How about eggplant casserole? I make mine like squash casserole, but use twice as much cheese. Use the Ritz Cracker topping to make it crunchy. Ummmmm. Good.

Since Tomatoes are ripe now how about a bread salad. I have a recipe for one that is to die for and is just torn pieces of crusty bread, basil and chopped tomatoes with olive oil and maybe a couple of other things I would need to check to be sure. But it is so good. Or if you have spincah and strawberries that is another favorite salad of mine. I also love marinated grilled vegetables which can include herbs from your garden in the marinade and whaterever veggies you have but zuchini, squash, mushrooms onions are among my favorite to use. Maybe you should tell us what you ahve peaking in your garden right now.

If you want any of the recipes I mentioned let me know.

Also epicurious.com has a great search engine and you can type in the fresh ingredients you have available and see what comes up.

One more reason to take that Master Gardeners class next winter, sounds like a great time. I love to eat almost as much as I love to garden.

this is good side dish with something like burgers; sweet and tangy.
could use onion and peppers from your own garden and i suppose fresh corn, beans and peas, too, after cooking.
i don't know anyone who has ever grown celery. ;-)

marinated vegetable salad -
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
¾ c white vinegar
½ c vegetable oil
¾ c sugar

mix and boil together, (let come to a boil and set aside to cool)

1 can shoe peg corn
1 can french style green beans (drained)
1 can english peas (drained)
1 bell pepper chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup onion chopped

mix well and pour oil and vinegar over, gently stir, let set 8 Â 24 hrs. keeps well in frig.

So far, so good. The recipes above sound yummy. I sure would like to have the bread salad recipe from Kathy, although I have had great luck finding recipes on the internet. If I don't have these ingredients in my own garden, somebody does! I can get them.
I think we would all love to have more recipes....hint hint

cut up:
cukes
maters
bell peppers
banana peppers
scallions
basil
mozzarella
cooked pasta noodles

drizzle olive oil
sprinkle balsamic vinager
toss with McCormicks salad supreme seasoning

family loves it. sometimes i don't add the mozarella and only use freshly grated parmesian. either way, yum yum yum

What about cold soup? Tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic and lots of cucumber all tossed into blender with good olive oil, dash of balsamic vinegar, dash of wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste....ymmy

Hope this isn't too late but here is the recipe--

Tuscan Tomato Bread Salad

5 ripe tomatoes, peeled
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 oz (185 g) French or Italian bread(not sourdough), about l/2 loaf, with crusts intact
2 cups (2 oz/60 g) fresh curly-leaf parsley sprigs or 1 cup (1 oz/30 g)fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley sprigs
l/2 cup (1/2 oz/15 g) fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces, optional

The ingredients for this salad may seem humble, but the result is delectable! An adaptation of a traditional Italian salad, it is a fine way of using leftover or day-oldÂbut not staleÂbread.
Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise. Working over a sieve set in a bowl, gently squeeze each half to force out the seed sacs and release the juice. Discard the seeds in the strainer. Put the tomatoes in the bowl with their juice and break up and mash slightly with your fingers or a fork. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil. Toss gently but thor¬oughly to combine and coat the ingredients.
Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces. Add the bread and parsley and the basil, if using, to the bowl and toss until the bread is moistened but not soggy. Serve at once.
Serves 4

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS PER SERVING:
CALORIES 246 (KILOJOULES 1,033) PROTEIN 5 G CARBOHYDRATES 31 G TOTAL FAT 12 G SATURATED FAT 2 c CHOLESTEROL 0 MG SODIUM 829 MG DIETARY FIBER 4 G

You all are making me hungry! I'm going to print this out and try some of these recipes sometime!

This wouldn't make a good covered-dish, but a very quick & easy side-dish for the tired gardener with too many ripe tomatoes:

Slice a couple of maters, lay out on a cookie sheet, top with shredded cheddar cheese, paprika, salt & pepper, and whatever fresh herbs you have available (I normally use chives and parsely). Broil for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted. YUM!

Forgot...Georgiagirl, what's your recipe? I need a better squash casserole than what I have anyway.

This is a great summer dish, but not very good for taking as a covered dish.

Grilled Okra
- leave the okra whole - do not trim or cut it
- brush each pod with a little olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar
- grill until it looks done to you

The grilling gets rid of all the fuzz and all the slime.

Well, this is a Summer "Berry" Garden recipe. I just made this cake this morning from the blueberries I picked last night. It was delicious. The only adjustment I made was I used Swans Down cake flour instead of AP. It is very "light" and full of blueberries. Delicious!

Blueberry Pound Cake

Source: Better Homes and Gardens, Aug 2005

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup milk

Directions
1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a 10-inch tube pan; set aside. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a very large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture is well combined. Beat in eggs. Stir blueberries into flour mixture. By hand, stir blueberry mixture into butter mixture. Stir in milk just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan.

3. Bake in a 325 degrees F oven for 60 to 75 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen cake from edge of pan with a narrow metal spatula. Remove cake from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

My aunt made me this last year, however I restrained myself and did not slap her, lol. I want her to make it again!!!

large eggplant sliced
chevre
sliced tomato
sweet onion
salt/pepper
basil leaves
olive oil
good italian cheese like Asiago

Slice your eggplant and brush with olive oil and grill it on both sides

While it is grilling, make a salsa of sweet onion finely diced, finely chopped tomato, finely chopped basil, olive oil and seasoning

when eggplant is close to being done, throw on a slice of chevre,a slice of tomato and top with another slice of grilled eggplant like a sandwich. Let it sit a few minutes to start the chevre to melt a bit.

Remove from heat. Top with the "salsa", a little asiago and a drizzle of olive oil. SCRUMPTIOUS. I have made this up for a party, then served it at room temperature.

GGG

Title: Zucchini Spice Cake with Penuche Frosting

Description:
To Pretty Much Die For! Rich, smooth, and sweet!

Ingredients:
1 (18.25-oz.) box plain yellow cake mix
1 (3.4-oz.) package vanilla instant pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 large)
Penuche Frosting (recipe follows)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Place all ingredients except zucchini and frosting in a large mixing bowl. Blend with mixer on low for 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Fold in Zucchini.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 60 to 65 minutes, until cake is light brown and springs back. Remove from oven and cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Runa sharp knife around edge of cake and invert onto rack, then invert onto another rack so cake is right side up. Cool completely, about 30 minutes more. Prepare frosting. Spread warm frosting on top and sides of cooled cake. Allow cake and frosting to cool before slicing. Makes 16 servings.

PENUCHE FROSTING

1 cup packed light brown sugar
8 TB (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Place brown sugar and butter in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring constantly until well combined, about 2 minutes. Carefully pour in milk, stirring, and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat and cool slightly.

Place confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl. Pour hot brown sugar mixture over confectioners' sugar. Beat with mixer on low speed until frosting is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Use immediately. Makes 3 cups.

Number Of Servings:16