A major player in the potato chip business boasts it “grows the best snacks on Earth,” but I have to disagree. The best snacks on earth are grown in my backyard.
Nothing can compare to a sun-ripened tomato, a crisp green bean or a sweet bell pepper plucked from the plant and savored in the garden. Down-to- earth snacks like these aren’t just easy to grow, they’re more nutritious and less expensive than processed treats. The enjoyment also seems to improve when you know these finger foods weren’t grown with the help of pesticides or other harmful chemicals.
Growing your own snacks is a smart way to encourage kids to eat their vegetables and to try new varieties, especially when they’re involved in planting and maintaining the garden. Snack gardens can be cultivated in a small bed or in containers situated in a sunny spot on the patio.
When selecting varieties for the snack garden, choose those that are naturally smaller or those that can be relished while still young and tender. Let their names guide you. Who could resist “Jelly Bean” grape-tomatoes, “Sugar Snap” peas or “Super Sweet 100” cherry tomatoes?
Such reliable producers as yellow pear tomatoes are low in acid and high in tomato taste. Lemon cucumbers produce small, round yellow fruits with a sweet cucumber taste.
To make sure these veggies are snack-ready, provide vertical supports for tomatoes, cucumbers and other vining plants to keep the fruit off the ground.
Filet beans, also known as haricots verts, are a delicious addition to the snack garden. These green beans are harvested when they’re an eighth of an inch thick so they retain their tender-crisp flavor. Pick and eat while standing in the garden or steam and toss into a fresh garden salad.
One of the more popular snack vegetables is as tasty as a peanut and first gained popularity in Japan as a savory accompaniment to a cold beer. Vegetable soybeans, or edamame, are as easy to grow as bush beans and are harvested when the seeds have matured and just before pods start to yellow.
Steam the pods until tender, drain, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Then pop the beans straight from their pods into your mouth.
Because snacks are meant to be shared, invite friends and neighbors over for a casual garden party of light appetizers. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and stuff with an herbed cheese spread, or fill seeded lemon cucumbers with a chunky tuna salad.
Jodi Torpey:
Chive Mayonnaise Dip
This tasty dip, from “A Thyme for Cooking” cookbook, published by the Pueblo Herb Society, is a terrific centerpiece to a party tray composed of a colorful assortment of fresh veggies and crackers. Makes 1 1/4 cups dip or a tangy sandwich spread.
Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped chives
1/2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup regular or low-fat mayonnaise
Salt
Directions
In a blender or food processor, combine chives, yogurt and mayonnaise. Whirl until smoothly blended. Add salt to taste. Cover and chill up to one day.
