Fresh Tomato & Basil Stuffed Peppers ♥

Stuff me! That's what every vegetable is shouting right now. And I'm listening!

Earlier this week, I stuffed eight-ball zucchini with rice 'n' stuff but these are a whole 'nother take, peppers with fresh tomato and other garden goodness.

SAN MARZANO TOMATOES For the first time, I found fresh San Marzano tomatoes. They have the meatiness of a Roma so are good for stuffing. And taste-wise they are VERY good -- I can't put my finger on it, but they are definitely different, startlingly so at first, then you just want to gobble them up and can't really tell.

KITCHEN NOTES The muddled-red peppers looked pretty but the green ones tasted better. Look for 'squatty' versus 'tall' peppers that are easier to stuff and stand upright.

NEXT TIME Next time I'll use smaller peppers, like a side dish, since one big pepper isn't all that appetizing to eat whole. I'll also chop the tomatoes so they pack better into the peppers.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES See the Recipe Box for more great vegetable recipes!

TWO YEARS AGO Tomato Cocktail ... "... this tomato cocktail is faintly sweet, almost fruity. It's frothy and refreshing."

TOMATO & BASIL STUFFED PEPPERS

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 60 minutes
Serves 2

2 peppers but easily multiplied

STUFFING, per pepper -- stuff in this order
1 ounce goat cheese or other soft cheese (I used my version of homemade Boursin which was VERY good)
Chopped parsley
Basil leaves
Chopped tomato
Sprinkle of black pepper
Sprinkle of dried thyme (important)
More basil leaves
Drizzle of olive oil
Another 1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled
More black pepper
More parsley

1/2 cup or so of white wine

Preheat oven to 350F. Slice off top 1/4 of pepper, along the crown line. Remove the membrane and seeds from both the top and the bottom. If needed, cut a very shallow slice on the bottom to help it stand straight.

Stuff the peppers, packing full and tight. (Mine didn't have enough stuffing.) Put on the 'top. Place in a shallow dish just large enough to hold the peppers and hold them upright. Pour the wine into the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes. Serve while hot.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 268 Cal (56% from Fat, 19% from Protein, 25% from Carb); 14 g Protein; 18 g Tot Fat; 9 g Sat Fat; 6 g Mono Fat; 18 g Carb; 5 g Fiber; NetCarb13; 7 g Sugar; 127 mg Calcium; 4 mg Iron; 231 mg Sodium; 26 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 6 points

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE Adapted from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook

SHORTHAND RECIPE
TOMATO & BASIL STUFFED PEPPERS Stuff peppers w 1oz chevre, parsley, fresh basil, chopped tomato, pepper, dried thyme, more basil, drizzle olive oil, 1oz crumbled chevre, more pepper, more parsley. Bake 350F for 40min with ½ c wine in dish. VV07

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point vegetable recipes, the just-relaunched low-carb vegetable recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Eight Ball Stuffed Zucchini ♥

What is it about late summer that all of a sudden I want to cook with vegetables again? For two, maybe three months, assembling vegetables into quick salads and side vegetables has been satisfying. But suddenly, I want more!

But not more complicated! These took only 20 minutes to assemble (oh wait, am I still assembling?!) and another 20 in the oven. The eight-ball 'round' zucchini are very tasty and perfect for stuffing -- no real recipe required but I'll share what I did because it was very good.

The basics would work for any stuffing. Scoop out the zucchini, steam them upside down for six or seven minutes, then stuff and toss into the oven to finish cooking and warm the contents. Yum ... a great vegetarian supper.

HOMEMADE BOURSIN I intended to use Boursin, the creamy-garlicky stuff from the grocery, as a binder. But -- what ARE they thinking? -- the stuff is selling at my local supermarket for $7.69 for 4.4 ounces which is a ridiculous $28 a pound. Forget that!!! I bought some Neufchatel, the low-fat cream cheese and made an extra-garlicky version of my Basil Cream Cheese Dip. It was perfect -- and maybe fifty cents. You could also use goat cheese or plain cream cheese, even feta, anything to bind the stuffing ingredients.

GROW YOUR OWN This is my contribution to the fun event happening at Andrea's Recipes. She's challenged us to cook something we've grown ourselves -- here it's the garlic and the basil, not much but two things I didn't grow last year!

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FROM THE ARCHIVES Other 'stuffed' vegetables that I've loved are this feta-stuffed zucchini and a similar version for stuffed patty pan squash and as soon as winter squash begin to appear, acorn squash with quinoa & cherries.

A YEAR AGO Slow-Roasted Tomato Soup, a reminder to (you know what's coming, right?) slow-roast tomatoes!

TWO YEARS AGO New Potatoes with Mint & Parsley

Eight Ball Stuffed Zucchini

Hands-on time: 20 minutes (for two)
Time to table: 40 minutes
Serves 2

Eight ball zucchini, one per person

Per Zucchini, about this much, for stuffing:
1 - 2 tablespoons Boursin, goat cheese or cream cheese (or my homemade Boursin)
scant 1/2 cup cooked rice (I used a combination of brown and wild rice)
1 - 2 green onions, chopped
2 - 4 Kalamata olives, chopped
Fresh basil, chopped
Fresh red pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts (these were perfect)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Start water to boil for steaming the zucchini (I used a Dutch oven with a metal steamer rack). Wash the zucchinis well, paying special attention to the 'socket' and the stem areas. Slice off the top third or so of the stem end. With a paring knife, cut around the perimeter of the zucchini, leaving a 'wall' about 1/4 inch thick. Cut hatch marks into the flesh, without piercing the skin or the 'wall'. With a serrated grapefruit spoon, scoop out the flesh and set aside for another use. Scoop out the 'lid' too. Steam cutside down for 6 - 7 minutes.

