Berry Banana Smoothie

1 ripe banana
1 cup of yogurt
1 cup of frozen berries
ice
splash of milk or juice if needed

Blend everything and serve. If the banana isn’t very ripe yet, I add a bit of sugar or honey to sweeten it up.

How about you? What do you make with plain yogurt?

I think mostly we’re just not too fond of the ricotta cheese. I’ve tried making it with cottage cheese before and we didn’t care for it either. Can you make a lasagna without any type of white sauce?

I’ve been thinking about crushing some up and making a pie crust (similar to a graham cracker crust) out of them, but haven’t tried it it. With some pudding filling and a few more fruit loops sprinkled on top, that might make a fun kiddie dessert.

One thing I like to do is just slice up the lemon, then wrap some fish, the lemon slices and a bit of fresh dill in foil and grill everything. Turns out great every single time.

So far there’s only one recipe I’ve ever made with diet coke and that was a brownie like cake. You basically just mix a box of chocolate cake mix with a can of diet coke and bake it according to the box instructions. It turned out really good… like a gooey brownie.

How about you? Do you cook with diet coke (or any soda for that matter). If so, please leave your favorite recipe as a comment below.

I’m taking a break from our usual format today to talk to you about why eating local food is important. But don’t worry, after this little rant, we’ll move right back to the “What Can I Make With ….” Format.

Most of us realize that the way we eat affects our health. If we eat badly then we can expect that we may have poor health too. By the same token, the way that we eat has a tremendous impact on the health of the planet.

We have become so accustomed to eating foods grown in far away places that we do not give it a second thought. Most produce in the United States travels an average of 1,500 miles before it gets sold. Just think about it, the bananas you eat probably come from South America. The distance your food travels has serious effects on your health and the climate.

When foods are brought in from a distance it is impossible to identify the pesticides used and the route taken to grow and transport the food to local supermarkets. Foreign countries might not have the same controls and safety regulations that we do. Control over what you are putting into your body is limited.

Local farmers tend to use fewer chemicals than large factory farms. Fruits and vegetables have a longer time to ripen. The food will be fresher, often having been picked within 24 hours. This means the food will be more delicious and contain more nutritional value.

Eating locally grown foods is just plain safer. The threat of bioterrorism is greatly reduced. Food that has to travel a long distance to get from farm to plate has a far greater risk of food contamination.

The transportation of food around the globe is not without impact. In fact it has an adverse affect on our climate and our air quality. It directly affects global warming and pollution. Buying locally grown produce and food items reduces the pollution going into our atmosphere and it reduces fuel consumption.

Eating foods grown locally give you a greater variety. A farmer who is not concerned with shipping foods, shelf life of the produce, or supermarket demands for ‘name brands’ is free to try small crops of different varieties. Local produce translates to eating foods when they are in season. This means you will be enjoying foods when they are the most abundant, at their nutritional peak, and the least expensive.

Purchasing food that has been locally grown keeps your dollars circulating within the community. Farmers on average get less than half the value on a dollar after transportation, processing, packaging, refrigeration, and marketing costs. Farmers who sell food to local customers receive the full retail value, a dollar for each food dollar spent. Additionally, eating locally encourages the use of local farmland for farming, thus giving farmers an economic reason to keep development in check while preserving open space.

By eating locally grown food you will help to reduce fuel consumption and global warming, strengthen the local economy, and protect the environment. You will also be eating fresher, tastier fruits and vegetables while safeguarding the health of your family.

How about you? Do you try to buy local produce? Where do you find it? What’s your motivation to go out and try to find local food in this era of Mega Marts that ship in stuff from all over the world?

We like to eat them just peeled, seeded and cut into chunks with some toast for breakfast, but I’m sure there are plenty of other things you can do with these melons. What are your favorite cantaloupe recipes?

Usually I have just enough to make a couple of rhubarb pies, but this year looks like quite a bit more. So I guess my question is what do you make with Rhubarb?

Here’s my favorite rhubarb pie recipe:

* 4 cups chopped rhubarb
* 1 1/3 cups white sugar
* 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Preheat oven to 450F

Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour. Dot with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust.

Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F, and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes.

What are your favorite recipes and ideas for hard boiled eggs?

By far my favorite is to wrap a salmon fillet in some aluminum foil with some lemon and dill and then either bake it or cook it on the grill (in the foil) until it is done.

How about you? What’s your favorite fish fillet? Submit your recipe as a comment below.