Vegetable side dishes

One of my favorite things about summer are all the beautiful vegetables and sweet fruits. Whether it's a csa, farmer's market or a farm stand the vegetables seem endless with so many possibilites. I have a feeling this winter is going to be especially hard almost like a fresh vegetable withdrawal. I'm not much of a canner that's why I have been doing a lot of dicing and freezing. The freezer is my best friend right now.

For now we are going to enjoy the fresh vegetables on side.

Green Bean Salad

Steamed green beans

Handful of cherry or grape tomatoes

2-3 basil leaves

salt to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and serve. I usually refridgerate this ahead of time it tastes even better.

Italian Potato Salad

Potaotoes boiled, peeled and diced

3-4 mint leaves

1/4 cup or less of Pepper rings or Pastene Pepperoncini

salt to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

After the potatoes are cooked let them cool down completely before peeling. If they are peeled too soon the potatoes get mushy but still taste good. In a bowl toss all the ingredients together. Serve immediately or refridgerate for later.

When I was a child I didn't like any potatoes and now this is one of the salads I really like. Even the kids look forward to it. I also used to think that this was the right way to eat potato salad. I never understood why there was mayo in the potato salad and why it was so creamy whenever I went to barbecues or other people's houses. lol.

Random ::

A friend was kind enough to share some very sweet peaches which we all really appreciate so today I think there will be some peeling, dicing and freezing. The frozen peaches are great for later on for fruit crisps, peach muffins, smoothies or mixed with berries and served over pancakes. Yummy winter treats.