Combine the stuffing ingredients. When the zucchini is steamed, pack tightly with filling ingredients. Place in oven dish, place the 'lid' on top and bake for about 20 minutes or until heated through.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
(a wild stab, given the variation, assumes feta for cheese) Per Serving: 262 Cal (36% from Fat, 13% from Protein, 52% from Carb); 9 g Protein; 11 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 4 g Mono Fat; 36 g Carb; 6 g Fiber; NetCarb30; 6 g Sugar; 148 mg Calcium; 4 mg Iron; 393 mg Sodium; 8 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 5 points

SHORTHAND RECIPE
STUFFED EIGHT-BALL ZUCCHINI Scoop out, steam for 6 – 7 minutes. Stuff w rice, olives, green onion, basil, red peppers, tomatoes, Boursin/goat cheese. Bake 350F 20m. VV07

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point vegetable recipes, the just-relaunched low-carb vegetable recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Low-Carb Vegetable Recipes

If you're a low-carb dieter, you're going to love
A Veggie Venture's
brand-new home for

low-carb vegetable recipes.

It's been re-organized but you'll find all your favorite low-carb vegetable recipes from before.

Plus -- especially good news for regular visitors -- it's completely up-to-date so there are dozens and dozens of new recipes easily accessible for the first time!


The new page is also easy to find - see it there? right at the top of every page!

Regular visitors know that there are so many vegetable recipes on A Veggie Venture, without organization, it would be hard to find 'the' recipe, you know, the quick one for supper or the perfect one for a special meal.

To make all my vegetable recipes easy to find in a flash (I always imagine someone ready to leave work, planning a grocery stop and wondering what quick vegetable to make for supper), in the last while, I've also created special sections for microwave vegetable recipes and quick vegetable recipes (where all the recipes take no more than 5 or 10 minutes to prep) and vegetable recipes for the grill. And lest I forget, the most-visited vegetable recipes here are organized by Weight Watchers points so if you're looking for Zero Point recipes or One Point recipes, or even Two-Point recipes, this section is a treasure!

How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point vegetable recipes, the just-relaunched low-carb vegetable recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Chard & Chickpeas with Feta ♥

An unexpected benefit of tracking what vegetables are fresh in Maine is the reminder that certain inexpensive, readily available and super-healthful vegetables are woefully unpopulated in what is approaching 800 vegetable recipes, chard, say. It just goes to show that even someone who's obsessed captivated by vegetables has to pay attention too.

Enter this easy-to-prepare, adaptable and tasty vegetarian supper. The greens (essentially Greek Greens) could even be cooked a day or two in advance, making supper itself a real snap.

NEXT TIME I'll add lemon zest, maybe some roasted pepper, hmm, red maybe or maybe poblano. I might also saute the stems to toss in, maybe more onion and oh, say, some leftover rotisserie chicken. This is also a great way to use up odds and ends of leftover vegetables at the end of the week, whatever's on hand. It's a great 'concept recipe'.

CALORIE NOTES Again and again I'm surprised by how many calories live in those diet-tasting chickpeas. So if you're counting Weight Watchers points, be careful with portion size. It's another good reason to bulk up with more vegetables.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES See the Recipe Box for other Vegetarian Supper recipes.

A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK Garlicky Romano Beans, I remade these a few weeks ago with regular green beans and they were just as gorgeous

CHARD & CHICKPEAS with FETA

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 50 minutes
Serves 4

Large pot of salted water
1 pound Swiss chard [the inspiring recipe called for 3 pounds, since cleaning/chopping the greens takes the bulk of the prep time, this will greatly affect the timing]

29-ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained [the inspiring recipe used 19 ounces]
1 tablespoon olive oil [the inspiring recipe used 4 tablespoons, completely unnecessary]
4 green onions, chopped
[1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped] - included in the inspiring recipe
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400F. Bring the water to a boil. Wash the greens well, fold in half and slice out and reserve the stems for another use. Drop the greens into the boiling water, cover and cook for 4 minutes or until soft. Drain, squeeze dry and chop.

In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas, onion, garlic and chopped greens. Transfer to a greased oven-safe dish. Top with feta, pressing into the greens. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until sizzling hot. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 351 Cal (22% from Fat, 19% from Protein, 60% from Carb); 17 g Protein; 9 g Tot Fat; 5 g Sat Fat; 2 g Mono Fat; 54 g Carb; 11 g Fiber; NetCarb 43; 3 g Sugar; 280 mg Calcium; 5 mg Iron; 1175 mg Sodium; 25 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 7 points

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE Adapted from Food & Wine

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with well-organized, quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Fresh Crowder Peas (NOT Black-eyed Peas) ♥

(UPDATE: The farmer I bought the crowder peas from said were the same as "black-eyed peas" and "cowpeas." He was, according to many commenters below, completely wrong. So sorry!)

So it took all of 17 minutes to shell a pound of fresh crowder peas. But I fussed and fumed the entire time. "Why is this taking so long?" and "Nobody's ever going to make these, they take too long." But somehow, as the minutes passed, these old-fashioned peas got me to thinking in a way, say, gorgeous French radishes did not.

