It's lavender harvesting season in our neck of the woods, and we have plenty of culinary lavender on hand especially since we went to an organic, U-pick lavender farm last weekend. In addition to making some fabulous lavender shortbread, I'll be making sure I have plenty of Lavender Honey Lemonade on hand for those hot summer days.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, head up to the Olympic Peninsula for North America's largest lavender event, the Sequim Lavender Festival, July 17 to 19, 2009. If you do go and harvest some lavender yourself, you can easily dry it by wrapping the bundles with rubber bands and hanging them upside down with a paper clip in a cool, dark room.

Lavender Honey Lemonade

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
5 cups w ater
1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender (or 1/4 cup fresh lavender blossoms)
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, strained
Ice cubes
Lavender sprigs for garnish 

Directions:
Combine honey with 2 1/2 cups water in a medium pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the honey.

Add the lavender to the honey water, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand at least 20 minutes (and up to several hours).

Strain mixture and discard lavender. Pour infusion into a glass pitcher. Add lemon juice and another 2 1/2 cups of cold water. Stir well.

Refrigerate until ready to use, or pour into tall glasses half-filled with ice, then garnish with lavender sprigs.

I don't know about you, but I love foods made with mascarpone cheese, even though I inevitably always mispronounce it. It's that triple-cream cheese that's used in making tiramisu and a whole host of very tasty sweet and savory Italian dishes. You can also serve it with fruit or it can be mixed with cocoa or coffee.

Unfortunately, it's also very expensive to buy, that is, if you can find it in stores. However, luckily for us, it's actually quite easy to make yourself.

Homemade Mascarpone Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:
16 ounces (not ultra-pasteurized) organic whipping cream
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium-sized heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the water in the skillet.

Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. It will take about 15 minutes of gentle heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. The whipping cream will become thicker and will cover the back of your spoon thickly.

When the cream reaches the temperature, keep it at that temperature for 5 minutes. Then remove the bowl from the water, and let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Pour the mixture into the lined sieve. Once it is cooled completely, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate in the sieve overnight or up to 24 hours. Transfer to a sealable storage container or your mouth, whichever comes first.

Yields about 12 ounces.

You can check out my other homemade cheese recipes in my easy cheese series.

If time is of the essence, sometimes a one-pot meal is all we can manage to scrounge up. It happens to the best of us. But quick and simple doesn't have to mean bland and generic — or expensive, unhealthy and ordered out — now does it? Plus, the beauty of one-pot meals is that they usually can be prepared in advance. That way, you can do the prep work when you have the time, and skip being chained to the stove when you don't.

If you have recipes for easy one-pot meals (or crockpot/slow-cooker, pressure cooker and casserole recipes ... that sorta thing), please share them below. A home-cooked meal is almost always cheaper and healthier than takeout, so just think of all the families you'll be supporting with your fab recipes!

Never heard of a one-pot meal? Check out this slew of crockpot recipes.

Here's one I want to try soon: Vegetarian Crockpot Stuffed Zucchini. Doesn't sound bland to me!

We're looking for reader tips on making home cooking easier, healthier, less time-consuming and less expensive.

Do you have great ideas for making quick to-go lunches for yourself or your family? What about tips for bulk buying or making your own replacements for foods that people typically purchase pre-made and pre-packaged? Ideas for efficient family meal planning? Quick and easy healthy recipes? Bring it on! Just post your ideas to the comments section below.

In the June/July 2009 issue of Mother Earth News, food historian William Rubel will bring us a fantastic and easy technique for making sweet cream and cultured butter at home. So we're interested in reader recipes that capitalize on the divine qualities of freshly made butter, and of course that other delicious product of butter making: fresh buttermilk. If you've got any great butter or buttermilk recipes, please share them with other readers in the comments section below.

For example, I made butter last week and used the buttermilk to cook my breakfast oatmeal — and of course enjoyed a melting pat of fresh butter on top!

