The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather Here Each Thursday To Exchange Recipes And Foodie News On the last Thursday of each month we feature our Top Ten Most Views from last weeks post, and we sure have some great recipes in the line up this week. We are getting ready for our big 4th of July Celebration, looking forward to family and friends coming for the big picnic. I have also been busy at the cottage with canning and developing new vegetable recipes for my family and friends, this time of the year is awesome for cooking vegetables. I can't wait to see what you are sharing with us today and thanks so much for coming to share our table!

One of the nice advantages about living in a small rural community is the sharing of fresh vegetables in harvest time. My friend stopped by the other day with a sack full of Patty Pan Squash fresh off the vine. We love Patty Pan Squash, they are really cute little squash that look very much like a flying saucer or a little scalloped cup holder. I knew that I had to make a dish with these awesome little squash, so I gathered up some vegetables from my own garden and this is what I came up with. This recipe is just packed with flavor and is a vegetable dish that we just loved. We will be making this one often, well until the squash run out for this year.

I remember helping my Grandmother pick cherries and the wonderful taste of those fresh cherries. On the way back from the orchard we would stop by the water pump and we would wash the cherries. She would later very carefully take the seeds from the cherries. Next she would make this amazing filling for the cobbler and then some fluffy biscuits to go on top. I remember watching her stoke the fire in her wood cook stove making sure the temperature was just right for the cobbler, that she would place into the baking compartment of the wood stove. I can still smell that wonderful cobbler today and the wonderful memories that it brings.

This is about the time of the year when our garden harvest gets into full swing and we start our canning and preserving. We have had a fantastic production from our garden this year because we have had just the right amount of rain, for which we are very grateful. I am planning one of my favorite soups this week and a great salsa that goes with any and everything in the summer. I love our wonderful garden to table meal plans for the summer.

Welcome to the cottage and Full Plate Thursday on this first day of summer! The temperature is heating up so we are gathering on the screen porch to enjoy a nice glass of tea. I am looking forward to all your wonderful recipes that you share each week. We had some great features from last week, be sure and stop by their sites and pick up those amazing recipes!

We grow most of our own potatoes here in our garden at the cottage. There is nothing better that digging the fresh potatoes and then roasting them in the oven or over the grill with wonderful seasons. Often times I am asked by a reader or a friend to share a great seasoning for roasted potatoes. We have several season mixes that we use for our roasted potatoes and I am sharing some of our favorites with you today.

This was a very popular dessert in the late 50's and early 60's in my circle of friends. It was a favorite at the Bridge Club luncheons, Junior League meetings, back yard bar-b-ques and family dinners. Still to this day one of my friends or a family member will ask about the Strawberry Ice Box Dessert and I am just so happy to make it, because once it is on my dessert plate I can't wait to enjoy this delicious dessert.

The summer temperatures are beginning to edge up and by the first day of summer which is this week we will be looking at temp's of 100 plus. When the temps go up we look for simple meals that don't require a lot of extra prep time. We will be celebrating Fathers Day on Sunday and I am planning a very simple meal for the day that all the guys will really enjoy. Happy Fathers Day To All The Great Dads!

Welcome to the cottage and Full Plate Thursday. It is so nice to come to the country and spend some time in the great outdoors. Lets have our gathering in the garden today and we can look at all the wonderful fresh vegetables that we are using in the awesome recipes. I always look forward to your recipes and sure enjoyed your very best from last week, I hope you will take the time to visit the recipes and say hi to all your neighbors, that's what we do in the country.

Every year when we are making our garden plan we make sure that we are planting all the ingredients for our homemade salsa. Salsa is a staple here at the cottage, it is on the table just about every meal. There is always a jar of salsa in the refrigerator and you will find several jars in the canning pantry. The recipe that I am sharing with you today is our Fresh Garden Salsa that we have perfected through the years and is one of our favorites. All of these products are available from a farmers market or a super market the year round, but they are the best from your very own garden.

This slider recipe is a favorite around the cottage. It is a great recipe to have the year round when folks are going to be in and out, heading out to the fishing pier, the pool or gathering up for the big game night. It is so easy, but really delivers a big flavor that will have your family and friends coming back for seconds. I top the sliders with one of our favorite Coleslaw recipes. The slider recipe freezes well for up to 3 months, just make it up and have it on hand.

I am so glad to see the sun, we have had rain now for the past two weeks and the allergies in our area have been going crazy. I for one will be so happy to see this season of allergies past on by. The fisherman of the family have been busy and I think we have enough fish to have a nice little fish fry this week. You have got to check out the peach pie, it is one of my favorites.

We are so excited to see you here at Full Plate Thursday, a great place to share and find some of the greatest recipes on the internet. I just love the foods of spring and summer that come from our gardens and farmers markets. We sure and share your canning and preserving recipes with us for the remainder of the season as we have a special feature each week for those products. We have some awesome features this week for you this week and hope you enjoy them!

I am so excited to invite you to join me on a little tour of the June garden. I would love to share with you the progress of the two projects that we started in the spring. One of the projects was a runner for the garden vegetables and the other a raised bed for my Kitchen Herb Garden. It is always fun to follow the progress of the projects that are started. We have some great vegetables that are already for harvest and some that will be very shortly. We love the garden and the process of the seasons and especially bringing those wonderful vegetables into the kitchen.

What's In Season and How Do I Use It? Our early summer orchards and gardens are in production and the wonderful food basket's are full of delicious products. This month we have some great foods in season that go from garden to table in the very best of fresh food. We get to spend a lot of time in the garden but if we are not growing the fresh fruit or vegetable that is in season, then we are off to the nearest farmers market. Some farmers markets are open year round now, but most are open by the end of March. I love to carry all these fresh foods into my kitchen to create wonderful recipes for my family and friends.

I am so excited that June is here and we can enjoy some awesome summer dishes on our tables. Our garden is going really well right now and we are able to harvest more and more each week. I am also glad that we can be planning more outdoor grilling and the use of our outdoor kitchen. Sometimes I will have my slow cooker in the outdoor kitchen, it is a lot of fun to cook there. What outdoor meal plans do you and your family have in the summer months?