At last summer is in full swing. The farmers markets are back in business and home vegetable gardens are seeing lots of activity. It is great for your health and the environment to eat seasonal and local produce. From late spring through the fall I get the majority of my vegetables from the farmers market or my own backyard garden. Having a small garden of your own is a great project that has endless reward as the summer progresses. My kids love to head outside and see what delicious produce has grown. I highly recommend planting something of your own.
Another option is your local farmers market. Shopping this way promotes local and seasonal eating and helps your small local farmers. When you shop locally the food you are buying isn’t transported across the country or the world for that matter. The food is fresher, often times picked that morning and brought to the market. The flavors and nutritional punch are so much better when eating fresh picked produce.
Eating in season keeps your body in rhythm with the seasons. In the summer we eat more salads, chilled soups, smoothies, and lighter meals to keep us cool. While in the winter we are eating more cooked vegetables, stews, and hearty soups, to keep us warm and grounded. We all should try to eat more locally grown foods. And farmers markets also tend to sell local eggs, cheeses and pastured raised meats. To find a farmers market near you, you can visit farmersmarketonline.com for locations and times.
One of my early summer vegetables is zucchini. I’ll walk over to my garden and notice that all of the sudden I have a multitude of big zucchinis that need to be brought in. When this happens one of my favorite dishes to make is a zucchini soup. It is delicious served warm or chilled. It’s easy to make and then you can have it in the fridge for the week for a quick lunch or supplement to dinner. Zucchini might not be the first vegetable you think of for a soup but believe me, it’s delicious. So take a trip to your local farmers market, buy some onions and zucchinis and you’ll have a very healthy, farm to table soup to serve yourself and your family!
Zucchini Soup
- 4 medium zucchinis
- ½ an onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3.5 cups chicken stock
- 1.5 teaspoons curry powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Slice the zucchini into ¼ inch slices. Warm the olive oil in a large pot and add the onion and zucchini. Cover and saute for 10 minutes, stirring often. Cook until the zucchini is soft but not browned. Once cooked add to a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend. Soup can be served hot or chilled. Enjoy!
EATssential 