Cherry Bombs

Cut off tops of the hot peppers and remove seeds inside, wash. Roll up together a slice of prosciutto and a slice of provolone, slice into rounds and insert one inside each pepper. Put in clean jars, cover with extra-virgin olive oil and seal jars. Eat immediately. Peppers will only stay for a short time, a couple of weeks, and can't be refrigerated because the oil will coagulate.

Mrs. Fitzurka makes batches of these as they eat them.

('Cherry Bomb' peppers are a small variety of hot pepper.)

Fat-Free Zucchini Bread

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
• 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup nuts, if desired
• A handful of raisins, if desired
• 4 cups zucchini, shredded

Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray. Combine the eggs, sugar, applesauce and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder, then nuts and raisins. Mix in zucchini. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until knife inserted into loaf comes out clean.

Frozen Corn on the Cob

Shuck and wash corn and blanch about 3 minutes in boiling water for young ears, 5 minutes for older corn. Remove from boiling water and immediately plunge into ice water. Drain, bag and freeze.

Henrietta Borden's Three Bean Salad

• 2 cups of green beans
• 2 cups of yellow beans
• 1 (15-ounce) can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium sliced green pepper
• 1 medium sliced onion
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cook the green and yellow beans until tender, drain. In a bowl, mix all the beans, the green pepper and onion and stir gently. Combine the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper, pour over the beans and mix gently. Refrigerate overnight.

Zucchini Boats

Wash and trim the ends off a zucchini. Cut the zucchini into about 6-inch lengths then cut them in half lengthwise. Clean out enough of the center of the zucchini to make a boat. Brown ground meat with seasonings of your liking. Add tomato sauce to the meat mixture. Fill the zucchinis with the meat mixture and bake in a 400-degree oven until zucchini is fork-tender. Top with cheese and serve.

Ice Water Pickles

• 4 quarts thinly sliced, unpeeled cucumbers
• 1 1/2 cups sliced onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup canning salt

Slice onions (we use a food processor to slice both onions and cucumbers) and place in a large bowl. Add garlic and canning salt. Cover vegetables with crushed ice or ice cubes and let stand for 3 hours. Drain.

In a large pot combine:

• 4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
• 2 tablespoons mustard seed
• 3 cups white vinegar

Bring mixture to a boil. Add drained vegetables and bring back to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Pack into clean, hot pint jars, seal and process for 5 minutes in a boiling-water bath.

Bean Soup

The Fitzurkas dry green and yellow beans on sheets of paper in their greenhouse. When the beans are dry, they are shelled and then stored in glass jars for use in soup. If they get too many jars, some are put in the freezer for longer storage.

• Dried green beans
• Ham hock or shank

Put the beans in a pot with the ham shank, cover with water and simmer until beans are soft. (She does not pre-soak her beans). If desired, add carrots, celery, onion and small cubes of potatoes to the soup.

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