How far we've come from the source of our food sustenance. Sure, I bought these from my local farmers market - I even 'walked' to the market. But what I didn't do was:

• Leave my homeland and family seeking personal freedom or economic opportunity
• Cross mountains and rivers and prairies to find affordable farmland
• Put down scarce cash for land, build some sort of shelter, survive the first winter with little to eat
• Fell trees, pull boulders in order to till virgin soil
• Watch bad seed or storms or drought or insects decimate the crop
• Buy seed and fertilizer and insecticide and farm equipment on credit
• Sell the back forty to re-purchase seed, fertilizer and insecticide when spring rains wash out the first planting
• Worry whether my children will want to farm this land, whether this land will be there for them to farm

It's been many years since I've been on anything except a gentleman's farm. Somehow, crowder peas got me to thinking what it might have took to get them to my market where I could buy a pound for two bucks. You know what, 17 minutes of shelling, it was the least I could invest.

NEXT TIME I'll make sure to select either 'green' or 'brown' pods for the peas inside are at different stages of ripening. Either one is fine and the peas from both turn that dull brown while cooking. The brown ones are slightly easier to shell.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES See the Recipe Box for other black-eyed pea recipes, considered 'lucky' and so by American southern tradition, eaten at New Year's to bring good luck to the new year.

A YEAR AGO Tomato Sandwich with 'Bacony Cheese' with an inventive vegetarian 'bacon'!

TWO YEARS AGO Roasted Nopalito Tomatillo Salsa, very good in a tortilla wrap with turkey and roasted pepper

FRESH CROWDER PEAS (NOT BLACK-EYED PEAS)

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 60 minutes
Serves 4

Salted water
1 pound peas, shelled

DRESSING
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon good vinegar

Fresh herbs if desired

Bring the water to a boil while shelling the peas. Add to boiling water, cover and let cook for about 40 minutes or until done. (They are quite starchy, very similar in texture to canned or frozen black-eyed peas.) Drain and return to the hot pot.

Meanwhile, whisk the dressing. Pour over hot drained peas and toss several times to coat and let the liquid soak in. Toss with herbs and serve immediately.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 98 Cal (33% from Fat, 9% from Protein, 58% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 4 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 3 g Mono Fat; 15 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; NetCarb11; 2 g Sugar; 96 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 3 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, well-organized in the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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It's Time to Start Slow-Roasting Tomatoes

Enter Year Three of my dedication (um, obsession?) of capturing the taste of summer for winter in the form of slow-roasted tomatoes. The secret combination of time (slow) and temperature (low) were discovered two years ago here on A Veggie Venture but are revealed to Kitchen Parade's print readers for the first time in this week's column all about how to make slow-roasted tomatoes!

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SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features 'fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences'.

Where A Veggie Venture is 'pure food blog', full of experimentation and exploration, Kitchen Parade features recipes a modern cook can count on. All are thoroughly tested by a home cook in a home kitchen and many are family and reader favorites. All recipes feature easy-to-find ingredients, clear instructions and because I believe so strongly in informed food choices, nutrition analysis and Weight Watchers points. Want to know more? Explore KitchenParade.com, including Kitchen Parade's Recipe Box!

WHY CAN'T I COMMENT ON THIS PAGE? Because I hope that you'll click through to the actual column and comment there!

A Veggie Venture is home of the Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and vegetable inspiration from Asparagus to Zucchini. © Copyright 2007

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Vegetables Are Scary!

Just a little back-to-school silliness, playing along with Freddie and his mum, who are in the middle of their very own Great Big Vegetable Challenge.

Want to play along? They want your vegetable faces!

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Roasted Baby Eggplant Halves with Herbs ♥

Some cooks, you just admire, they just make it all look so effortless - post after post, that's my reaction to the food cooked by Ilva of Lucullian Delights, who seems to pull ingredient combinations from the air, often making me wonder, Why didn't I think of that?

Her Very Herby Eggplants sent me scurrying to the grocery for baby eggplant. (You see, I want to encourage the aim-to-please produce manager at my local supermarket, even if I suggested Japanese eggplant and she ordered baby eggplant and then put them at $3 a pound beside globe eggplant for $1 a pound. But hey -- seems eggplant sells at that price, for the store was plumb out.) Luckily, a few days later there were baby eggplant at the farmers market.

And OH MY: I love these little guys. And they just look so pretty on a plate, right up there with feta-stuffed zucchini and beet carpaccio.

NEXT TIME I think I'll whiz the herbs, oil and salt in a mini food processor. It might be easier to press into the grooves.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES See the Recipe Box for all the eggplant recipes, starting with the summer's favorite ratatouille and
Thai-roasted eggplant salad.

A YEAR AGO Warm Tomato Corn Okra Salad ... "mid-summer farmers-market bounty (fresh tomatoes, corn and okra) warmed under the broiler, then tossed with fresh basil. Heaven!"

TWO YEARS AGO Turkey on Pita with Tomatillo Sauce ... "ah the sauce! the sauce was delicious!"

