I believe we learn a lot from our grandparents without realizing it until we are grandparents ourselves. Both of my grandmothers influenced me one way or another; one grandmother always cooked from her garden and the other had a chicken coup. Needless to say I passed on the chicken coup and opted for the garden- I love to garden! Unfortunately I do not have much land for a garden and have planted a few vegetables in containers, although it isn’t a large amount of veggies. What I really love about it is getting my grandkids involved in the planting, caring, harvesting and of course the eating of the vegetables that they have helped plant. It seems to be going slowly, but we have harvested a few veggies. We have to keep an eye on the dog as she likes peppers.  She even harvested and ate the first one!

We harvested our first cucumber a few days ago, peeled it and ate it right away, the first yellow squash was steamed with a little butter and it also went fast. We are still waiting for tomatoes, green and yellow peppers and eggplant; what a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies! I also have a small container with a few herbs including basil, thyme, dill and parsley. I like to keep this container right outside my kitchen door, making it easy to cut whatever I need, when I need it.

While we wait for more of our “bumper” crop to come in, I like to check out the recipes where I can use my fresh veggies. I love Caprese Salad and since I had an overabundance of basil this recipe was perfect.

This classic Italian combination of mozzarella, tomatoes and basil is dressed up with marinated artichokes. It looks so lovely on a platter. Using fresh mozzarella is the key to great taste.

I am also excited about making Eggplant Parmesan once those eggplants start to come in and a Pepper and Tomato Salad will be great on the side.

“Truly delicious! I love eggplant and have many recipes, but this one’s my favorite. The cheeses and seasonings make this dish unforgettable.” —Dottie Kilpatrick, Wilmington, North Carolina

This recipe comes from my husband’s great-grandmother. It’s especially good with ripe tomatoes from the garden, but drained canned tomatoes may also be used.—Maxine Foreman, Columbus, Nebraska

Well, good luck to all the farmers out there, even if you only plant a few veggies like me, it can be a lot of fun and very rewarding for everyone involved. I guess my question is to you how does your garden grow?

-Cheryl Cohen, Taste of Home Culinary Specialist