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"Vegetable Recipes"

Vegetable recipes make every meal a lot tastier and can even encourage the children to eat their spinach!

Although vegetables are tasty, most of us in the western world have had our taste buds bombarded with all sorts of interesting flavours, some nicer than others. But on a healthy diet where cakes, crisps and highly flavoured processed foods take a back seat, vegetable recipes are a fun way to enjoy the most boring foods.

Experiment with favourite flavours. Curry sauces or your own blend of hot spices can make all the difference.

Here are a few vegetable recipes using everyday veggies you can grow in your garden.......( remember to compost all your vegetable peelings.. find out more about composting here...Composting )

Broad Bean Salad:

- Shell beans, rinse, place in a saucepan and cover with water.
- Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until tender.
- Drain and allow to cool thoroughly.
- Prepare a bowl of shredded mixed lettuce.
- Make a sauce by mixing natural yoghurt with mayonnaise or fromage frais or any low fat dressing that you prefer.
- Finely chop a few fresh leaves of mint and mix into the yoghurt sauce.
- Blend the beans and sauce together and then spoon onto the bowl of lettuce. Serve chilled.

Italian Cauliflower:

- Pour a vinaigrette salad dressing, home-made or shop bought, into a deep frying pan or wok.
- Add a small finely chopped onion and 1 or 2 crushed garlic cloves. Cook in the dressing until tender.
- Break a medium sized cauliflower into florets, rinse and add to the pan with a little water.
- Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked, but not too soft.
- Stir in a finely chopped green pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Stir in 6 small tomatoes - these are best peeled beforehand, or use tinned tomatoes.
- Add a few chopped basil leaves and heat thoroughly , stirring gently. Serve this vegetable recipe piping hot.


Spicy Grilled courgettes:

- Cut washed courgettes in half lengthwise. Brush all over with a little melted butter, oil or low fat equivalent.
- Place cut side down on a grill pan and grill until lightly browned.
- Turn over and spread the cut side with mustard.
- Grill this side for a few minutes until golden brown. Serve hot

Early Spring Salad:

- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and blanch the following vegetables, one at a time:
Asparagus ( cut into small pieces )
Mangetout ( or sugar snap peas )
A large carrot ( cut into very fine sticks )
- All vegetables will need 3-4 minutes of cooking. Drain them all and run under cold water to freshen them.
- Allow all cooked vegetables to cool thoroughly and mix together in a large bowl.
- Stir in some chopped radishes, chopped spring onions and some pumpkin seeds if available.
- Pour over a light salad dressing and serve chilled.


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Grow your own organic vegetables to make the finest vegetable recipes for your family....

Thompson and Morgan are online worldwide suppliers of seeds and other products and they have some great pictures to drool over!

broad beans cabbage Carrots

Courgettes Spinach Spring Onions

Thompson and Morgan UK
Thompson and Morgan US
Vegetable recipes from your own garden vegetables with Thompson and Morgan Worldwide

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MORE VEGETABLE RECIPES

Leafy Green Soup:

- Heat a little oil in a large saucepan, and add a peeled and cubed potato, a chopped onion and a crushed garlic clove. Cook gently for a few minutes until potato and onion are soft. Stir all the time to prevent burning.
- Add vegetable or chicken stock to the pan and stir. Bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for a few minutes.
- Add a couple of chopped courgettes if you have them, and whatever leafy green vegetable you have available: spinach, kale, pring greens, cabbage; or a mixture. Make sure the leaves have been rinsed and chopped roughly before adding them to the pan.
- Simmer until the vegetables are all tender. Allow to cool a little and blend in a food processor or blender.
- Pour into warmed soup bowls and garnish with a sprig of parsley or dill.

Vegetable recipes get spicy with....

Mixed Vegetable Curry:

- Peel 4 potatoes, 4 carrots and half a small turnip and cut into cubes. Prepare about 100g (4oz.) each of beans and peas, or use frozen if fresh peas and beans aren't available. Boil all of these prepared vegetables in water for about 5 minutes. Drain, but reserve the cooking water.
- Heat a little oil in a large heavy based pan. Add a chopped onion and a clove or two of chopped or crushed garlic. Fry until golden brown.
- Stir in a tablespoon of curry powder and a couple of tablespoons of tomato puree, or use a ready made curry paste or sauce. There are some interesting flavours available in most supermarkets.
- Add a little of the reserved cooking water and stir to make a thick gravy. Cover and simmer for 5 or 10 minutes.
- Add all the par boiled vegetables, and a little extra water if needed. Cover and simmer until all the vegetables are cooked. If liked you could add a little shredded coconut, a few raisins or some lemon juice.
- Serve this vegetable recipe hot with boiled rice or with a jacket potato.



Vegetable recipes can be made with left-overs too...

Roasted Vegetable Soup:

- This recipe could be made from left-over roast vegetables but to make from scratch, you will need a mixture of vegetables, such as potato, carrots, parsnip, turnip, swede, leeks, and an onion. Prepare all vegetables and cut into cubes.
- Pour some olive or nut oil in a bowl and mix the prepared vegetables to coat with the oil.
- Spread the veg out on a baking sheet and sprinkle over some chopped fresh herbs or dried herbs. Choose your own favourite herb or add a mixture of herbs.
- Roast vegetables in the oven until all are tender.
- Bring a large pan of vegetable or chicken stock to the boil and simmer for a few minutes.
- Allow veg and stock to cool for a couple of minutes and then put all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend for a few minutes until smooth. Heat gently and serve piping hot.

Broccoli Cheese For a delicious broccoli recipe and growing help pop over to this page...Broccoli

** If you have any vegetable recipes you'd like to share, get in touch!**

Bon Appetit!



Vegetable recipes and more garden reading

Grow Your Own Groceries: Producing your own food is not only rewarding but - in times of economic and environmental changes - increasingly a must! Nature provides everything the human body requires to thrive, and cultivating some of those natural products in your own back garden will not only produce the best food on the planet for you and your loved ones, it is also economical, environmentally friendly and more fun than shopping.



Gardening is more than a hobby; it's a way of life. Even without a garden, many plants can be grown in containers, on a balcony, and indoors. Order it now direct from the publisher... Grow Your Own Groceries

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Herb Gardening: Herbs are becoming recognised more and more as superfoods, as if we didn't know that really! 'Herb Gardening' has been beautifully put together by the publisher (Crowood Press) into a well presented book with full colour photos.



Along with growing instructions for forty different herbs, there are lots of great ideas, including culinary delights and medicinal alternatives.

You'll also find gardening advice as well as some ideas on planning a herb garden. Order it now direct from the publisher... Herb Gardening

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Grow Your Own Pharmacy: If, like me, you want to be able to eat the best food on the planet, grow your own!


Grow Your Own Pharmacy

• Clear instructions on planning, planting, growing and harvesting the fruits, vegetables and herbs required for a healthy vitamin intake.
• Recipes and menus to help incorporate the fruit and vegetables into your daily diet.

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Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense is packed full of great ideas and tips. Granny brings traditional home-making up to date with cooking, gardening, needlecrafts and even games to play with the kids...Click on the link below to order your copy.


Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense


Cooking doesn’t have to be a chore and preparing nourishing home cooked meals for the family will certainly keep them away from the goodie shelf. Gardening encourages physical exercise and a good healthy dollop of fresh air. And you can get the kids involved too.

Before the days of computer games and electronic pets, children used to have fun without rummaging about in the fridge every five minutes. Enjoy a few rainy-day games and crafts of yesteryear with today’s kids. They’ll love it and so will you!


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