summer food goodness!

The summer produce is SO great with lots of veggies coming into season, this is our loot from the FM this week. 



We've still been harvesting lots of zucchini, lacinto kale, basil, and green beans from our garden, but this week was the first for one of our tomatoes =)  Yea!!! tomatoes are one of my most favorite foods, have been since I was a kid when my Grandpa and I would sit and literally eat a full sized dinner plate overflowing with sliced summer tomatoes  (this is the time to enjoy them, not during the winter months, totally not the same thing, and WAY more food miles)  I've been known to take them as snacks on the go and eat them like an apple, mmm I love em!  This one is the early producer that we planted at 60 days, it's an heirloom Moskvich.  If you haven't had heirloom tomatoes, be sure to try them soon.  There are lots of different types with their own distinct flavors. 



This one was added to what is now our pretty weekly batch of raw marinara.



We all know how zucchini produces so it's been a staple lately in our meals.  The easiest way I've found is to just spiralize them into noodles to eat with sauce or any kind of toppings you have that you can throw together.  You do not need a spiralizer to enjoy them this way, you can make them into more fettuccini type noodles with a veggie peeler running down the side.  This was my lunch one day, topped with a fresh tomato, onion, pesto sauce that I had made earlier, Bubbie's pickles, etc.  One more zucchini down ;)



Another way to use up some zucchini is in many of the dressing recipes from The Raw Food Revolution Diet.  You can include your garden herbs by making the Green Goddess variation of the Liquid Gold Dressing.  We had a bunch of curly parsley handy and the dressing turned out super yummy.  Another zucchini and some herbs utilized, check!



I've been buying delicious green kale from Beautiful Earth Family Farm.  This week I bought 3 bunches of kale and knew that some of it was bound to become massaged salads. 

It's so easy, all I do is sort of julienne the kale (after you've removed the large stems) place it in a bowl and literally massage it with my hands (clean of course ;)  until it starts to break down some and the smell is so green and yummy, then I just add whatever sounds good that we have available.  This one included red onion, red pepper, walnuts, zucchini (more zucchini, check!)  raisins, and pumpkin seeds dressed with the Green Goddess from above.  Get your jaws warmed up kale salads require lots of chewing!



There was organic watermelon and corn at the market for the 1st time this week, we enjoyed lightly cooked non GMO corn on the cob and the watermelon was eaten in no time, yum, oh and yes it had seeds, we choose seeds here ;)  I don't know why I only bought two ears, I could eat like 4 myself!...I could also eat about 4 of those watermelons too, hee hee. 



a word on local organic garlic, it is the stuff man!  Check out the size of this head, all for $1. 



I soaked a jar of sunflower seeds in prep for a Raw Vegan Tuna Salad of Gena's.  Recipe here.  I added extra pickle juice of course ;)  I've been loving this wrapped in the cute cabbage leaves from the FM with yet another pickle tucked inside.





ok, in my opinion this will not fool any tuna lovers, but I am not looking to do that anyway, it's just a yummy salad full of good nutrition. 

other things full of good nutrients are green smoothies =) 



blueberries and black kale in this pretty purple one!



I've still been loving these Daiya rice tortilla quesadillas big time.  When you don't have salsa or raw marinara to top a little Green Goddess will work just fine =)



Hope you're all enjoying the season's bounty!  If you have any creative ways to use the zucchini harvest please send them my way =)  Until next time, enjoy your days.