ROASTED BABY EGGPLANT HALVES with HERBS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Serves 2 (easily multiplied)
See the inspiring recipe from Lucullian Delights

1 baby eggplant, sliced in half lengthwise

Fresh herbs - I used (no parsley!), rosemary, sage, thyme, about a tablespoon per half
Garlic - 1 clove per half
Salt
Good olive oil (yes, I used the really good olive oil)

Preheat oven to 450F. (Ilva used 400F.) Cross-hatch the flesh of the eggplant with a sharp knife but do not pierce the skin. Chop the herbs and garlic together, place on of the eggplant. Salt, then press into the grooves. Drizzle with oil. (Alternatively, whiz the herbs, garlic, salt and olive oil in a mini food processor and then press the paste into the grooves.) Place in baking dish and put into hot oven for about 30 minutes or until soft.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE This is not diet food! I probably used 1 tablespoon of oil per half. Per Half: 153 Cal (77% from Fat, 4% from Protein, 20% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 14 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 10 g Mono Fat; 8 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; NetCarb4; 3 g Sugar; 25 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 298 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 4 points

SHORTHAND RECIPE - BABY EGGPLANT HALVES Cut in half length-wise, cross-hatch. Chop 1cl garlic, 1T fresh herbs, salt, oil, per half. Roast 450F 30min. VV07

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Summer Borscht ♥

Wouldn't you say this cold borscht is perfect for Race for the Cure, yes?! What a color! And it turned even pinker than shown after sitting for a day -- yes, that's pink.

For winter, there's no beating a steaming bowl of hot beet soup (borscht). But it's too heavy and hot for summer. But cold beet soup, lightened with cucumber, now that's perfect summer food and made for a great light vegetarian supper -- and for the record, is my contribution to Festa Al Fresco 2007, a virtual patio party, hosted again this year by Cream Puffs in Venice and La Mia Cucina.

Once the beets were cooked, something easy to do entirely unattended, the soup itself made up in a flash. The inspiring recipe suggested waiting 24 hours to serve, but I thought it was fine the first night but yes, it improved some after the flavors had a chance to meld.

TOO MUCH SOUR CREAM? The inspiring recipe called for a full 16 ounces of sour cream, which made me wonder if it would taste like big spoonfuls of, well, sour cream. It didn't. The milk thins it down, plus the raw garlic really comes through, as does the beet flavor.

BEETS, MOTHER NATURE'S FAST FOOD I like to cook cook beets on the stove in the summer, when it's too hot to run the oven. Think about cooking extra beets, for if you check the beet recipes, you'll see that many can be made in just a few minutes once the beets are cooked, just look for the symbol.

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FROM THE RECIPE ARCHIVES Looking for another cold soup recipe? There's a chilled carrot soup with honey, or Sengalese Soup, with shrimp, honey and corn or better yet, this unusual fruity gazpacho.

A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK It must be cold-soup weather because a year ago this week, I posted three cold soups in a row -- a potato and leek vichyssoise, an asparagus soup with a touch of orange and this gorgeous traditional gazpacho

SUMMER BORSCHT

Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Time to table: 25 minutes if beets are precooked, otherwise 2 hours (or 24 hours if chilling overnight)
Makes 7 cups

COOK THE BEETS
1 pound beets

Fill a large pot with water enough to cover the beets by at least an inch. Cover and turn on heat to bring to a boil. Trim off the greens, leaving about 1 inch of stub. Wash well but don't scrub hard, or snip off the tap root, otherwise beet flavor will leach out during cooking. Add the beets to the pot and continue bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to a fast simmer and cook til a knife can be inserted without resistance. The time varies widely - these took 1 1/4 hours. Drain into a colander and let cool til cool enough to handle. Slip a small knife under the skin and slip off skins. Dice small.

MAKE THE SOUP
1/2 an English cucumber, peeled and cut in chunks (you'll use the other half too)
1 - 2 cloves garlic
1 cup whole milk (skim would likely work too)
16 ounces sour cream (I indulged in full fat, to my taste, it wasn't overly rich)
Salt & pepper to taste

Cooked beet, diced small
1/2 an English cucumber, peeled and diced small
Chive for garnish
Parsley for garnish (next time I'll skip this)

In the blender, whiz the English cucumber, garlic and about half the milk, til smooth. Add the remaining milk and continue whizzing. Transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in the sour cream and season to taste. Stir in the beet and cucumber. If you like, refrigerate for 24 hours before serving. Spoon soup into bowls, top with chive and/or parsley.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 200 Cal (65% from Fat, 9% from Protein, 25% from Carb); 5 g Protein; 15 g Tot Fat; 9 g Sat Fat; 4 g Mono Fat; 13 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb11; 8 g Sugar; 142 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 101 mg Sodium; 32 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 5 points

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
Greene on Greens, a classic vegetable cookbook, one of my favorites

HOW MANY CALORIES, CARBS & WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS IN BEETS
Nutrition Information Per 1/4 pound of raw beet: Per Serving: 49 Cal (3% from Fat, 14% from Protein, 83% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 0 g Mono Fat; 11 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb8; 8 g Sugar; 18 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 88 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 0 points

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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OOO Zesty Green Beans ♥

In this the third summer of an unflagging obsession with vegetables, the season's surprise love affair is with ... beans. Yes, beans.

Ah sure, I've always liked beans. It's just that given a choice, until now I'd choose nearly anything else over beans. No more. Beans are beautiful! Beans are the best! Beans are ... okay, you're probably getting my new love interest, yes? (I've even recruited 'bean look-outs', friends who're tasting beans from various places and reporting especially good ones. )

What changed? My theory (which requires extensive further taste-testing) is that beans simply taste better when well salted. Salt makes beans, well, beans.

Enter Super Natural Cooking from fellow food blogger Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks, which adds both lemon and lime zest to the equation. Swoon.

