Straight from the Garden Summer Raw Food Recipes

It seems like the supply of garden zucchini never ends once it gets started. Skip a day picking, and you'll find zukes as big as your arm hiding under those leaves!

This Sweet and Sour Summer Squash recipe is a great way to use zucchini and yellow squash. Raw, quick, easy, and delicious...you can't ask for more than that!

4 small zucchini
4 small yellow squash
1 large red onion
1 sweet pepper, any color
1 cup wine vinegar (or an herb vinegar)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)

• In large bowl, mix together vinegar, oil, honey, and seasonings.
• Slice squash and vegetables very thin. Add to bowl, and toss to coat everything well.
• Allow to stand in refrigerator to blend flavors. This is almost better the second day...if there's any leftover.

Kids really enjoy helping with summer foods, and if you are doing a raw dish, even the littlest ones can help make this with no fear of hot pans. This Fruity Zuke Salad is always a hit with kids.

3 small zucchini, grated or shredded
2 apples, finely diced
1 avocado, cut into small chunks
Juice of one lemon
sunflower seed kernels
Raisins

• Toss first four ingredients together in a bowl. Sprinkle sunflower kernels and raisins on top and serve.

Note: This is a good recipe for children. Very young children can squeeze a lemon and sprinkle the toppers. A little older child can use a butter knife to cut the avocado into chunks.

The recipe for Confetti Tomatoes uses sprouts. If you've never made your own sprouts, here is your chance to learn.

You can buy sprouts if you're in a hurry, but making them is easy. You can use your favorite seed to make sprouts. Sunflower seeds are used for this example.

Use 1/4 pound raw sunflower seeds.

• Soak them for 8 hours in water.
• Rinse well.
• Allow moist seeds to sprout for one day
• Rinse again to float hulls away. Drain sprouted kernels.

2 small zucchini
1 large red onion
4 carrots
3 cloves garlic
2 lemons, juiced

• Chop above vegetables until very fine.
• Add sunflower sprouts and pour lemon juice over all. Toss well to coat everything.

6 - 8 large tomatoes, stems removed and insides scooped out.

• Fill hollow tomatoes with vegetable mixture, and serve on bed of lettuce.

Note: If you like raw sweet peppers, the filling is delicious in a hollowed out pepper shell. Use different colored peppers with the confetti filling and you'll have a color riot on your table!

Source: Hungry children and garden excess.