My favorite thing at the farmer’s market near my office last summer was the stand that would sell bouquets of zucchini flowers. But the bouquets weren’t for viewing; they were for cooking and devouring. It was always the first stall I stopped at every Thursday, anxious to ensure I would get my blossoms before they were sold out. If you haven’t tried zucchini flowers, you are missing a real treat.

Zucchini blossoms are beautiful and delicious

I first tried zucchini blossoms almost twenty years ago when I came across a recipe for squash blossom fritters. While one could argue that the blossoms were simply a delivery method for goat cheese (just as Southern grits can be a delivery system for butter), the flower does add something. After trying that recipe (and we had plenty of zucchini plants in our garden at the time), I was hooked, and I would eat zucchini blossoms before I would regularly eat zucchini. Go figure.

Every summer, I look forward to zucchini blossoms. I grow zucchini plants in the garden for the flowers, not the fruit. Just last weekend, my husband and I enjoyed an appetizer special at a very nice restaurant that was, you guessed it, zucchini blossoms. The flowers are delicate so the only way to enjoy them is fresh, in the summer time.

Recipe ideas featuring zucchini blossoms

I think the tastiest way to eat zucchini blossoms is stuffed, dipped in a tempura batter and fried (with just a bit of sea salt, of course), but there are other ways, too. After carefully cleaning the flowers and removing the pistil and stamen, you can:

• Cook them into a frittata
• Decorate a salad
• Use them in a pasta sauce
• Put them in quesadillas

Zucchini blossom fritters

Zucchini blossoms - 10 to 20 depending on how many people you want to serve. Four per person is a good number.
Herbed goat cheese
Tempura batter
Canola oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste

Carefully wash and clean the zucchini blossoms, leaving about an inch or so of the stem. Gently place about a teaspoon of herbed goat cheese in the center of the flower and twist the petals closed ever so gently.

Heat the oil in wide frying pan. When hot, carefully dip the stuffed blossoms into the tempura batter then place in the frying pan. Cook until lightly golden on one side, turn over, and cook until lightly golden on the other side. Remove to drain on a paper towel. Season with salt and a little pepper while still hot. Serve warm.

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: SQUASH worth 50 points good through 07/20/08.
Not a member? Join Points and Prizes now for more free stuff!

What better way to spend the 4th of July with your family than at a park or beach enjoying a mouthwatering picnic meal. This family-friendly menu can be assembled the day before, chilled in the refrigerator, and easily toted to your Independence Day locale.

And if these recipes don’t make your mouth water, you can always pack your basket with sandwiches, pilaf, salad, and your choice of dessert. You can also try this grilled vegetarian menu, if you are trying to reduce your meat consumption

Fourth of July family-friendly recipes

Vegetarian Wrap Appetizers
Serves 4

These scrumptious appetizers are ideal for an outdoor meal. They are easy to make and easy to eat mess-free.

Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 cup pitted olives, chopped
1 cup diced, seeded cucumber
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
4 (8-inch) Tumaro’s Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil tortillas
Thin slices of provolone cheese
Red leaf lettuce

Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese in a stand-up mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, until smooth. Add olives, cucumber, basil and balsamic vinegar and mix to combine. Evenly spread on tortillas, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.

2. Cover cream cheese mixture with a thin layer of provolone and top with 1 to 2 lettuce leaves (making sure lettuce is smaller than the area spread with cream cheese mixture). Roll into logs and place seam-side down in a large plastic container. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

3. When ready to serve, remove wraps from the plastic container and use a sharp knife to cut wraps crosswise into 2-inch disks. Place on a serving plate for easy snacking.

Grilled Vanilla Spice Chicken
Serves 4

An unusual but incredibly tasty grilled chicken dish that your whole family will love.

Ingredients:
1 (20-ounce) Vanilla Coke or Pepsi Vanilla
1 cup store-bought or homemade BBQ sauce
4 skinless chicken breasts, bone-in and ribs attached

Directions:
1. Pour coke and BBQ sauce in a large plastic container, stirring to combine. Place chicken in container and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight.