NEXT TIME Those little OOOs are cute but fiddly. Next time I'll send them through the slicer in the food processor, though they won't be half so cute that way. In a pinch, I'd tuck the zests into a bag of frozen green beans, especially the 'Frenched' ones that are already sliced into thin lengths. I might also cook the beans in the microwave or cook the beans in well-salted water, then add the zest and some butter. It's the zest that's special here. I mean, besides the beautiful beans.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES See the Recipe Box for all the recipes for green beans, including the #1 recipe on A Veggie Venture, the World's Best Green Bean Casserole, which tastes just as good in summer as at Thanksgiving, I promise! Other favorites that I've remade in the last few weeks include the Garlicky Romano Green Beans, Green Beans with Lemon & Pine Nuts (pine nuts not required, these are gorgeous-gorgeous), Green Beans with Onion & Almonds, Romano Beans in Butter-Braised Garlic, and of course the blog-sweeping Fresh Green Bean Salad with Asian Dressing (and what people really love, the soy-cooked nuts) and from just last week, the Fresh Three-Bean Salad, the French Green Beans with Lemon-Garlic Sauce.

Plus, I must-must-must mention 2005's Summer Vegetable Stew. So many of you were clicking on it, just from the name, that I wanted to make it again to add a photograph, make sure the recipe was clear. And OH MY -- talk about a great summer recipe, a wonderful way to cook lots of vegetables at the same time.

A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK Vichyssoise ... can you say VEE-shee-shwaz, don’t leave off the last z sound!

OOO Zesty Green Beans

Hands-on time: about 15 minutes plus regular attention during cooking
Time to table: about 30 minutes
Serves 4

8 ounces fresh green beans, ends snapped, cut cross-wise on an angle to create Os (or zipped through the slicer in the food processor to create whatever emerges)
8 ounces fresh yellow beans, same (Heidi uses only a total of 3/4 pound of beans)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (Heidi suggests 2 tablespoons olive oil or unclarified butter)
2 tablespoons water
Zest of a lemon
Zest of a lime
Chopped fresh chive
Kosher or sea salt, lots of salt

In a large skillet, melt the butter on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the beans and stir to coat with fat. Add the water and COVER. Cover, stirring every so often, til cooked. Remove from heat and stir in the zests and fresh chive. Season with salt to taste.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 62 Cal (39% from Fat, 12% from Protein, 49% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 3 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 1 g Mono Fat; 9 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; NetCarb5; 1 g Sugar; 48 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 8 mg Sodium; 8 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

HOW MANY CALORIES, CARBS & WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS IN GREEN BEANS
Nutrition Information Per 1/4 pound of raw green beans: 35 Cal (3% from Fat, 20% from Protein, 77% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 0 g Mono Fat; 8 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; 2 g Sugar; 42 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 7 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 0 points

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Great Brunch Recipe: Tomato Basil Quiche

Who collects great brunch recipes, especially ones that can be completely or partially prepared the night before? This tomato basil quiche, from a 2003 Kitchen Parade column that's published online for the first time, is a real favorite, one I've served summer and winter for many years. Here's the recipe for tomato basil quiche.

And if you're looking for still more ideas, here's my collection of great brunch recipes from Kitchen Parade columns.

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SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.

Where A Veggie Venture is 'pure food blog', full of experimentation and exploration, Kitchen Parade features recipes a modern cook can count on. All are thoroughly tested by a home cook in a home kitchen and many are family and reader favorites. All recipes feature easy-to-find ingredients, clear instructions and because I believe so strongly in informed food choices, nutrition analysis and Weight Watchers points. Want to know more? Explore KitchenParade.com, including Kitchen Parade's Recipe Box!

WHY CAN'T I COMMENT ON THIS PAGE? Because I hope that you'll click through to the actual column and comment there!

A Veggie Venture is home of the Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and award-winning vegetable inspiration from Asparagus to Zucchini. © Copyright 2007

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Fresh Three-Bean Salad ♥ Recipe

The traditional three-bean salad but "made over" with fresh green beans instead of canned green beans and "made lighter" with less oil and less sugar.

How is it that so many great potluck dishes rely on canned vegetables? Maybe it's because they're dashed together before church or an afternoon gathering? No matter.

Making a three-bean salad with fresh beans -- here, with a mix of yellow and green, isn't it pretty?! -- does take longer but the outcome is, well, praise-worthy. In fact, it wouldn't take much longer to double the recipe, which is what I'll do next time, this is so good.

The recipe inspiration came from a Cook's Illustrated e-mail. I've lightened it considerably, dropping the oil from 8 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons, the sugar from 3/4 cup to 1/4 cup. These changes really make the salad all about the beans -- and isn't that the point? the recipe name isn't "Oil and Sugar Salad", after all. I questioned the introduction of parsley but in the end, glad I kept it in, for it adds new dimensions of flavor and freshness.

WISH I'D THOUGHT OF THIS This recipe would be great with Splenda -- and might satisfy those who like three-bean salad slightly sweeter.

WHO KNEW? that the standard green bean salad has four Weight Watchers points per serving?! That's awful!!

