Zucchini-Cilantro Dip

Adapted from Martha Stewart. Absolutely delicious dip for veggies of any kind! Makes 2 1/4 cups.

1 3/4 cups organic, cultured sour cream (or Creme Fraiche)
2 Tbls olive oil
2 Tbls white wine vinegar
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 small, firm zuccini, washed, trimmed, and finely grated
1/2 bunch chopped, fresh cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk together the sour cream, oil, vinegar, and garlic until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients and refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours.

Basic Barbecue Sauce

From The Barbeque Bible
Makes 2 1/2 to 3 cups

Time for the summer recipes! This tastes absolutely fantastic on grilled chicken. If you have extra sauce, keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.


3 tbls olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 green bell pepper, stemmed seeded and minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup water
3 tbls cider vinegar
3 tbls Worcestershire sauce
2 tbls fresh lemon juice
1 tsp of your favorite hot sauce or hot red pepper flakes*
1/2 tsp liquid smoke or 2 tbls meat drippings
2 tbls molasses
3 tbls firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbls prepared mustard of choice (I like Grey Poupon)
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt, to taste

1. Heat oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until slightly softened but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute one more minute.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little water. Remove from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding salt and vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several weeks.
*This will make a mild to medium spicy sauce.

Tomatillo and Sweet Corn Salsa

Makes about 1 cup of salsa.

Absolutely delicious!

1/2 cup tomatillos, husked and diced
2 Tbls chopped onion
1 ear of corn
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbls lime juice
2 Tbls chopped cilantro
2 Tbls diced banana pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cumin

1. Cut raw kernels from the ear of corn and combine with other ingredients.
2. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors blend. Best if refrigerated overnight.