2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Use an oiled rag and tongs to grease the grate. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade, and place on grill. Cover grill and cook for 10 minutes. Flip chicken and cook, covered, until juices run clear, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from grill and tent with foil for 5 to 10 minutes to let the juices redistribute. Serve warm.

Note: If your picnic spot doesn’t have a grill and you aren’t taking your own, these juicy delicious chicken breasts can be broiled in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Wrap them tightly in foil before you head out and pack them away from the cold foods. The foil will keep them moist and warm for a couple of hours. Worst case scenario, you may have to eat these a tad on the cool side.

Chickpea Stuffed Tomatoes
Serves 4

Instead of packing an extra set of bowls to your picnic, sink your teeth into these chickpea stuffed tomatoes, no bowls required.

Ingredients:
4 large beefsteak tomatoes
1 cup canned chickpeas or garbanzo beans, rinsed
2 tablespoons lite mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste
Store-bought or homemade honey mustard salad dressing

Directions:
1. Use a sharp knife to core the tomatoes, making a 2-inch round hole at the top of each tomato. Use a spoon to remove the seeds without damaging the tomato flesh (the tomatoes will be your serving bowls) and set aside.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix chickpeas, mayonnaise, parsley, salt and pepper. Add just enough honey mustard dressing to coat. Use a spoon to stuff tomatoes with chickpea mixture. Place tomatoes in a plastic container, cover, and refrigerate for a couple of hours up to overnight. Serve chilled.

Independence Day Angel Food Fruit Dessert
Serves 4

This is a quick dessert that commemorates the day with red, white, and blue.

Ingredients:
1 store-bought or homemade angel food cake, cut into slices
1 cup strawberry or cherry preserves
Juice of an orange
1/2 (8-ounce) container whipped topping
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup strawberry slices or pitted cherry halves

Directions:
Place slices of angel food cake on the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together preserves and orange juice. Spread preserves evenly on angel food cake. Top with whipped topping. Decoratively arrange blueberries and strawberries or cherries on the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or up to overnight. Serve chilled.

Though the radish is a root vegetable that is in season during the fall, it is available year-round, added to salads, nestled in sandwiches, and used as a decorative garnish. If you are used to radishes being a simple salad ingredient, try these kid-friendly radical radish recipes that your whole family will love.

Picking the right radish

When choosing radishes at the market, opt for ones that are plump, firm, and free of cracks or marks. If you plan on serving radishes raw as a snack, buy them with the leaves still attached (as long as the greens are fresh and brightly colored) because it means the radishes will taste and look fresher.

If you want a sweeter flavor, choose smaller radishes; and if you love sharp, hotter radishes, opt for the large ones. Radishes are available in the produce aisle in bunches with their leaves attached, or trimmed and sold in plastic bags. Buy the bagged variety if the leafy topped radishes look wilted or old or if you are planning to use the radishes in dishes that appearance is not as important (as in a sandwich, stir-fry, or other cooked dish).

Storing radishes for optimal freshness

Place radishes in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. Radishes with leafy tops should be used within a day or two because the leaves tend to spoil quickly. Once you trim the leaves off, use them as part of the ingredient list for a homemade vegetable stock, or discard. Radishes without leafy tops can be kept up to a week. You will know if your radishes are getting past their prime if they feel spongy, look dull, and start developing blemishes.

Preparing radishes

Trim the leafy tops and tiny root ends from the radishes. Rinse radishes in a bowl of cold water and pat dry with paper towels. If you are going to serve the radishes as a snack, appetizer, in a salad, or as decorative garnish, soak them in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes so they are extra plump and crisp for show.

Radical radish recipes your family will love

Radish Cream Cheese Rafts
Serves 4

This is a perfect recipe to take on a picnic or eat in the backyard this summer. Serving your kids “rafts” makes the dish fun and irresistible. If you are going to pack a picnic, store the toasts and radish spread separately and assemble when you are ready to eat.

