Welcome to My Kitchen

July brings many fresh fruits and vegetables to local markets. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries are perfect for making breakfast parfaits, which are a fun culinary treat to get kids involved in meal preparation. Yogurt, granola and your favorite berries make eye appealing, cool refreshing breakfasts for all ages.

Breakfast Parfaits

• Vanilla or plain yogurt

• Granola

• Strawberries, raspberries or blueberries

• Parfait glasses or large tumblers

Wash berries thoroughly and drain well. If using strawberries, slice or cut into bite size pieces.

To make parfaits, layer granola, yogurt, then fruit in the glasses, repeat layers, using about 1/4 cup of each ingredient in each layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

You can eat right away, but if made about 1 hour ahead, the granola softens a bit from the yogurt. You will need 1/2 cup of each ingredient for each parfait you want to make.

Note: if you wash berries of all kinds in a gallon of water to which you have added 1/4 cup vinegar, letting them soak 10 minutes, and draining well before refrigerating, your berries will last a week or more in the refrigerator.

I use this treatment with all fruits and vegetables when I bring them home. Your food will not taste like vinegar, but the vinegar suppresses the growth of bacteria, which cases mold and rot that could make you ill.

Zucchini bushes in area gardens are beginning to bare prolifically. Zucchini bread or muffins are easy recipes for young cooks to manage. Grating, mixing and measuring increases culinary skills and reinforces some math skills learned in school. Toasted slices of zucchini bread are a delicious breakfast treat. There are many styles of zucchini bread recipes, some include pineapple, others include nuts or raisins, but when cooking with kids, a plain recipe would be a good place to start.

Zucchini Bread

• 3 eggs

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 2 cups grated zucchini, peeled if you want to camouflage it.

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 3/4 cup chopped nuts, optional

Well grease two, 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, and set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix lightly but well.

In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder. Add to egg mixture and stir gently until just combined. Stir in nuts if using.

Divide batter evenly between the two loaf pans. Bake bread 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove bread from pans and cool on wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves.

Note: if you do not care for the traditional, slightly stick surface of zucchini bread (some kids are picky), substitute 1/2 cup butter for half of the vegetable oil. Also, zucchini bread tends to stick to the pan, so line the loaf pans with parchment paper after greasing.

Peeling zucchini before grating helps zucchini blend into recipes, but if you have exceptionally sharp eyed eaters, puree the zucchini and they won’t likely pick it out. I add pureed zucchini to many recipes. If you need applesauce with none on hand, substitute zucchini with 1/2 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp sugar per cup.

Summer is a great time to introduce older kids to outdoor grilling. Age 10 is a good rule of thumb, and of course adult supervision is a must. Teach the safety rules for using a gas or charcoal grill.

Hot dogs and commercially prepared hamburger patties are an easy start for a young grill master. An insta-read meat thermometer will be helpful tool to insure properly cooked meat. Flame resistant grilling gloves can make first grilling experiences for young people more fun as splatters from grease aren’t pleasant on young skin.

No recipe will cover the many brands of hotdogs and hamburger patties available. It is important to read and follow package direction. Remember, if you are going to grill hotdogs and hamburgers together, the hotdogs won’t take as long, so start the hamburgers first.

Use your favorite grill seasoning on the hamburgers as they cook. Johnnie’s Seasoning is a favorite of many but try different ones to find your favorite. Try my favorite, Montreal Steak Seasoning, or the following seasoning mix.

Burger Seasoning

• 2 Tbsp coarse sea salt

• 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

• 1 tsp ground paprika

• 1 tsp granulated onion

• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

• 1/8 tsp chili powder.

Combine all ingredients in a shaker jar. Cap tightly and shake vigorously to combine. Shake liberally on both sides of the hamburgers as you grill. Yield: about 3 Tablespoons. Enough for about 12 hamburgers.

After meat is removed from the grill, place buns cut sides down to toast for about 30 seconds. The grill marks on the buns are an extra touch to you cookout.

When done grilling, be sure to turn off the grill, then the gas. Then take a minute to run the grill brush over the grate to clean for your next use. If you are grilling over charcoal, be sure to properly put out the fire and safely dispose of the coals when thoroughly cold.

Share your favorite recipes for side dishes and desserts for summer meals and cookouts by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Record-Times, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com, or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in the Odessa Record office. Early morning or evening watering is best for vegetable and flower gardens as summer temperatures soar. Soaker hoses and a good layer of mulch reduce evaporation during the heat of the day or in windy conditions.