FRESH THREE-BEAN SALAD

Hands-on time: 30 minutes (over course of about 50 minutes)
Time to table: 50 minutes or 24 hours
Makes 5 cups

BEANS
3 quarts water
1 tablespoon table salt
8 ounces green beans, ends snapped, snapped or cut into one-inch pieces
8 ounces yellow beans, same

1 16-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 a red onion, diced small
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Bring the water to a boil. [To be most efficient time-wise, prepare the liquid now, before continuing with the beans.] Add the salt and the beans, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender-crisp. While the beans cook, fill a large bowl with ice water, using more ice than water. When the beans are done, drain them in a colander, then plunge the colander into the ice water, fully covering the beans by swishing them around if needed. When the beans are cool, remove from the ice water. Give the colander a good shake to remove lots of the water. Let drain for at least 10 minutes and more if needed.

In a large bowl, mix the cooked green beans, onion and parsley. Pour liquid over vegetables and stir well to coat. Transfer to storage dish and refrigerate for 24 hours.

LIQUID
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (reduced from 3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil (reduced from 1/2 cup canola oil)
1 teaspoon table salt
Several turns freshly ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per 1/2 Cup, made with 2 tablespoons oil, 1/4 cup sugar: 106 Cal (23% from Fat, 12% from Protein, 64% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 3 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 2 g Mono Fat; 18 g Carb; 5 g Fiber; NetCarb13; 7 g Sugar; 36 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 395 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2 points

Per 1/2 Cup, if made with 1/2 cup oil, 3/4 cup sugar, as specified by Cook's Illustrated: 217 Cal (44% from Fat, 6% from Protein, 50% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 11 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 6 g Mono Fat; 28 g Carb; 5 g Fiber; 17 g Sugar; 36 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 395 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 4 points

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
BEST TIME TO SERVE? The inspiring recipe specifies serving the salad the next day -- and it's definitely more like a traditional (canned bean) three-bean salad that way, sort of pickly. I preferred it served right away though didn't object to it, in the least, the next day.

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MORE FAVORITE GREEN BEAN RECIPES
~ fresh green bean salad with Asian dressing ~
~ garlicky romano beans ~
~ green beans with lemon & pine nuts ~
~ more green bean recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Eggplant & Bean Thai Curry ~
~ Make-Ahead Fresh Green Bean Casserole ~
~ more green bean recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Cream of Zucchini Soup ♥

Until food blogging, I learned all I knew about Julia Child from Saturday Night Live caricatures so honestly, just don't share the typical foodie reverence of all-things-Julia. Still when Lisa of Champaign Taste (great name for a food blog from Champaign, Illinois, yes?!) announced the second-annual celebration of Julia Child's birthday on August 15th, I was in, if only to dip my little finger into the big mixing bowl that is Julia Child.

Lucky, my friend Linda sent me home with a Julia Child cookbook -- signed by none other than Julia Child herself!! -- and an impression other than a boozy and wheedling woman at the stove. At culinary conferences, Linda reports, Julia was just another foodie, just another cook albeit a decidedly famous one, somehow able to make each one around her feel special. I like to think that if Julia were still of this world, she would be a blogger, embracing (hugging!) the medium like a few others of cookbook fame, Dorie Greenspan, Rose Levy Beranbaum, David Lebovitz, Harold McGee.

Wanting my world to be rocked, I thumbed the pages for ideas. The book at hand isn't the famed Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One (and Volume Two) but instead Julia Child's The Way to Cook, not French, no, but classic for sure, a great choice for someone with some kitchen skills, more a book of master techniques and applications than a collection of recipes. If price is an indicator of the breadth and extent of this 500-page book, the retail price in 1989 was $50, wow.

The Cream of Zucchini Soup called to me, using a master recipe base of Rice & Onion Soup Base that is also applied to Cream of Chicken & Vegetable Soup, Cream of Cucumber Soup, Cream of Cauliflower Soup, Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Broccoli -- see what I mean about a basic technique with adaptations?

And yes, my world is rocked, not in earth-quake fashion but plenty. The soup was made almost from air - a bit of butter and onion for flavor; rice for substance; broth for volume; zucchini for color and more flavor; sour cream for creaminess. It was gorgeous and perfectly summer-ish even on a 100+ degree, even-the-dog-doesn't-want-out kind of day.

Thanks, Lisa, for the reason to wipe (lick?!) the bowl that is Julia! And Julia? happy birthday!

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FROM THE ARCHIVES See the Recipe Box for all the zucchini recipes, especially if you're looking for recipes for stuffed zucchini or stuffed pattypan squash, both very pretty and way easier to make than they appear.

A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK Baked Parmesan Tomatoes ... "Oh so simple! Just tomato halves topped with a few ribbons of Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of just-snipped herbs from the garden, oregano on some, chive on the other."

TWO YEARS AGO Greek Greens ... this has become one of my do-it-all-the-time staples, a great way to 'hold' fresh leafy greens for a day or so

CREAM of ZUCCHINI SOUP

Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 75 minutes
Makes 8 cups

RICE & ONION SOUP BASE
8 cups liquid (water or broth or milk or a combination)

2 tablespoons butter
1 - 2 cups diced yellow onion (any onion except a sweet onion is good)
1/2 cup uncooked rice (I used brown jasmine)

For ZUCCHINI SOUP
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, ends trimmed, skin on, grated (easy enough with a hand grater)
1/2 cup sour cream (or cream or crème fraîche)
Fresh herbs, for garnish (I used chive, Julia suggested tarragon or parsley)

BASE
Bring 4 cups of the liquid to a boil in the microwave. (This is an optional step that speeds things along. You could heat all 8 cups at the same time but I do it in a four-cup Pyrex dish that fits easily in the dishwasher so do this in two steps with no delay. You really can't conveniently warm milk in the microwave without scorching it so if using all milk, I'd skip this step entirely.) When the first 4 cups have been added to the soup, warm the remaining 4 cups of liquid in the microwave.