Ingredients:
8 large radishes, trimmed
6 tablespoons softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley
1 (8-ounce) baguette, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grate radishes into a bowl or use the grater disk and grate using your food processor. Combine with cream cheese and parsley.

2. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until crisp (but not rock hard) and golden. Remove from the oven and spread each toast with radish cream cheese. Season with a little salt and black pepper and serve.

Asian Radish Slaw
Serves 8

This Asian-inspired coleslaw is a healthy change from the Miracle Whip or mayonnaise-laden versions. Even better, classic coleslaw recipes have lots of added sugar. This recipe contains less, but you won’t miss it because of the yummy mélange of other fun flavors. Try this as a topping for burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, or as a crisp, flavorful side-dish.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger (or 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
1/4 cup finely chopped or grated red onion
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups shredded green cabbage
15 to 20 small radishes, halved, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together ginger, red onion, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Gradually add the oil, whisking to blend and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, toss together cabbage, radishes, and green onions. Pour in half of the dressing and toss until slaw is well coated, adding more dressing, if needed. Garnish with peanuts and serve with extra dressing.

Radish Mice
Makes 12 mice

This is a Martha Stewart trick that will have your kids fighting over who gets the last “mouse.” Serve these cute edible little creatures as part of a buffet vegetable platter or simply use them as plate props to keep your kids interested in dinner.

Directions:
1. Using a paring knife, trim off the leafy end of each radish, creating a small white circle that will be the nose of the mouse. Don’t trim off the tiny root because it will be the tail of the mouse.

2. Cut off a small slice from one of the sides of the radish to give the mouse a flat base so it will stay upright and not roll. Cut a small triangular wedge out of the removed slice to make ears.

3. Using the tip of the knife, make a slit near the stem end (the end with the white circle) and insert the ears, pointy ends up. Mice are ready to be served.

Apricots are delectable orbs of natural sweetness that are in season in early to mid summer. Toothsome in texture, apricots can be sliced and diced and added to any number of sweet and savory dishes. In addition to being delicious, apricots are an excellent source of vitamins A and C and also deliver potassium, iron, calcium, phosphorous and fiber.

Choose the perfect apricot

Take advantage of your local farmer’s markets or the produce aisle in your grocery store and choose bright orange-colored, plump, firm (but not hard) apricots that exude a delicate fruity aroma and feel heavy for their size. Refrigerate your ripe apricots until you are ready to use.

Optimally, choose apricots that are ready to be eaten. However, if your apricots need to be ripened, keep them in a paper bag at room temperature with an apple or banana. The natural gasses released from the apple or banana will hasten the ripening process.

Apricots are ripe with nutrition

A serving of succulent apricots (about three apricots) provides a mere 60 calories, primarily made up of carbohydrates (like most fruits), very little fat, one gram of fiber, and no cholesterol or sodium.

According to the California Fresh Apricot Council, a serving of apricots delivers 45 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A and 20 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Whether eaten alone or when added to other nutritious ingredients, apricots offer a healthy boost to your family’s diet.

Appetizing Apricot Recipes

These recipes have been adapted from the California Fresh Apricot Council website and will brighten up your family’s spring and summer meals. Give these apricot recipes a try then add fresh apricots to your own tried and true dishes to give new life to some of your favorite stand-bys.

Yummy Apricot Bites
Makes 12 bites

Your kids will love sinking their teeth into these sweet and creamy healthy snacks. Substitute any nuts you have on hand and experiment with flavored yogurts for a change of taste. These apricot bites are also a perfect finger food for your weekend get-togethers with family and friends.

Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel, softened
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
12 fresh apricots, halved, pitted
1/2 cup pistachios, finely chopped

Directions:
Stir cream cheese and yogurt until smooth. Using a pastry bag, pipe cheese mixture into apricot halves (or use a spoon). Sprinkle tops with pistachios. Serve as an appetizer, snack, or dessert.

