I bought a pound of green and yellow beans from the Farmer’s Market, but I don’t have time to use them at the moment. This lead to an Internet search on freezing vegetables. From the website PickYourOwn.Org (http://www.pickyourown.org/index.htm), here is a quick and easy way to freeze fresh green beans in 10 Steps:

Step One: Wash green beans in lukewarm water, discarding spoiled/damaged beans 

Step Two: Trim ends and cut into 1-inch pieces with a sharp knife

Step Three: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over HIGH heat

Step Four: Boil (blanch) beans for 3 minutes on HIGH heat, covered

Step Five: Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water

Step Six: Drain beans and plunge into ice water bath

Step Seven: After 3 minutes in ice water bath, drain beans thoroughly

Step Eight: Place drained beans in a freezer zip-lock bag

Step Nine: Remove as much air as possible and securely close bag

Step Ten: Label bag with date and place in coldest part of freezer  

When ready to use beans, thaw or heat as needed. Frozen beans will keep up to 6 months or longer if stored properly. After that, the beans won’t make you sick, but might not taste so great.

Steps One & Two:

Step Six:

Steps Eight, Nine & Ten:

Done!

Original title: Bok Choy, Carrot, and Apple Slaw from the book Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.  This is a quick and easy side dish on a hot summer day. My cutting skills aren’t the greatest, so my salad wasn’t as uniform as the one pictured in the recipe, but it still tastes good. Try using toasted sesame seed oil instead of vegetable oil for Asian-style flavor.

1 lb baby bok choy (4 to 6 heads), halved lengthwise
1 apple, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 large carrots, shredded
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse bok choy under cold water to remove grit. Cut crosswise into thin strips and place in a large colander. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Toss to coat. Top with a heavy plate that fits inside colander and weight with skillet or another heavy object. Set in sink to drain.

In a large bowl, mix apple, carrots, lemon juice, oil, and ginger. Add bok choy, season with salt and pepper as desired.

Tip: to easily grate ginger, freeze prior to using. Also, toss apples in 1 tbsp lemon juice prior to mixing all items together to prevent browning. Toss remaining 2 tbsp with the rest of the ingredients.
 

I recently purchased the book “Simply in Season,” which is a cookbook with recipes based on fresh produce available during each season of the year. The book encourages shopping at farmer’s markets and other local outlets. This particular recipe actually came from the Spring section of the book, but really it could be made year-round. The original recipe called for Tabasco sauce, but I substituted smoked paprika because, well, I’m obsessed with paprika.

2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp oil
8 cups fresh spinach
8 oz light cream cheese (1/3 less fat), softened
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp salt

Saute garlic in oil for 2-3 minutes or until soft. Chop and add spinach to pan one handful at a time as it wilts. Add a little water if it begins to stick. Place cooked garlic and spinach in a blender or food processor.

Add cream cheese, milk, paprika, and salt. Cover and blend until smooth. Recipe states it can be served right away or heated through.

This mixture was quite thin at first. I refrigerated it, uncovered, for about 2 hours to thicken the dip and then warmed before serving. Best with tortilla or pita chips.

Here is yet another great recipe from Everyday Food magazine (did I mention I love, love, love this magazine?). This one uses fresh peaches and raspberries, perfectly in season this time of year, combined with subtle vanilla flavor.

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 tbsp sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scraped, OR 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 firm, ripe peaches (1 to 1 1/2 pounds total), halved and pitted
1 package, 5 to 6 oz, raspberries
1 pint vanilla iced cream

Preheat oven to 400F

In a large, shallow baking dish, combine butter, lemon juice, sugar, and vanilla. Add peaches, turning to coat all sides with butter mixture, and arrange cut-side down in a single layer.

Roast until peaches are tender and cooking liquid is syrupy, 15 to 25 minutes, brushing with cooking liquid half-way through. Whisk in 1 to 2 tbsp warm water if cooking liquid is too thick to drizzle. Serve peaches (warm or room temperature) with raspberries and vanilla iced cream, drizzled with cooking liquid.

I brought this dish to a reunion, but doubled the recipe. To double:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup lemon juice (1 1/2 to 2 large lemons)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
8 peaches, quartered and pitted
1 pint raspberries
1 gallon vanilla iced cream
Follow same directions for baking as above, but turn peaches once during cooking. Cooking times might vary.

From BellyBytes.com, this iced tea recipe uses orange pekoe tea, fresh basil, and peach nectar.  The original recipes calls for 3 teabags, but I like my tea strong, so I used 4.

4 bags orange pekoe tea
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
4 cups water
3 1/3 cups chilled peach nectar (five, 5 1/2 oz cans)
1/4 cup chilled simple syrup, or to taste (see below)
fresh peach slices and basil sprigs, for garnish

Put tea bags and basil in a heat resistant pitcher. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and pour over tea bags. Steep tea for 5-10 minutes and remove tea bags. Cool tea and chill, covered, for about 1 hour or until cold.

Stir in chilled nectar and simple syrup. Place peach slices and ice in each glass. Pour in tea and top with a basil sprig.   

Simple Syrup:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water

To make Simple Syrup:
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring. Boil until sugar dissolves. Let syrup cool and chill, covered. Simple Syrup will keep for 2 weeks. Chill, covered, until ready to use.