With all the winter weather that we’ve had (and are still having for at least another day), thoughts of the garden for this summer are a little bit on hold. Later this week, I should have a couple posts and pictures from the 2nd Outdoor Living and Landscape Show (Mar. 1-3 at Century II). So what to do while waiting out the storm? Think about what to cook with all the vegetables we haven’t even planted yet, of course!

I’ll be partnering with our Foods & Nutrition Agent, Denise, to have some new classes, called “Saturday Samplers” one Saturday each month this spring through fall. These will be short classes out in the Demonstration Garden, somewhat similar to the Friday Lunch in the Garden events I did a few years ago. More information on those will be coming later. For now, I’m amusing myself by looking for interesting recipes featuring things we’ll have in the garden this year.

If you’ve been following the blog long (or attended any of my gardening classes), you’ve probably heard me joke about how I don’t consider eggplant edible. I’ve really only ever found a couple recipes that make it palatable. So I’m definitely looking for some good eggplant recipes. (Yes, I know all about eggplant parmesan.)

Here are some other veggies and herbs we might feature at some point:

• Thyme (regional herb of the year!)
• Basil
• Garlic
• Shallots
• Tomatoes (of course!)
• Root Vegetables (radishes, fall radishes, carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips)
• Brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage)

Do you have any interesting recipes that feature any of these vegetables or herbs? Healthy is always good, but we aren’t specifically locked into recipes that are “low-everything.” (At least I’m not! You have to like a vegetable first, in my opinion. Then we’ll talk about how you are cooking it. Except battered and fried. I drawn the line there. Sorry.)

You get extra points if you can fit multiple of the things listed above into one recipe! I found this one: Cold Tomato-Thyme Soup with Garlic Croutons.