No matter how you slice and dice it, and regardless of culinary expertise, the best meals begin with the best ingredients. And when it comes to fruits and vegetables, it doesn't get any better than FRESH FRESH FRESH. Fresh food in season is more likely than non-seasonal food to have been picked close to the time of purchase, which means it'll be at its nutritional peak when you buy it, not to mention costing a lot less.

We'd love for you to share your recipes and ideas for using produce at its peak. Depending on where you live, the top in-season foods right now may vary a little, but most of us can now find some fresh goodies at newly opening farmers markets. What seasonal foods are you serving up right now? Got any great tips? Superb recipes? Post them in the comments section below to share them with our readers. Bon appetit!

Somewhere between private chefs and in-home help are personal chefs. During my days as a personal chef, I would enter my clients’ kitchens with armloads of fresh ingredients and, several hours later, leave their freezers full of healthy heat-and-eat meals.

I hung up my chef’s coat long ago, but in order to live affordably and eat as healthfully as I want, I often dip back into my old bag of tricks. By following these tips, you, too, can transform an afternoon in the kitchen into weeks of healthy frozen dinners.

1. Plan. I generally shoot for five to seven meals, with no fewer than four servings each, for one cooking day. It’s important to balance labor-intensive dishes, like lasagna, with throw-together dishes, like roasted vegetable sides. Remember, it takes less time to make more servings than a greater variety of meals.
2. Organize. I can save an hour or more on the back end if I spend a few minutes upfront mapping my day, everything from how many cups of onions to chop for all the recipes to when to put the water on to boil.
3. Cook (maybe). Because all of these meals will be reheated, I do as little cooking as possible. I cook vegetables halfway, so they don’t get mushy upon reheating, and walk the line between scary raw poultry and rubbery reheated chicken puck. I assemble casseroles and baked pasta dishes but freeze them without baking. Finally, I prepare pasta sauces and fish sides but wait to cook the spaghetti and fish until it’s time to eat. They cook in a flash and there’s a clear difference in taste and texture.
4. Cool. Food maintains the best flavor and texture if they’re perfectly cool before freezing. I divide everything into portions that make sense for my family of two and cool them on the counter for an hour or so. I chill them further in the fridge before moving them to their place in the freezer.
5. Thaw. I usually move a few days worth of food to the fridge at once. With the exception of fish, meals will generally stay fresh for three to five days once thawed and this gentler thawing method means no microwave-induced gumminess.

Soups are easy, but roasted veggie tacos freeze beautifully, too. What are some of your frozen meal successes? Tell us about them in the comments section below. 

ISTOCKPHOTO/MARCELO WAIN

Happy holidays everyone! I was reading the Healthy & Green Daily newsletter and came across this great recipe for a Thanksgiving dessert — Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Pie. It sounds delicious, so check it out!

Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans (chopped or whole)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon Sucanat (see notes)
1 cup trans-fat free vegetable shortening (see notes)
3 tbsp ice water

Filling
16 ounces extra firm lite silken tofu
2 cups pumpkin puree (canned, or fresh – here’s how)
1/2 cup Sucanat (see notes)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup pecan halves

1. For the crust: Pulse flour, pecans, salt and Sucanat in a food processor until ground, then add shortening and pulse until almost combined. Add ice water and pulse until just blended.

2. Collect dough into two balls and flatten each into a disc. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours until firm. When chilled, roll out into a 9-inch circle on a floured board and place into an 8-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Make the filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place tofu in a food processor or blender, and blend until creamy. Add pumpkin, Sucanat, 1/4 cup of the maple syrup, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, and blend well.

4. Set aside some pecan halves for garnish. Toss remaining pecan pieces with remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup in a small bowl and then place evenly on the bottom of the pie shell. Pour filling into pie shell and bake approximately 1 hour, or until tester inserted in the center comes clean. Set pie aside to let cool. Garnish with remaining pecan halves.

NOTES
Sucanat is a great natural sweetener that you can read about here. If you don’t have Sucanat, you can use the natural sweetener of your choice.

For vegetable shortening, try Spectrum Organics which is trans-fat free and made with 100 percent organic expeller pressed palm oil.

