What You Need:

2 T lemon juice
1/4 C lime juice
3 T frozen orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 t red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C olive oil

How to Make It:

Place all the ingredients into a shaker.
Close tightly.
Shake making sure all the ingredients are mixed together well.
Let stand 30 to 40 minutes before using.

What You Need:

2 T olive oil
2 lg. onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 lg. red bell peppers, chopped
1 lg. yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
4 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
4 C water
1/2 C bulgur
1 square unsweetened chocolate, grated
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
4 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen croon
1 medium red onion, chopped

How to Make It:

Place the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the onions and garlic and cook about 3 minutes, stirring often.
Add the bell peppers, jalapeno, chili powder and cumin.
Cook an additional 5 minutes or until peppers are tender.
Add the water, bulgur, chocolate, tomatoes and beans.
Adjust heat to high and bring to a rapid boil.
Once boiling place temperature on low, cover and cook 25 minutes.
Add the corn.
Stir well to combine.
Cook an additional 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with the onion just before serving.

What You Need:

1/4 C olive oil
2 T unsalted butter
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
Cayenne pepper to taste
12 C vegetable stock
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained
2 medium carrots, sliced thin
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1 C butternut squash, chopped
1 C parsley, finely chopped
2 C frozen corn
1 C unbleached flour
2 T cornmeal
2 t baking powder
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
2 T parsley, finely chopped
1 t dried dill
1 T unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces.
2/3 C soy milk, cold

How to Make It:

Place the oil and 2 T butter into a large kettle over medium heat.
When butter has completely melted add the onions and garlic.
Cook 10 minutes or until tender.
Add the bay leaves, cloves, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and stir well.
Add the tomatoes and the vegetable stock and mix well.
Bring to a rapid boil and slowly add the beans, carrots, potatoes, squash and 1/2 C of the parsley.
Return to a rapid boil, lower heat to medium low and continue to simmer for 35 minutes.
Vegetables should be fork tender.
Remove the bay leaves and throw them away.
Add the corn and the other 1/2 C of parsley and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Place the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt, dill and 2 T parsley into a large mixing bowl.
Add the butter and work into the flour mixture with your hands and this should from small crumbs with the flour mixture.
Add the milk and stir just until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
Return the heat under the soup to medium.
Bring soup back to a rapid boil.
Using a spoon gather enough dough to make a small ball.
Shape the ball with your hand.
Place the dumpling into the boiling soup.
Continue until all the dough has been used.
Place the heat back to medium low.
Cover the pot and continue cooking for 15 minutes.
Do not remove the lid until after 15 minutes.
When the soup is ready the dumplings should be puffy.
Serve soup hot.

Plums are best eaten alone. Most people bite into the juicy flesh until there is nothing left but the pit. If you find yourself with a few extra plums, don’t worry about having to throw them away.

The firmer plums can be sliced and added to your morning yogurt. True fans of the plum can add them to their salad for a tart and tangy taste. Sauces for meats can be the solution for any soft plums you have left.

How about making some prunes of your own? If you eat a lot of fruit, invest in a food dehydrator. You can reduce those plums to their sweetest components. Dehydration removes any excess fluid and leaves only the sweet and the nutrients. Drying the fruit will give you another two weeks to enjoy their goodness.

People who aren’t too fond of plums may like prunes better. They make a handy snack for the kids when you are out in the park on a Saturday or shopping in the store. Just take one out and pop it in their mouth (or yours) to stave off the hunger for another thirty minutes.

Plums are a small fruit that can fit in the palm of your hand. Eat them alone when you buy them fresh from the market. Use them in salads and as additions to other foods to use them up before they perish.

My family loves these tiny dark fruits. Plums range in color from red to deep purple and come in several varieties. They can be purchased in stores from May all the way up until October.

What is so special about the plum? Did you know that once they are dried, they are better known as plums? Most people probably know that fact. But, my favorite type of plum is not actually a pure plum at all. It is called a dragon plum. Their common name is a pluot because it is a cross between a plum and an apricot. Pluots come in several varieties with golden to reddish colored flesh that resembles that of a plum.

Plums range in taste from very tart to mildly sweet. The skin of a plum is smooth to the touch and doesn’t wrinkle. Slightly squeeze a plum when picking up the fruit. If it is too hard, the fruit will tend towards the tart side. A softer fruit will be sweeter. If they are too soft, they are probably overripe and won’t last long after you buy them.

I love pineapples because of their sweet and pungent taste. A fresh pineapple has more of a tangy taste than the slices that come in a can. The acid from a fresh pineapple makes my tongue feel sore if I eat too much at one time. A pineapple is a natural tenderizer for meats. When you garnish a ham with pineapples on Easter, wait until the ham is cooked through before adding the pineapples.

Pineapples are great to eat alone or in a salad. Tossing a few chunks on top of a green salad with a little Italian dressing makes a light lunch on a warm day. A large pineapple may be too big for one person to eat. If this is the case, try a few other uses to keep that pineapple from going bad.

Did you know that pineapples are a symbol of hospitality? Whip up a pineapple upside down cake or a yellow layer cake with pineapple icing and bring it to a picnic or potluck dinner. Others will love the taste of fresh pineapple in your recipe.

Pineapples make excellent snacks as dried or candied fruits. You can dry them at home yourself. The next time you grill out, skewer a few pineapple chunks and some chicken or beef. Pineapples do well on skewers and will have a sweet, yet smoky flavor to them.

Experiment with your pineapple. Try out some pineapple preserves or pineapple ice cream. Don’t just give up on your fruit; find new ways to use it.

What You Need:

4 T margarine
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 T flour
1 T tomato sauce
4 C vegetable broth
1 head of cabbage, shredded
6 white potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 T white wine vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C instant potatoes
1 C soy milk

How to Make It:

Melt the margarine in a large soup kettle over medium heat.
Stir together the onion, garlic and celery in the kettle.
Cook 5 minutes veggie should be soft.
Place the flour in the kettle and coat the veggies well.
Pour in the tomato sauce and broth.
Cook on medium stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to a chowder consistency.
Add the cabbage, potatoes and carrots and stir well.
Mix in the bay leaf, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Bring mixture to a rapid boil.
Cover and reduce heat to low.
Simmer for 25 minutes.
Remove lid and add the instant potatoes and soy milk.
Continue cooking uncovered for 15 minutes stirring often.
Chowder should be heat through and the bay leaf removed before serving.

These exotic looking fruits were brought to the shores of Hawaii from the South Sea Islands. Its green top resembles a crown, which is good since it is sometimes called “The King of Fruits.” A pineapple is a royal fruit with a sweet taste.

It takes a pineapple tree almost two years to produce a fruit that is big enough for eating. For this reason alone we should treat them special. Pineapples look like something you would use to set a trap with all those spiny projections, but the hidden fruit inside is scrumptious.

Pineapples are available year round and are shipped from Hawaii as well as being imported from other countries. The best pineapples are those that have the greatest degree of yellowing to the skin. The leaves on top should be green and tall and not brown and withered. A firm pineapple with no signs of mold or foul smell is a good one. A pineapple should not be picked until it is fully ripe. After it is picked it will not continue to ripen.