Veggie Burgers.  The garden is in and soon we'll have so many wonderful fresh fruits and veggies we won't know what to do with them. Try something different! Throw together these vegetarian burgers:

McVeggie Burgers

Preheat oven to 350?.

Combine the following:

1/2 C grated carrots (raw)
1/2 C finely chopped celery
2 Tbs. chopped onion
1 Tbs. Chopped parsley
1 Tbs. chopped green pepper
1 beaten egg
1 Tbs. oil
1/4 C tomato juice
1C ground sunflower seeds
2 Tbs. wheat germ
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. basil

Shape into patties and arrange in an oiled shallow baking dish. Bake until brown on top, turn, brown other side - approx. 15 minutes. Serves 3-4. You might experiment with other herbs and vegetables. Enjoy!

Drying Fruit.  Do you have an abundance of fruit and don't have time to bottle or can it? Then, why not dry the fruit? Tomatoes, grapes, figs, peaches, whatever you are harvesting taste great dried. Cut the fruit very thin. Cover it to keep the insects out and put in the sun for a week or so. Air movement aids in the drying process. Hot air blowers or a dehydrator may be used, but here is the method I use:

Place the fruit on window screens and stack the screens one on top of another. Set the whole thing on boards placed on saw horses. Use a blow dryer and position it so that it blows warm air over the fruit and you have the same idea a dehydrator uses. Remember, grapes turn to raisins, figs can be dried whole, remove the pits from peaches, and thinly slice the tomatoes. Squash, thinly cut and dried makes great tasting chips!

If you like, you can make fruit leather. Use a regular blender to mix ripe, good quality fruit with honey. Do not add water. Spread the mixture on waxed paper to dry. In three or four days you will have great tasting fruit leather that everyone enjoys!