This recipe was reprinted with permission by Care2 Inc. Care2 is an organization that strives to provide “powerful tools to make a difference in your life, community, country and world.”

Attention Vegetarians and Vegans: You too can have an enjoyable, delicious Thanksgiving dinner without compromising your lifestyle!

There are plenty of websites out there that offer meatless Thanksgiving Day menus. Many of them have complete, 3- to 5-course menus that are appetizing even if you’re not a vegetarian.

The appetizers usually consist of a variety of salads and soups. An obvious choice would be the Pumpkin Soup. Many of the sites have this recipe, but I thought this recipe looked interesting because it calls for a little sour cream. And don’t worry, this soup uses vegetable broth, not chicken.

Pasta dishes and vegetarian gratin would be nice main dish selections, such as this recipe for Three Sister Stew, which features the Ancient Three Sisters: corn, squash and beans.

Dessert could really be anything, so pick your favorite and make it for the whole family! Pumpkin pie is a more traditional choice if you want to go the traditional route, but one site I found has a lot of unique suggestions for desserts.

If you think about it, the only part of the Thanksgiving meal that traditionally features meat is the turkey. And with tofu turkey and other main-course selections, a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal doesn’t have to be that different from the original.

Here’s a list of some websites to help you plan a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner:

   * The Veggie Table

   * Boutell.com 

   * In a Vegetarian Kitchen

   * Farm Sanctuary

   * Recipe Zaar

A champion of vegetable cookery for more than 25 years, Andrea Chesman has written more than a dozen cookbooks that celebrate fresh food cuisine. When it comes to autumn's best root vegetables like parsnips, rutabagas, and sweet potatoes, Chesman thinks roasting is the best way to go.

"The dry heat of roasting coaxes out and concentrates flavors," Chesman says. "With parsnips, roasting brings out sweet, nutty flavors and aromas that otherwise would not exist." Roasted rutabaga melts in your mouth like butter, and a pan of Herb-Roasted Root Vegetables (recipe below) will transport easily and hold up well on a buffet table.

Chesman includes this recipe among 14 "Master Recipes" in Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables (Storey, 2007). As with the other master recipes in the book, you can vary the mix of vegetables, using what you have on hand. It's the method that counts, which in this case involves roasting in a hot oven until the vegetables are brown and tender.

If you don't have carrots or sweet potatoes, substitute cubes of winter squash for savory-sweet flavor and bright orange color. "It has similar cooking properties and works well with root vegetables," Chesman says. In addition to sharing the recipe for Herb-Roasted Root Vegetables below, Chesman offers these tips for roasting goodies from your garden:

* To prepare vegetables for roasting, cut into uniform-size pieces and slick with oil. Use a lightly oiled sheet pan or shallow roasting pan for good air circulation. Crowded vegetables will steam rather than roast.

* To ensure even browning, flip the vegetables with a spatula once or twice during roasting.

* Roasted root vegetables are beautiful; roasted green vegetables are equally delicious but somewhat less than beautiful.

* Make plenty, because vegetables shrink as they roast. Use leftovers in salads, omelets, quiches, and other quick-fix dishes. 

Herb-Roasted Root Vegetables

Serves 4 to 6

3 to 4 pounds (8 to 10 cups) mixed root vegetables or winter squash, such as beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, turnips, and potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 large onion, peeled and cut into eighths, or 1 cup peeled pearl onions or shallots

6 cloves garlic, peeled

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, alone or in any combination, chopped

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a large sheet pan with oil.

2. Combine the mixed vegetables, onions or shallots, and garlic in a large bowl. Add the oil, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat. Transfer the vegetables to the pan and spread out in a single shallow layer.

3. Roast 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until the vegetables are slightly browned and tender, turning with a spatula twice for even cooking.

4. Transfer to a serving platter, taste, and add more salt and pepper if desired. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Adapted from Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables (Storey, 2007), by Andrea Chesman. If you can't get enough roasted vegetables, check out Chesman's The Roasted Vegetable (Harvard Common Press, 2002).