Grilled Apricot Stuffed Chicken
Serves 4

A family-friendly recipe for a summer weekend, these scrumptiously stuffed chicken breasts are grilled to perfection and ready to be eaten at a local park or your own backyard. Fresh apricots and apricot jam add a succulently sweet flavor to every bite of juicy chicken.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup dry stuffing mix
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 fresh apricots, pitted, chopped
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to medium-hot. Place a large piece of plastic wrap on a large cutting board. Place chicken on a cutting board and cover with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Pound chicken breasts with a mallet to flatten (the plastic will keep chicken flesh from scattering and make clean up easy).

2. In a small bowl, combine stuffing mix, onion, butter, 1/4 teaspoon ginger and apricots. Spoon stuffing mixture in a strip along the center of each breast. Roll each chicken breast around filling and tie each chicken roll with a kitchen twine or string every 2 inches.

3. Grill on an oiled rack for 15 minutes, turning once or twice. Meanwhile, mix apricot jam, vinegar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon ginger. Brush jam mixture over chicken rolls and continue cooking until done, about 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes to allow juices to redistribute. Remove the string and serve with a side of crisp coleslaw or grilled vegetables.

Fresh Apricot Ice Cream
Makes 2 quarts

What is summer without a cool, dreamy bowl of ice cream? Tantalize your family’s tastebuds with this homemade apricot ice cream. Toothsome bits of apricot swirled in a sweet creamy base of apricot and vanilla will liven up your afternoons by the pool or lake.

Ingredients:
1 (12-ounce) can skim evaporated milk
1 envelope plain gelatin
3/4 cup sugar
6 fresh apricots, pitted, finely diced
1-1/2 cups apricot nectar
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Combine milk and gelatin in a large saucepan. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until gelatin dissolves. Add sugar and continue to heat and stir until it dissolves.

2. Using a wire whisk, stir in apricots, nectar, yogurt and vanilla. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve with crumbled graham crackers or ginger snaps.

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: RIPE worth 50 points good through 05/18/08.
Not a member? Join Points and Prizes now for more free stuff!

One of the foods we always, always have in the refrigerator is yogurt, and usually more than one kind. When the kids want a snack, I direct them to fruit or yogurt first. When they want to make a smoothie with frozen fruits and juices, there’s plain yogurt to blend in with it. When Sunshine was about a year old, we used to joke that her four major food groups were peach yogurt, pear yogurt, banana yogurt and vanilla yogurt. She still eats two to three containers a day.

Thicker, richer, creamier

In the last eight months or so, we have become big fans of Greek-style yogurt. Greek-style yogurt usually is made with milk that has a higher fat content than typical American yogurts (though nonfat Greek yogurts are still very, very good), and it’s strained to filter out some of the excess water. It’s thick and rich and creamy. It’s dessert, almost! We drizzle honey on it. We use it to garnish soups. We mix it with cereal and fruit. We use it in cooking and baking (it easily replaces sour cream in several family recipes). We use it as part of a favorite summertime appetizer. It feels so decadent.

While it is a little expensive, I’m not so averse to buying the larger cartons at Trader Joe’s. And one individual container per week per person as a treat is not the worst thing in the world. When I bring home the containers of Fage, usually Woody is the first one to ask if can have it, even before he asks for chips or cookies or some other snack. I’m investing in his longer term health, I say to myself.

One of my favorite appetizers in the summer is a dollop of Greek-style yogurt and a smear of herbed Chardonnay jelly on a Melba round. The combination of sweet and creamy and tangy and herby and crunchy without being too heavy is wonderful hot summer evenings. If you can’t find Greek style yogurt, you can make yogurt “cheese” with plain American yogurt.

Yogurt and Chardonnay Jelly with Crackers

Thick Greek-style yogurt, or strained American yogurt “cheese”
Herbed Chardonnay Jelly (we get ours from Westport Rivers winery, but there are other sources)
Crackers (we prefer Melba rounds)

On a large serving plate, place two small bowls. Put the yogurt in one and the Chardonnay jelly in the other. Arrange the crackers. I find a small knife is best for spreading the yogurt and a small spoon best for adding the jelly on top. Set out several completed crackers so that guests know what to do with the ingredients.

