Disclaimer: I received a complimentary set of OXO Prep Peelers to inspire this post.

With summer nearly here I have been craving veggies. I just planted my first raised bed garden and I can’t wait till the produce is ready to harvest. In the meanwhile it’s easy to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables to make veggie centered dishes at home. 

One of the biggest challenges using fresh produce is all the effort that goes into preparation. It’s easy to grab pre-made frozen or canned vegetables but neither will have the fresh from the garden taste you get by shopping in the produce section. 

Once you choose to buy fresh, preparing it for your recipes shouldn’t be a burden that leaves you with bags of rotten food wasting away in your refrigerator at the end of the week. This is honestly one of my biggest challenges. As much as I want to cook dishes that are full of fresh vegetables (and shop for doing so) I just don’t have the time. When OXO invited me to try out their new line of Prep Peelers I knew right away I wanted to see how much easier it could be to prep fresh vegetables using these tools. 

Designed using stainless steel Japanese blades the entire line is built to last and can even go in the dishwasher for easy cleanup at the end of the night. Compact shapes make holding the peeler easy and keeps finger tips from making it into your dish (because who hasn’t had that happen).

From left to right [clockwise] the peelers you see are: 

• Large Y-Peeler: Designed for peeling large, thick skinned vegetables like butternut squash and eggplant.
• Prep Y-Peeler Julienne: Creates consistent thin strips from carrots and zucchini.
• Prep Y-Peeler: All purpose peeler with super sharp blade.
• Citrus Peeler: Straight blade to cut pith-free peels or zest citrus for baking.
• Prep Y-Peeler Serrated: For thin or hard to peel produce like peaches or tomatoes. 
• Asparagus Prep Peeler: Designed to remove wood stalks from Asparagus and prevent waste.  
• Corn Prep Peeler: Easily remove kernels from the cob with no waste.

To try out the new peeler line tested out OXO’s Esquites recipe. You know it’s summer time when the grocery store starts carrying freshly shucked corn and this recipe is the perfect way to enjoy that taste of summer sweetness with your favorite entree. 

Esquites is a recipe popularized by street vendors in Mexico. While nothing is quite like what you get off a vendor’s cart this recipe comes close. 

The base of the recipe is fresh corn and the Corn Prep Peeler is the perfect tool for getting all the kernels off your corn.

After roasting the corn in a pan combine with lime, cilantro, jalapeno, mayo and chili power for the perfect summer side dish. You can see the full Esquites recipe over on the OXO Blog. 

I served my Esquites up alongside rotisserie chicken for a fast and easy meal. I can’t wait to try out the other peelers and see what new and creative ways I can work more vegetables into my meals. 

You can check out more recipes using OXO’s new line of Prep Peelers over on the Oxo Blog.