Are some roasted veggie/herb combos so great everyone should try them? Share your best ideas for a veggie roast-a-rama in the comments section below!

It's amazing how much peanut butter we consume in our house. Between two small children and one adult peanut butter fanatic, we go through it pretty quickly. The store brands of natural peanut butter are expensive and the commercial kinds aren't exactly great because they are loaded with fun things like stabilizers and partially hydrogenated oils. Many stores also have the "u-grind" peanut butter dispenser in their bulk or natural food sections, but they tend to result in a rather flavorless (albeit nutty) spread.

So, how about making it yourself so you can make a more flavorful blend? Since peanuts are fairly inexpensive per pound, you will find that if you eat a lot of peanut butter, you will save money by making it yourself at home. Better yet, try growing your own peanuts, shelling and roasting them to make your own. It doesn't get any more inexpensive than that. Well, except for your own cost of labor, but we just won't include that, will we?

Spanish peanuts work better for making peanut butter as they have a higher percentage of oil. But if you can't find them, just increase the amount of peanut oil you use to make it more spreadable. You can even add honey for a smoother consistency and a sweeter spread. 

Heck, if you are feeling adventurous, mix in melted dark chocolate (1/8 to 1/4 cup) for a superdecadent treat!

Ingredients:

2 cups roasted shelled peanuts

1 to 2 tbsp peanut oil

1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted nuts)

2 tsp honey (optional) 

Instructions:

Place peanuts in a food processor with the oil (adjust as necessary if you are not using Spanish peanuts). A good rule of thumb if you are not using a high fat peanut is to use approximately 2 tablespoons of peanut oil for every cup of peanuts you use. Process the nuts and oil until the desired consistency is reached, adding in additional peanut oil or honey if it is not creamy enough to your liking.

If you prefer a chunkier blend, add in an additional 1/2 cup of chopped nuts at the end.

Make sure you store this in the fridge in an airtight container - it should last about two months. But I guarantee you, it won't make it that long.

ISTOCKPHOTO/MICHAEL THOMPSON

After hosting a dinner for our parents, my roommate and I were stuck with a whole bottle of ranch dressing. Neither of us eat salad (I’m allergic and she doesn’t like it), so I decided to create a recipe so the dressing could be used in a non-salad way. What resulted was a grilled chicken bacon ranch pizza (all ingredients were things I already had in my kitchen). I even made the crust from scratch!

Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk or water
Your choice of additional spices (suggestion: Oregano)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While waiting for the oven to warm up, lightly grease a pizza pan with butter.

Combine flour, salt, eggs, milk (or water) and spices of your choice into a large mixing bowl. Stir using a large wooden spoon.

Once the mixture is thoroughly combined, pour dough onto a round pizza pan and evenly spread out. Make sure the edges are rounded and not too thin.

Bake for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully. Every oven is different. Remove from oven. Set aside.

Tip: If you like a crispier crust, try a pizza stone! Although a little tricky to determine the baking time, the crispy crust will be more than worth it in the end.

Preheat the pizza stone in the oven for 15 minutes and then add the pizza dough. Place back in oven. You'll know it's done when the crust is a light brown.

Pizza
1 cup cooked chicken (chopped)
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 cup tomatoes (diced)
1/2 cup chopped bacon
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or enough to cover all the toppings)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Oven should already be set on 400, but once the pizza crust is removed, turn the heat slightly up to 425 degrees.

Combine the chicken, ranch dressing, tomatoes and bacon. Stir in a mixing bowl. Evenly spread mixture over warm pizza crust. Top with mozzarella.

Place pizza back into oven for another 15 minutes. Remove pizza and lightly sprinkle the top with parmesan.

Serves 8.

Garlic is one of Mother Nature's most versatile herbs, with qualities both culinary and medicinal. It's one of the easiest plants you can grow, and it also happens to be one of the few things you should plant right now — in the fall. (Unless you live in Wasilla, Alaska, in which case it's probably too late for you this season — but feel free to bookmark this article for next year!)

