Recipes


Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables

by Joyce Peters Roasting brings out the best in vegetables. High dry heat caramelizes the vegetables to give them sweetness and intensify flavor. This dish is a great company dish that can be prepared ahead by cutting all the vegetables except the potatoes. When you are ready to cook, add […]

roasted veggies

holiday meal

Tips for Waste Free Holidays

by Maricelle Cardenas, StopWaste In preparation for the big food gatherings coming up, we’ve asked StopWaste, the agency in Alameda County focused on reducing our county waste stream, to tell us about ways to minimize food waste over the winter holidays and throughout the year. The holidays often provide the […]


October Harvest – Apples

by Joyce Peters An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Few other proverbs have stood the test of time. We’ve known that apples are a good source of vitamin C and fiber. They also contain pectin, a fiber that breaks down in your gut and makes you feel fuller […]

Fall apple crisp

Green beans

September Harvest – Green Beans

by Joyce Peters I remember fondly the school lunch program in the 50’s, but not the commodity canned green beans – pale,tasteless and soft, so different from just picked green beans – beautifully green, tasty and chewy. Even home cooks then overcooked all vegetables, sometimes boiling for an hour. Cooked […]


August Harvest Tomatoes

by Joyce Peters Tomatoes are a gardener’s treasure to enjoy in the summer heat when their flavor is at its peak. Besides being delicious and versatile in recipes they are a powerhouse of nutrients. A good source of vitamin C and vitamin A, tomatoes also provide fiber and other trace […]

Tomato pasta recipe

Green Tomato Recipies

What To Do With Green Tomatoes

by Margie Siegal At the end of the summer, gardeners and farmers from many different cultures faced a similar problem: tomatoes that got started too late and never ripened. Gardeners and farmers around the world share two traits: first, they never throw anything away if they can help it and […]


Apple Cake

Contributed by Linda Carloni This recipe is adapted from the version handed down to me from my late mother-in-law, Lillian Carloni. Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine in large bowl and beat until creamy (hand mixer is good): ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup white sugar 3 eggs Add to […]

apple tree apple cake recipe

Halupki stuffed cabbage rolls

Halupki Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Contributed by Kristen Smeal This (plant based) recipe is adapted from the one my grandmother used to make, which she called “pigs in a blanket,” a Pennsylvania coal-country adaptation of a traditional Eastern European food, Halupki. They are commonly served around the holidays, at weddings, and at the county fair. […]


Hastbullar (Quick Buns)

Contributed by Birgitt Evans Makes 12 – 15 buns This recipe comes from “Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break” by Anna Brones & Johanna Kindvall. The English have ‘tea time’ and we Swedes have our “Fika” (pronounced “fee-ka”) which is coffee plus a sweet treat and time to […]

Hastbullar

keeping garden veggies healthy

Greens, Polenta and Cheese

Contributed by Margie Siegal (for 1 person, double or triple as needed) This is an inexpensive but tasty dinner or lunch, especially if you grow your own. Kale, chard and mustard greens grow year round in our climate, and are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. Kale is often […]


Cranberry Apple Crisp

Contributed by Marla Koss (Adapted from Marion Cunningham’s WILLIE’S CRISP recipe from her long-ago San Francisco Chronicle column) Fruit Filling: 5 to 6 cups apples, peeled, in medium-sized chunks or slices 12-oz. package fresh or frozen cranberries 1 to 1 ½ cups sugar, depending on tartness of apples 4 tbsp. […]

Cranberry apple crisp recipe

Sunset Magazine's Whole Orange Cake

Sunset Magazine’s Whole Orange Cake

(via Food 52) Marla Koss suggested this recipe as well – it’s a revelation, as well as filled with Vitamin C! Ingredients: 2 sticks (225g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan 1 1/4 cups (250g) sugar 3 large eggs 2 oranges (about 1 pound/450g), ends trimmed, then cut […]