Meanwhile, in a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter til shimmery on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the onion and rice, stir to coat with fat. Let cook, stirring frequently and adjusting heat if necessary, til onions turn golden, about 10 minutes. Add the first 4 cups liquid and let cook, stirring occasionally, til rice is soft, about 30 minutes.

For ZUCCHINI SOUP
Stir in 3/4 of the grated zucchini and let cook for about 5 minutes, until zucchini is quite soft. In batches transfer soup to a blender and whiz til smooth. (Since the liquid is hot, to avoid burning yourself and making a HUGE mess, don't fill the blender more than half full and do hold on tight to the top of the blender. Since you're working in batches, you can put the blended soup into the bowl with the remaining zucchini.) Return all the soup and the remaining zucchini and the second 4 cups of liquid to the pot. Let cook for about 5 minutes, til the zucchini is barely cooked. Stir in the sour cream and stir well til diffused throughout the soup and warmed through. (Little pockets of sour cream are great, don't worry if you don't get them all.) Top with fresh herbs, serve and savor!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Cup: 129 Cal (38% from Fat, 15% from Protein, 47% from Carb); 5 g Protein; 6 g Tot Fat; 3 g Sat Fat; 2 g Mono Fat; 16 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb14; 3 g Sugar; 39 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 523 mg Sodium; 12 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2 points

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
Adapted from The Way to Cook by Julia Child

PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800 quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Kitchen Parade Extra: Cottage Cheese Pie ♥

Call it my Personal Peach Protest.

You see, if ever there's a lesson on the tension between reward and risk when relying on local food sources, for me it's the peach, the glorious orbs of summer that emerge -- most years, but not in 2007 -- from the peach orchards of Missouri and Illinois, completely within the oh-so-chic 100-mile-diet locavore radius of my home in St. Louis. Although perfect fruit from elsewhere is piled high in the grocery, this year I'm putting my peach dollars into another local product, cottage cheese. Read about it in this week's Kitchen Parade column.

Oh! And this is Kitchen Parade's first recipe in the brand-new 'kitchen' -- so worth an extra gander!

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SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.

Where A Veggie Venture is 'pure food blog' and 100% about vegetables, Kitchen Parade features recipes a modern cook can count on. All are thoroughly tested by a home cook in a home kitchen and many are family and reader favorites. All recipes feature easy-to-find ingredients, clear instructions and because I believe so strongly in informed food choices, nutrition analysis and Weight Watchers points. Want to know more? Explore Kitchen Parade, including Kitchen Parade's Recipe Box!

WHY CAN'T I COMMENT ON THIS PAGE? Because I hope that you'll click through to the column to comment there!

A Veggie Venture is home of the Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and award-winning vegetable inspiration from Asparagus to Zucchini. © Copyright 2007

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Melon, Blueberry & Feta Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette ♥

What, two watermelon salads in a row, on a food blog for vegetable recipes? Well ...

First of all, there are bite-size tomatoes tucked between the melon balls and blueberries. But more than that, watermelons are big, we need help using them up, we need watermelon recipes! Plus when my dear friend Linda (for those who know her too, Linda Behrends, my food stylist/consultant friend) saw yesterday's recipe for watermelon, cucumber & feta salad, she sent along this one from her friend Linda, and I've got to say, it's a winner too. Thank you, Linda-s!

Still, my taste wasn't keen on the combination of tomatoes and watermelon -- but loved the addition of blueberries and would definitely substitute cantaloupe or honeydew for the tomatoes. Plus, the dressing is just gorgeous, tart with lime and sweet with honey, a keeper in its own right.

This was soo summery, perfect for a light supper on string of 100+ hot days. And it's definitely a "fruit salad" where yesterday's was a "vegetable salad", even though both include watermelon.

KITCHEN TIPS This salad is a perfect example of why I keep four -- yes four -- colanders close at hand. They're smallish (nine inches across, five deep), stack, go in the dishwasher top and bottom, cheap ($1 a piece from the grocery but think the Dollar Store, too) and EVER so useful. Nearly every meal, I use a couple, but am surprised, myself, how often four are going at once. Twice I've bought sets for foodie friends - and definitely recommend thinking about this for your own kitchen.

ST LOUIS NOTES The feta came from Goatsbeard Farm and was completely delicious. Goatsbeard can be found (says their brochure) at The Smokehouse, Wine & Cheese Place, Whole Foods and for me, at the wonderful mid-week farmers market in Maplewood just outside the Schlaffly Microbrewery. It's a festive time on Wednesday afternoons, 4 - 7, worth checking out! Because the feta was warm from the trip home, I learned how good feta is when it's at room temperature - worth making happen on purpose.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES Have you poked around the Recipe Box for tomato recipes? Because they're so different, I even keep special spots for recipes for perfect summer tomatoes and recipes for cherry and grape tomatoes.

TWO YEARS AGO Broccoli, Pepper & Celery Salad, such a favorite that today it's on the lunch menu.

MELON, BLUEBERRY & FETA SALAD

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes
Serves 4

SALAD

Salad greens for four
Watermelon balls (about 2 cups but use your own judgment for all, of course)
Cantaloupe or honeydew balls (about 2 cups)
Blueberries (about a cup)
Cherry or grape tomatoes (if you use these, I'd recommend halfing them so the texture is more similar to the watermelon)

Wash well and let drain while making the dressing.