GROWING GARLIC
For those of you with still-unfrozen ground, here are a few resources to help you get started:

• Plant Now for Great Garlic 
• Plant Garlic this Fall 
• Gourmet Garlic from the Ground Up 
• Growing Garlic Scapes 
• Garlic: A Plant to Love 
• Harvest Time and Planting Time 
• Garlic Seed Sources 
• A Few of My Favorite Garlics 

GARLIC FOR HEALTH
Garlic is one of nature's greatest nutritional powerhouses. Learn more about the long list of battles it fights so well:

• Great-tasting Garlic is Good for Your Heart 
• Garlic and Your Health 
• Garlic: Nature's Gift for Life 

GARLIC IN THE KITCHEN
And now for some super garlic recipes to put those beautiful bulbs to work:

• Garlic Scapes 
• More on Scapes 
• Garlicky Bruschetta
• Extra-creamy Roasted Garlic Guacamole 
• How to Roast Garlic
• Easy Refrigerator Pickled Garlic
• Make Your Own Garlic Powder 
• Great Garlic Recipes 
• Garlic Makes It Good 

Love garlic/Don't cook? Check out these Specialty Garlic Restaurants.

As long as I make the muffins, my husband, Rob, often cooks us a breakfast of scrambled eggs and goat cheese (with a sprinkle of cinnamon) served on English muffins. These little "griddle breads" were invented by Victorian-era English servants as a way to use leftover bits bread dough. They make scrumptious toast, but they're expensive to buy and their packaging is just plain ridiculous. We don’t even give white bread hotdog buns double layers of cardboard and plastic armor.

To make my own, I found several variations on classic English muffin recipes and started cooking. A half-dozen or more batches later, I hit the right combination by using the dough from one recipe and the shaping technique from another. Whether you use a knife or fork to split the muffins before toasting them is up to you. 

Whole Wheat English Muffins

 I like to use my KitchenAid to make dough whenever possible, but this dough can just as easily be kneaded by hand. When hand-kneading, be sure to flour your surface and hands generously. The dough has been kneaded enough when the surface becomes taught, smooth and elastic. Yields 12 English muffins.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk, warmed until just barely bubbling

2 tbsp honey (granulated sugar works, too)

1 package or 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (110 degrees Fahrenheit — just barely warm to the touch)

1/4 cup melted butter or oil

About 5 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour (Substitute as much all-purpose flour as you’d like for a lighter muffin.)

1 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Combine warmed milk and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until dissolved. In a separate bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Add yeast mixture, butter or oil, and three cups of flour to the milk. Attach the dough hook and beat at a low speed until mostly smooth. Add flour by the half-cup until a soft dough forms. The dough has the right amount of flour when it pulls into a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. Be patient, though — it take a moment for new flour to incorporate into the dough.

3. Move the dough to a greased mixing bowl (finesse works better than strength when removing the dough hook), cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

4. Sprinkle a work surface with flour and a long sheet of waxed paper with cornmeal. Punch down the dough and move to the floured surface. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the waxed paper, leaving 3 inches between the muffins. Slightly flatten each round and sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover and let rise 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a greased griddle over medium heat. Gently brush excess cornmeal off muffins and place on the griddle, cooking until a deep golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until the edges feel firm.

6. Cool on wire racks and toast before serving.

Above: A dusting of corn meal and a turn on the griddle give English muffins their signature crunch.

Right: A bed of corn meal keeps the muffins from sticking during the second rising.

Hey pumpkin carvers: Stop. Wait. Don't waste all those yummy seeds! (Happy Halloween, by the way.) You can save those seeds from ending up in the garbage can with 4 easy steps:

1. SOAK THE SEEDS in water for a few hours. Fill a bowl with water, drop in the seeds and rub them between your fingers to start loosening up any attached pulp. Don't worry about getting every last bit off, because soaking them for a while makes it easier to rub all the pumpkin-ey pulp off later.

