adding them to the first cooked side, it grills up very fast so have things precooked, mostly light and fresh ingredients work best. I have tried so many combinations, as you know when making pizza the possibilities are endless!

For this pizza I tried something different. Pancetta with caramelized red onions, creamy bocconcini, fresh tomatoes and roasted artichoke hearts, a great combination that I would do again. Here’s a couple of my other favorites.

This is great for a leisurely weekend dinner while you’re sitting outside enjoying the weather, pour yourself some wine, make a salad, and you have a great meal!

Speaking of salad! This all came from my garden, doesn’t it look so nice and fresh? I can’t wait to dress it up with my best olive oil and favorite vinegar.