Yogurt “Cheese”

One 32-oz container of plain lowfat (not nonfat) American style yogurt
Cheesecloth
Strainer
Bowl
Plastic wrap
Honey (optional)

Line the strainer with cheesecloth and place over the bowl. Dump in the entire contents of the yogurt container, cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator at least over night and up to two days.

Carefully lift the strainer out of the bowl and dump out the excess water and whey. Dump the now very thickened yogurt out of the strainer and cheese cloth into this or another bowl. Drizzle honey over the yogurt and mix well.
<!–[endif]–>

Store in the original yogurt container in the refrigerator for as long as the yogurt would have been good otherwise.

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: CREAMY worth 50 points good through 04/06/08.
Not a member? Join Points and Prizes now for more free stuff!

A sucker for kitchen gadgets!

There’s nothing like a new gadget to perk up my cooking, if only for a short while. Any excuse to use it – any excuse at all – and I’m there. I love to peruse cooking stores and websites for new gadgets. I’m a sucker for new tools, and a complete idiot for those tools in funky colors.

Last year when I picked up a mango splitter, I proceeded to buy many overpriced mangoes for weeks just so I could use it. I figured out just the level of ripeness of the fruit that resulted in the best split. My kids thought this was just the best thing ever as they love mangoes and I would buy them only rarely. We had many smiles around the dinner table, and many mango fibers to floss out of our teeth.

I was equally excited when I received a microplane grater as a gift. I sought out all my recipes that contained grated citrus peel or fresh grated nutmeg. Fresh tangerine tart out of season? Eggnog in July? Why not! Then I started using it to grate Parmesan onto pasta. Those thin ribbons of cheese melted so easily, and prettily. I was in heaven.

Any excuse for a new gadget…

Even my new garlic press has me excited. Our 15+ year old garlic press gave up the ghost recently, so I got to pick out a shiny new steel one with these lovely rubber grips. There are so many things I could press with that. What to try, what to try…

There’s that new avocado slicer around that looks very interesting. Although I don’t often slice avocados (I usually smush them into guacamole) and don’t find it onerous when I do, it’s awfully pretty.

The pineapple slicer looks like lots of fun, too. Except that we have a fresh pineapple once or twice a year. Mere details!

My oldest son has inherited my love of cooking gadgets. He has short fingernails and asked for a citrus peeler for Christmas. Seriously, he did.

As you can imagine, my drawers are overfull with seldom used items. But when I do want that gadget, no other will do. Whether it’s the apple corer, melon baller, bowl scraper, or one of a dozen others, I love them all.

Tangerine Tart

Think of tangerine as the starting off point for this tart. Pink grapefruit, lemon, or lime also work.

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp grated tangerine peel
14 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and tangerine peel. Whir together about 10 seconds. Sprinkle the butter over the top of the flour mixture, then pulse the food processor until the dough just holds together. Press the crust into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. It will be a bit crumbly.

Bake 25-53 minutes until crust is light brown.

Filling:

2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice
2-3 tsp grated tangerine peel
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup half-and-half

Keep that oven at 325 degrees.

With a mixer on high speed, mix all ingredients until well-blended, a minute or so. Pour into the baked crust, and bake 30-40 minutes, until the filling no longer giggles. Cool about 1 hour.

Topping:

3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp grated tangerine peel

Beat cream, sugar, vanilla and tangerine peel together until just shy of soft peaks. Mound spoonfuls on the tart as you serve it.

Jen’s Guacamole

I’m not a big pepper fan, so this version has none. The focus is the lovely creaminess of the avocados.

3 perfectly ripe avocados
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped fine
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
juice of half a lime
generous pinch of kosher salt

Peel and mash the avocados well. Add the tomato, onion, lime juice and salt and mix/mash well.

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: TOOLS worth 50 points good through 03/30/08.
Not a member? Join Points and Prizes now for more free stuff!