In season early summer

10 ways to enjoy summer veges

1. Thinly slice beetroot, kumara, courgettes or carrots and bake with herbs (try rosemary and thyme) with a touch of salt for delicious vegetable chips.
2. Make guacamole dip with avocados, lime, coriander, red onion and tomatoes and eat with raw celery, carrots or capsicum sticks.
3. Grill whole corn cobs on the BBQ, slice off the sweet corn kernels and add to your favourite green, potato or mixed grain and legume-based salad.
4. Use grated courgettes or corn kernels and herbs to make simple fritters and then serve with a green salad and tomato salsa.
5. Use a vegetable peeler to peel cucumbers into ribbons lengthwise then spread each strip with hummus, tuna or guacamole. Roll these around fresh vegetable matchsticks, just like sushi rolls.
6. Roast eggplant, kumara, pumpkin or squash with a drizzle of olive oil and crushed garlic. Cool slightly before blending into tasty dips.
7. Layer grilled eggplant and courgette rounds with mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and a chunky tomato sauce for a delicious vegetarian stack.
8. Use courgettes, red onions, different coloured capsicums, mushrooms and sweet corn (cut in rounds) to make kebabs for grilling on the barbecue.
9. Make a roasted vegetable salad using capsicum, red onion, kumara, pumpkin, carrots, corn kernels, courgette, eggplant and asparagus. Add cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, fresh herbs and a Dijon mustard, lemon juice and a splash of oil dressing. Season to taste.
10. Jazz up cabbage slaw with apple, fennel, red onions, grated carrots, herbs and poppy seeds.

10 ways to enjoy summer fruit

1. While they are plentiful, stew your favourite summer fruits (apples, rhubarb, stone fruits and berries), so you can enjoy them all year round on top of your favourite cereal.
2. Add sliced fresh nectarines, plums, watermelon or strawberries to a green salad.
3. Use summer fruits in tarts, muffins, brownies and slice recipes.
4. Make a fresh sorbet using watermelon and limes, freezing the sorbet in the empty watermelon halves instead of bowls. Serve as is, or cut frozen watermelon bowls in wedges.
5. Get the kids involved and make fruit kebabs using melon, watermelon, strawberries, and blueberries. Thickly slice melons and watermelon or cut fruit in fun shapes using cookie cutters.
6. Layer chopped summer fruits in a glass bowl with low-fat yoghurt for breakfast or dessert. For something a bit extra, add shredded coconut, lemon zest, a sprinkling of muesli or some crushed nuts.
7. Add plums and nectarine slices to jugs of fresh juices, soda and mocktails. When finished, enjoy flavour-soaked fruit, or infuse sparkling or still water with berries and/or slices of citrus and stone fruits.
8. As treats, blend apples, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, limes, plums, raspberries, strawberries or watermelon into a purée, pour or spread thinly on a tray lined with a silicon mat, and dry in a low-temperature oven or dehydrator for homemade fruit leathers with nothing else added.
9. Combine summer berries with low-fat yoghurt, trim milk and bananas for a delicious smoothie.
10. Combine sliced summer fruits and low-fat yoghurt or freshly squeezed fruit juice, and freeze to make homemade popsicles. For extra effect, freeze colourful fruity layers, allowing each layer to firm up before adding the next.