Making the most of your garden isn’t only about what you grow, it’s about how you use it. Without some skills in the kitchen, you’ll be using your harvest for nothing but salad and that isn’t going to go very far in giving you food independence. The more dishes you can make with your vegetables, the more you can benefit from your garden.
Take a class or two at your local college or community center, or find a gourmet-minded relative to give you a few pointers. Even just some basic skills can open up whole new worlds of vegetable cooking. Browse around the many recipe sites online and see what photos catch your eye on Pinterest. Don’t be afraid to experiment a bit.
Worried that you just don’t have time to cook more? Get a slow-cooker (also called a crock pot), and you can make all sorts of home-cooked meals by tossing in your ingredients in the morning, and serving up a hot meal at the end of the day. You can also learn about “freezer cooking” where you make a few dishes all at once, and freeze them for later. That’s another great time-saver.
Vegetables don’t have to be relegated to side dishes all the time either. Move them to center stage to make them more of each meal. A thick vegetarian lasagna or a hearty pot of bean chili are a couple quick examples.
Even baking can get into the act, and not just your fruit either. Shredded zucchini and carrot go fabulously in muffins with dozens of recipes out there to choose from. You can always use another way to use up that zucchini.
You have tons of fresh produce coming in, so don’t be afraid to use it.