2. DRY THE SEEDS on a towel for a few hours, or until they are dry to the touch.

3. SEASON THOSE SEEDS with whatever's on-hand and sounds yummy. Sweet and savory both work well — be creative. (Our friend Kim Wallace, over at Natural Home magazine has a step-by-step recipe for sweet cinnamon-n-sugar pumpkin seeds.) Using a little bit of honey or oil will add flavor and help herbs and spices stick well. For the pumpkin seeds I made as a salad topping (see below), I tossed the dried seeds in extra-virgin olive oil (Global Gardens 2007 Harvest first cold press, a wonderfully fruity and aromatic premium olive oil) and Maine Coast Sea Vegetables organic kelp with cayenne pepper blend (one of my long-standing favorite seasoning blends).

4. ROAST THE SEEDS in a 300-degree-Fahrenheit oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them: They'll be done when they're golden to light brown.

Crunchy seaweed- and cayenne-spiced roasted pumpkin seeds make a fabulous topping for a fresh arugula salad, and counterbalance the sweetness of crispy cucumber and pear slices.

More pumpkin know-how: Grilled Pumpkin with Rosemary and Sea Salt * Pumpkins Make any Dish a Smashing Hit * 7 Great Pumpkin Carving Tips * Wacky and Wonderful Halloween Pumpkin Designs * Three Phunky Pumpkins * The Great Pumpkin * The Great American Pumpkin * Make a Jack-'O-Lantern ... And Eat Pumpkin Pie, Too! * About Pumpkins * Beer America TV Pops the Top on a Pumpkin Lager 

My backyard grown sugar pie pumpkins are finally ripening up in spite of the steady rains we've been experiencing here in the Pacific Northwest. A few of the pumpkins ended up being somewhat small and weren't worth the effort to process into pumpkin puree. So, what to do with these little guys? I wanted to do something new and, not having grilled pumpkins before, I was quite excited to give it a try.

During grilling, the sugars in the pumpkin caramelize. The combination of sweet and salty, coupled with crisp rosemary, will give you a different way of thinking about pumpkin. After trying this, you just might find yourself dreaming of expanding your pumpkin patch next year.

Make sure you use sugar pie pumpkins or the equivalent for this recipe — you really don't want to eat a jack-o-lantern type pumpkin as they are stringy. If you aren't growing your own sugar pie pumpkins you should be seeing them available in stores and farmers markets this month or, better yet, make a fun trip out of it and head out to a U-pick pumpkin farm. Don't forget to pick up a few extra for making your own pumpkin puree for pies and breads later in the year.

Ingredients:
Sugar pie pumpkins (preferably on the small side)
Olive oil
Fresh rosemary, chopped
Sea salt

1. Heat grill to medium-high.

2. Wash and cut the pumpkins vertically into 3/4 inch slices. Remove the seeds and stringy parts. Brush both sides of each slice liberally with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary.

3. Place the slices on the grill for about 5 minutes a side or until dark grill marks appear. Turn and grill the other side until you can easily pierce the pumpkin slice with a fork. You want to make sure that the pumpkin is tender.

4. Since some of the salt tends to fall off during the grilling process, serve with a small dish of additional sea salt.

I got some lovely garlic scapes in my CSA bundle from Roxbury Farm last week, and finally got around to making Will Weaver's garlic scapes recipe that we featured in the Kitchen Garden department of Mother Earth News a couple years ago. Man, what a treat! The recipe seems simple, however the flavors are anything but! If you can get your hands on some garlic scapes from a local farm while they're in season, be sure to try this recipe.

Sauteed Garlic Scapes

I came across another intriguing recipe, for garlic scape pesto, but haven't tried it yet. If you know of more ways to use scapes, by all means, share the love! Just post your ideas and recipes in the comments section below.

Photo by Tabitha Alterman

Have you tried the amazing no-knead bread yet? If you have, and you're ready for an easy and nutritious variation, check out this video demonstration on how to make no-knead bread with yummy steel cut oats.

This classic Italian starter (which is actually pronounced 'broo-sket-ta' and not 'broo-shet-ta'), almost always has a generous dose of raw garlic. If you absolutely must, you can tame the garlic bite a bit by adding the topping to the bread before popping it into the oven.

