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Aug 06, 2023

3 garden

You’ve sowed, planted, weeded and waited for this moment: the summer harvest! Seeing the fruits — or vegetables — of your labor can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be pretty daunting to

You’ve sowed, planted, weeded and waited for this moment: the summer harvest! Seeing the fruits — or vegetables — of your labor can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be pretty daunting to figure out what to do with all the produce from a prolific plant or plants. After all, your friends and neighbors can only take so many tomatoes. But have no fear, there are plenty of delicious ways to use up the spoils of your garden in your kitchen.

If you’re swimming in summer produce, try these recipes from local chefs and farmers that are sure to make your zucchini, corn or even cabbage disappear in no time.—

From Chef Suman Hoque of HoQ restaurant in Des Moines

Ingredients:

Directions:

With zucchinis come squash blossoms! Chef Katy Meyer of Trumpet Blossom Cafe in Iowa City has a mouth-watering recipe for stuffed blossoms to try out.—

From Chef Kevin Scharpf of Brazen Open Kitchen in DubuqueMakes around 1/2 gallon of soup

Ingredients:

Directions:

Note: If you leave all the milk in before blending, you run the risk of the soup being too thin. It’s a balance of the natural corn starch in the soup that thickens it, so it’s better to start thicker when blending then add milk to get the consistency you desire!

Looking for a light lunch? Try this refreshing cold cucumber soup from food writer Beth Dooley.—

From Sarah Britton’s My New Roots cookbookSuggested by Lisa Stark of Grow: Johnson CountyMakes a lot

Ingredients:

Tahini Cream Dressing with OrangeMakes 1 cup

Directions:

Note: Salad (without dressing) will keep in the fridge for at least 2 days.

Iowa summers wouldn’t be complete without cookouts, slaw or heaps of tomatoes from the garden. If you have a tomato problem, Seed Savers has bruschetta and golden tomato tart solutions!