Persimmon Pumpkin Pie

Marla Koss brings us this delicious twist on a holiday favorite. The recipe has a great depth of flavor from the fruit and is a great way to use up a ripe persimmon or two. Yields enough filling for a single-crust 10-inch pie or a 9-inch pie + 2 oven-safe […]

persimmon pumpkin pie

Spiced Apple Cider

Spiced Apple Cider

by Birgitt Evans A delicious beverage for a gathering, and a great start to a festive meal! Ingredients: 1 gallon Apple Juice Peel from 1/2 Orange or 1 Mandarin 10 Whole Cloves 6 Cardamom Pods 2 or 3 3 inch Pieces of Cinnamon Stick Add everything to a heavy bottomed […]


Roasted Delicata Squash and Kale Salad

from Recipes by Love and Lemons Alison Limoges recommends this salad, which was a big success at her Thanksgiving feast. Ingredients: (Serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side dish) 1 delicata squash, washed, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced into 1/2 inch segments 1 small red onion, […]

Delicata Squash and Kale Salad

Lentil Soup with Greens

Lentil Or Split Pea Soup with Greens

by Marla Koss Serves 4 A warming winter soup from Marla Koss, with both vegan and not vegan options! A cozy and yummy way to fit a lot of vegetables. Note: This is a vegan recipe, but to make it unvegan, you can toss a couple boneless, skinless frozen chicken […]


Pumpkin and Kale Pie

by Margie Siegal What a great idea – a savory main dish squash and greens pie! This pie keeps in the fridge for a week, so if there are only one or two of you, you can get several meals out of one pie. Many of the ingredients in this […]

savory pumpkin and kale pie

vegan broccoli soup

Winter Recipes

It’s definitely Winter in the garden, even though it’s not yet the Solstice. This newsletter is dedicated to recipes for the meals of winter, featuring the sturdy produce still locally available, greens and cole crops you may have in your garden now, and breads to satisfy the soul. Just the […]


Leftover Cuisine – Frittata Muffin

by Kristen Smeal, ABG board member and Master Gardener Frittatas are a perfect way to use up leftovers in the fridge. They can be prepared ahead for a weekend brunch or on-the-go workdays. They can be frozen or stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Here is a […]

leftover frittata muffins

zucchini

What to Do With All the Zucchini

by Margie Siegal Zucchini plants are prolific and very forgiving. Planted in a sunny spot, given a reasonable amount of water and some fertilizer now and again, zucchini plants will grow and produce big bright yellow flowers. The flowers attract a wide variety of pollinating insects. Once pollinated, the flowers […]


Grow a Rainbow Garden this Fall

by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener Brightly colored fruits and vegetables not only add a pop of color to the table, they also add an abundance of nutrients and fun. Summertime yields a colorful palate of vegetables and fruits: red, yellow and purple tomatoes; green and yellow cucumbers; navy blueberries and […]

Swiss chard and other greens

Lavendar shortbread

Lavender Shortbread

by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener Lavender is a drought tolerant plant that can grow in poor soil and full sun, so it grows in abundance in the Bay Area. There are 450 different varieties of lavender, all edible, but one more than the others. The most common lavender used in […]


Kale Pesto Pasta with Edible Flower Garnish

by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener This recipe was created by Sarah Ortega of Alameda, teacher, chef, and mom of three. She created this recipe for a garden to table cooking class so the students could experience harvesting the kale, lemon, garlic, and edible flowers from the garden and incorporate them […]

Kale pasta recipe

Learn to can fruits and vegetables

Canning 101

with Margie Siegal Tuesday, October 17, 2017, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave, Alameda Have too many tomatoes?  Can’t manage to eat all those apples fast enough?  Join us to learn about canning food.  People have been preserving their harvests for thousands of years.  Join us as […]


Lemon Sauce

Here’s a simple egg-lemon sauce that turns blah stove-top recipes fabulously Greek–without much fuss: 3 eggs 1 tbsp water 3 tbsp lemon juice Whisk eggs in a bowl with the water until frothy. Add lemon juice a bit at a time and mix in thoroughly. Pour over fully-cooked meat or […]