As a brand new gardener I have been patiently waiting for my very first tomato plants to burst with plump red and golden fruit.  Unfortunately, the weather has not been working with me.  The large amount of rain we had at the beginning of summer really slowed the growth of everyone’s tomatoes.  I have lots of green ones, but I’ve only had three ripen so far.  I really wanted to use my first two tomatoes in a simple dinner that featured their sweet flavor.  With some peas from my garden and shrimp from the freezer, I had just about everything I needed for an easy summer dinner. Read more

Recently at Sam’s Club I noticed a big bag of frozen whole tilapia for only $12.  The fish were cleaned and scaled, they just needed to be cooked.  I find cooking whole fish is a great way to save money on seafood, but people are often intimidated by it.  If you fall into that group of people, don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it step by step! Read more

If you haven’t yet noticed my obsession with edible flowers, this post will make it completely apparent.  One of my favorite summer lunches is lightly fried zucchini blossoms.  I simply stuff them with a small spoonful of goat cheese and then dip them in a gluten free batter before pan frying them.  These are so simple to make and absolutely beautiful, but it was only two years ago that I even learned about eating squash blossoms. Read more

Our CSA started out small, mostly with leeks, swiss chard and lettuce greens.  The very first week I made this frittata with the leeks and chard.  It’s so simple and makes a light but satisfying lunch or pairs perfectly with a little salad for dinner.  This is such a lovely garden recipe, especially made with farm fresh eggs. Read more

This could quite possibly be my favorite way to preserve strawberries, in homemade ice cream! This custard based ice cream is oh so sweet with the dreamy taste of summer.  The beautiful vibrant pink color?  All natural baby! Read more