1 head raw garlic

5 tbsp cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil (You can really taste the olive oil in this recipe, so use a good one!)

4 fresh tomatoes

3/4 cup basil, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 freshly baked baguette

1/2 cup pine nuts

Peel garlic and dice into tiny pieces. Toss with olive oil in a bowl. Slice the tomatoes, discarding juice and seeds, then dice. Add to the bowl along with a half cup of the basil and stir to coat with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside to marinate for at least an hour.

Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Slice the baguette in half lengthwise, then cut into 3/4-inch wide pieces. Arrange on an oven-safe pan. Warm the bread in a 300-degree (Fahrenheit) oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a serving platter, if desired.

Scoop garlic-tomato mixture over each piece, then sprinkle with pine nuts and chopped basil. Serve immediately.

This recipe is loved even by those who claim to hate garlic, onions and avocados. It's sweet, spicy, salty and creamy, and brings out the best of the avocado flavor. It's important to prepare this dish while people are waiting for it, and here's why: Even though they may not like the smell of onions and garlic on your breath, they'll be salivating at the smells wafting from your kitchen as you roast garlic and caramelize onions at the same time!

1 head garlic, roasted (see How to Roast Garlic)
1 small sweet onion (such as ‘Vidalia'), diced into small pieces
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp mayonnaise (vegan mayo works just fine)
2 tbsp cilantro, coarsely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Spicy stuff, to taste (optional)
2 lime wedges

While your garlic is roasting, sauté the onion in oil over medium-high heat until well caramelized (brown, sticky and sweet), about 7 to 10 minutes. Mash the garlic cloves and onions into the mayonnaise with a fork. Then mash the mixture into the avocados.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cilantro. If you want spicy guac, mix in your favorite spicy stuff (Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, red chile hot sauce, diced jalapenos, etc.), to taste.

Squeeze one lime wedge into the guacamole, and stir in the juice. Use the other one to squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top. (This will prevent the guacamole from browning.) Serve immediately.

Roasting garlic is incredibly easy. And you can use the soft, mild and nutty cloves in so many different ways. Stir it into soft cheeses and soups, or mash it into soft butter to up the garlic ante. Or simply spread a whole roasted clove over a piece of toasted bread. If you really love garlic, just pop a freshly roasted clove into your mouth all by itself — you won't be disappointed! Here's how to do it right:

1. Take an entire head of garlic and peel away the outer layers of paper. You don't need to remove the skin that clings to each clove; just peel off the paper that falls away easily.

2. Lay the head of garlic on its side, and chop off about a quarter inch from the top. You want to see at least a sliver of the naked skin of each clove.

3. Set the head of garlic on a piece of aluminum foil (about 4-by-4 inches); or place on the tray of your fancy-schmancy terra cotta garlic baker. Drizzle something yummy over the top. Yummy things might include olive oil, hazelnut oil, sesame oil, veggie stock or free-range chicken broth (2 tablespoons should be plenty).

4. Pinch the foil around the top to cinch the garlic-shaped package, or put the lid on your supersnazzy garlic baker.

5. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes, or until your garlic is sooooooooo delicious. You will know it is sooooooooo delicious when your home smells absolutely incredible and the cloves are soft, squishy and golden brown.

6. To release the cloves, simply squeeze each one and watch the perfectly roasted clove slip right out of its paper. Warning: Your hands will get a little greasy.

Making pickles can be time-consuming, but this method for easy garlic pickles couldn't possibly be any easier. Or tastier!

1. Slice peeled garlic cloves in half. Drop in a canning jar.
2. Pour your favorite kind of vinegar over the garlic cloves.
3. Add a tablespoon of coarse sea salt.
4. Screw lid on, shake jar, and store in the refrigerator for up to a couple months.

Feel free to add other veggies, such as hot and sweet peppers or cucumbers, to the mix. You can also add herbs, such as dill, thyme and rosemary. For sweeter pickles, add a tablespoon of sugar along with the salt.