Favorite eats out of the garden

In the spring, when gardens begin to pump out the veggies, everything tastes good. Those first few tomatoes and cucumbers seem to taste especially good. I really like Lawry's seasond salt way better than regular salt or even sea salt. I believe if Lawry's would put out a seasoned sea salt, it would go over like gangbusters.

Our son likes to skin his cucumbers, cut them up into bite-sized pieces, put some ice water on them and then store in the icebox. When he wants some, he takes them out and then sprinkles them with salt.

I would rather skin mine and not even cut it up. I'd skin it down to about where the bitter stem end is, sprinkle on a little salt on the end of each bite and eat down to the bitter end.

Some skin their cucumbers and cut them up in a small container. Then they add some cut-up onions, water, vinegar and then salt to taste. I add about an equal part of water and vinegar. Some freeze their extra cucumbers in a mixture of sugar, vinegar, salt and water. Some make icebox pickles. You can find a recipe online or contact me, and I'll email you a recipe.

When Marge was in England, they had cucumber sandwiches. Slice them lengthwise about 1/4- to 3/8-inch thick. We toast our bread and put mayonnaise on it and then the sliced cucumber.

It tastes lot better than I thought. A sandwich for me almost has to have meat on it before it's legit.

Zucchini is a favorite veggie as well. I really don't mind how big it is. I skin big zucchini and slice lengthwise in 1/4-inch-thick slices. I skin the smaller ones and cut them into 1/4-inch round slices. Now dip these pieces in an egg you have beaten pretty well, then dip in soda cracker crumbs and fry them until they are golden brown. Man, they are good.

I've also dipped them in egg and then in Andy's seasoning. Good as well. This is pretty much how I do eggplant. I skin mine, slice and then dip in eggs and cracker crumbs or Andy's and then fry. I like zucchini better, but eggplant are also good.

Marge usually grates up a good bunch of zucchini and freezes it in bags. She uses this to make bread, but she also drains the liquid off, adds an egg and cracker crumbs and fries. Pretty good.

I would think you could add grated zucchini to pancake batter, and it would make some good pancakes.

We also use zucchini in all kinds of stir-fries. Our son slices his zucchini and then grills them. He adds some seasoning and then grills till crispy. Some even slice their zucchini and add to their pizza.

I probably have tomatoes four or five times a day. I have them for breakfast, dinner, supper and snacks. Normally, I pull the hide off them, cut out the stem end and then slice. I add some Lawry's and enjoy. I like red ones, yellow ones, black ones and multicolored ones. My favorite kind is Kellog's or Mr. Stripey. I like to eat sliced tomatoes on buttered toast or with mayo on toast, and then my favorite is with thick-fried bacon and mayo on toast. Some slice their tomatoes and then season and heat in a toaster oven.

A slice of cheese a few minutes before you eat them adds an extra taste. After I've eaten a ton of salted tomatoes, I like to cut up several tomatoes and then add some Italian dressing.

A southern mainstay is fried green tomatoes. Slice green tomatoes into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. Dip in egg and then in cracker crumbs or a mixture of cornmeal and flour or even Andy's. I fry mine until they are golden brown and kind of crispy. You can add seasoning as you want.

The greener the tomato, the more crispy your fried tomato will be. A tomato that is just starting to turn seems to be more flavorful, but they won't be as crispy.

One of the "in" crops seems to be kale. Some take kale, season the leaves and then dry them in the oven or a dehydrator for kale chips. I've eaten kale in salads, and it's pretty good.

I enjoy rainbow Swiss chard. I boil the leaves until they are tender. I then add a little salt and balsamic vinegar and enjoy them. My brother grew them a couple years ago and didn't like them at all.

A favorite in the spring is new potatoes. We clean our new potatoes and then boil them in salted water until they are tender. We put butter on them and at times some cheese. Good! Some cook their new potatoes with green beans or peas. I like to take these boiled new potatoes, cool them down and then cut up and fry with some pieces of onion. They are just super fried like this. Add cheese after you have browned your potatoes.

Happy eating!

Until next time.