Summer Farmer's Market Cooking Demo

Our subscriber writes that she is making a food/cooking demonstration for a farmer's market. The good news is that she has plenty of beautiful fruits and vegetables.

The challenge is that they only gave her a hot plate and an electric skillet."GREAT!" We tell her - an electric skillet is easy to use, and it makes everyone feel like they can go home and cook just like you because almost everyone has a skillet and knows how to use it.

Here are our suggestions:

Warm salsa -Summer's bounty of fresh peppers, tomatoes, onions, herbs, and fruits lend themselves well to a warm salsa.

If I were going to make a warm salsa in the skillet, I would chop tomatoes (or use cherry tomatoes just as they are), peppers, green onions, cilantro, and peaches/apricots. I would saute garlic and onions, then gently add the other chopped veggies - add cilantro and lime at the end. Remove from the heat quickly. Serve with fresh baguette slices or crackers and enjoy - this could go great with whole grain pita triangles, chips, veggies, fish, chicken, or even fresh salsa or rice - the sky is the limit.

Skillet cobbler -If you have berries and plums, you can make a skillet cobbler. I would cut the plums in quarters and bring them to a simmer with sugar and a bit of water plus cinnamon. Then when it is soft, add the berries and stir and serve. There are a few Farmer's Market handouts here.

And here is the link to a recipe for lower-calorie cheesecake and sorbet cake and a chart on the calories of these items compared to regular frosted cakes.