Recipes: Super Duper Easy Fruit Juice Slushie

Beatrice enjoying her Apple Raspberry Slushie

Nothing is more refreshing in the heat of summer than an icy cold slushie. My problem is that I can't bring myself to give my kids the nasty sugar packed toxic blue slushies they want from the ice cream shop, so we make ours at home. All you need is a decent blender, frozen juice concentrate, water, and ice cubes.

1 can frozen juice concentrate
16-18 regular sized ice cubes
1 1/2 c cold water

Add all ingredients to the blender and blend on high until smooth. If the slushie is too thick, add a little more water. Serves 4-6.

Note: we often cut this recipe in half (i've got two small kids) and reserve the remainder of the juice concentrate in the freezer for next time.

Recipes: Sesame Almond Coleslaw

Sesame Almond Coleslaw

Growing up, I always hated coleslaw. Once I discovered alternate ways to dress cabbage, I learned that coleslaw is one of my favorite summer dishes. It is high in vitamin C and fiber, and light enough to go with just about anything.

This is my recipe for a light slightly sweet coleslaw that works well as a side dish, or is fabulous topped with a grilled chicken breast and served as a main course.

The last meal I served with this coleslaw was a marinated minute steak with sauteed peppers and tomatoes. Delicious!



Sesame Almond Coleslaw

1 small head of green cabbage
1 T toasted sesame oil
2 T rice vinegar
2 T honey
1/4 t garlic powder
1 small red onion thinly sliced
1/2 C dry toasted unsalted sliced almonds
salt and pepper to taste

Slice the cabbage into thin slices. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar, honey, and garlic powder. Toss together the cabbage, onion, almonds, and dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6 as a side
or
2-4 as a dinner salad (topped with a chicken breast or fried tofu)

If you need to prepare this recipe ahead of time, hold the cabbage and the dressing separately and toss just prior to serving.

Alternate Ingredients:

Substitute grapefruit juice for the rice vinegar for a tasty citrus coleslaw

Add sesame seeds (1/4 c) in place of the almonds

Add a 1/2 c of orange sections (peeled with the membrane removed) or 1/4 C dried cranberries.

Recipes: Dried Zucchini

Ahhhh Zucchini!

This year we've planted three hills of summer squash (cocozelle, black beauty, and yellow crookneck), so now we are faced with what to do with it all. One of my favorite and most interesting ways to put up the harvest is to make Dried Zucchini Chips. I make mine a little spicy and find that they are a perfect mid afternoon snack since they are full of flavor and crunch (and fiber so WATCH OUT!)

You will need a food dehydrator or you will need to be able to keep your oven at a low temp for a prolonged period of time (I've done this by cycling it on and off).

We bought our dehydrator at a garage sale a few years back, and there seems to be no shortage of them, so keep your eyes peeled.

Here is my recipe for Spicy Dried Zucchini Chips

5-6 medium to large summer squash (zucchini or other soft fleshed squash)
1 cup cold water
2 T Sriracha (A.K.A. Rooster Sauce)
2 T Soy Sauce
1 T garlic powder
1 T salt
2 T toasted sesame oil

Slice the summer squash into 1/4" chips. Mix together all ingredients except the squash. Coat the chips well with the marinade (I often let them soak while I set up the dehydrator).

Lay your chips out in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. My dehydrator will hold about 5-6 medium to large squash worth of chips, but yours may hold more or less.

Turn on the dehydrator and open the vent holes wide. Allow to dehydrate for about 24-36 hours. Rotate the trays several times during this process.

When your chips are completely dry, they should be quite crunchy. Store in a well sealed container. This will yield about 1 - 2 cups of chips.

Around Our House: How Our Garden Grows

Let the feast begin!

I just picked the first of our summer veggies. I've gotten a few random tomatoes, peppers, and squash over the last few weeks, but today was the first time I picked enough for a meal!

We've got wilt on the cucumbers and tomatoes again, and we are afraid we will have to deal with it for the next few years. We're monitoring which varieties do the best against it and plan to plant those next year. We have all but completely lost the Poona Kheera cucumbers, but the delikatesse are doing great (so far). I saw a few baby melons and squash today. I just hope they get enough summer to grow fruits.

It's been so cool, we are still picking lettuce, which is good since I forgot to plant chard or collards for summer salads...



Here is the garden a few weeks ago. The pole beans are JUST starting to flower.





The cucumber machine before the Poona Kheeras died.




The greens. And reds. We planted several types of lettuce, red orach, chard, and basil.



The big crop... Guess I don't need to wash the canning jars QUITE yet.

Quick and Easy Blueberry Nectarine Fluff

This is one of my favorite summer recipes. This is my creation based on my undying love of waldorf salad. Increase the fruit for a less fluffy salad.

one pint fresh blueberries (don't even try to use frozen)
6-8 ripe nectarines sliced
one 8 oz package reduced fat cream cheese - softened
one 8 oz tub cool whip
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Slice the nectarines and rinse the blueberries and set aside. Using a hand mixer (or whisk) whip together the cream cheese, cool whip, and cinnamon. Combine the fluff with the fruit (and nuts). Serve or chill. Will hold overnight if desired.

For a sweeter salad, whip 1/2 cup honey with the cool whip and cream cheese. Or go grandma crazy and throw in some mini marshmallows!

Serves 6-8