VINAIGRETTE (plenty of dressing for four, fruit and greens)
1/3 cup lime juice (3 limes)
2 - 3 tablespoons honey (warm in the microwave 10 seconds at a time to make easier to pour)
Tabasco to taste (don't skip this, it makes the dressing!)
Salt & pepper to taste
Good olive oil -- how much? I used 2 tablespoons, the inspiring recipe called for 4

Whisk the lime juice, honey, tabasco, salt & pepper. Now -- if you want to limit the oil -- taste the dressing, then add oil a tablespoon at a time, tasting after each addition, until it tastes good to you. I like my dressing on the 'sharp' side but not everyone does. This one's so full of flavor, for example, that it was easy to go light. That said, there's definitely something special about the 'glisten' and 'glow' of really good olive oil on the fruit and on the greens.

ASSEMBLY
2 ounces feta, crumbled, preferably at room temperature

Toss the fruit with about half the dressing (do this first so the dressing can soak into the fruit just a tiny bit). Dress the greens with the remaining dressing and arrange on a serving plate or individual plates. Top greens with fruit, then with feta. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Made with tomatoes & 2 tablespoons oil, Four Servings, Per Serving: Per Serving: 184 Cal (46% from Fat, 8% from Protein, 46% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 10 g Tot Fat; 3 g Sat Fat; 6 g Mono Fat; 23 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb21; 16 g Sugar; 99 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 176 mg Sodium; 13 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers points 3 points

Made with cantaloupe instead of tomatoes & 2 tablespoons oil, Per Serving: Per Serving: 188 Cal (45% from Fat, 7% from Protein, 48% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 10 g Tot Fat; 3 g Sat Fat; 6 g Mono Fat; 24 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 20 g Sugar; 101 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 183 mg Sodium; 13 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers points 3 points

Made with cantaloupe & 4 tablespoons oil, Per Serving: Per Serving: 248 Cal (58% from Fat, 6% from Protein, 37% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 17 g Tot Fat; 4 g Sat Fat; 11 g Mono Fat; 24 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 20 g Sugar; 101 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 183 mg Sodium; 13 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 5 points

SHORTHAND RECIPE
MELON, BLUEBERRY, FETA SALAD 1c watermelon, 1c cantaloupe, 1c blueberry, 2oz feta DRESSING 3limes, 2.5T honey, 2TEVOO, Tabasco, S&P, 4=WW3

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NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

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How to eat more vegetables? A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes with 800+ quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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Watermelon, Cucumber & Feta Salad ♥

Today's vegetable recipe: A refreshing summer salad with watermelon, cucumber and feta cheese. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.

Late Friday, I tripped expectantly into the market armed with a list, for once knowing exactly what was needed for Plan A, supper. Oops. No tomatillos, even though they'd been plentiful earlier in the week. No cauliflower, "Sold the last head an hour ago, more tomorrow." I fussed for a few minutes, looking over all the choices, trying to figure out what ELSE to make when my heart (and the supper menu) was set on one thing.

My heart found inspiration in a beautiful watermelon. I grabbed a cucumber too and knew that theretogether was Plan B's great side salad, and just like Plan A, "summer in a bowl".

NEW KITCHEN! Visit the new 'kitchen' KitchenParade.com, the online home of my food column, unveiled just yesterday!

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MORE CUCUMBER RECIPES
~ Cucumber Lemonade, "summer in a glass"! ~
~ Tomato Zucchini Salad, one of my very favorite easy salads ~
~ Nana's Cucumbers, the classic cucumbers & sour cream ~

~ more cucumber recipes ~

WATERMELON, CUCUMBER & FETA SALAD

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Makes 8 cups

About 1/4 a watermelon, cubed
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and cubed
1/2 a small red onion, diced small
Fresh basil, cut in thin strips
2 ounces feta, crumbled

Mix all ingredients. Serve, enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Cup: 58 Cal (25% from Fat, 13% from Protein, 62% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 2 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 0 g Mono Fat; 10 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; NetCarb9; 7 g Sugar; 54 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 82 mg Sodium; 6 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

KITCHEN NOTES
Make only as much as will be eaten at once, this doesn't keep.

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SHOPPING for, errr, with, an iPHONE Oh ~ and while I think about having ready access to vegetable recipes at the drop of a hat, er, pixel, last week I got to meet "food blogger family": Kalyn's Kitchen's brother Rand and his family stopped in St. Louis for a day during a cross-country trek. What fun! We all gorged on ice cream sundaes at the "divine" Crown Candy Kitchen, plus I got to play with Rand's new iPhone (thanks for the tour, Hannah!) and browsed straight to A Veggie Venture to see how it looked. If I may say so myself, it looks and works great!! (good luck over good management, likely) especially if you're at the grocery wondering what to make with such'n'such vegetable. The link to the Alphabet of Vegetables is right in the header - so no scrolling - and then you can easily find the vegetable you're after, pick a recipe, check what other ingredients might be needed and voila! supper's vegetable is covered! Since I don't have my own iPhone (though hmm, couldn't it be considered a business expense?) if you have experience with this and have suggestions, please please do let me know.

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PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

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How to eat more vegetables? The award-winning A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and the best source of free vegetable recipes with 700+ quick and easy favorite vegetable recipes, the Alphabet of Vegetables, Weight Watchers low-point recipes and microwave vegetable recipes.

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