For many teens, summer means punching a time clock at the local pool or creemee stand. But is this year's tight economy affecting their ability to find a summer job? We check in with the Vermont Department of Labor about what the summer job market looks like for teens. And we talk about what the value of working a summer job can be for a young person.

Have you worked a really great summer job? What did you learn from it? Email us ahead of time with your summer job experience.

Also, we talk with a UVM Professor who just won a James Beard award for her healthy cookbook. Jean Harvey-Berino, professor and chair of UVM's Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, worked with Joyce Hendley and the editors of EatingWell magazine to write The EatingWell Diet: 7 Steps to a Healthy, Trimmer You.

AP Photo/Steven Senne

 

Recipe from The EatingWell Diet-

Tofu with Peanut-Ginger Sauce

Tofu and vegetables get a dramatic lift from a spicy peanut sauce. Serve with a cucumber salad for a low-calorie, nutrient-packed vegetarian supper.

Makes 4 servings, generous 3/4 cup each

ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

Sauce

5 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon rice vinegar (see Ingredient note) or white vinegar

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

 

Tofu & vegetables

14 ounces extra-firm tofu, preferably water-packed

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cups baby spinach (6 ounces)

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (4 ounces)

4 scallions, sliced (1 cup)

 

1. To prepare sauce: Whisk water, peanut butter, rice vinegar (or white vinegar), soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic in a small bowl.

2. To prepare tofu: Drain and rinse tofu; pat dry. Slice the block crosswise into eight 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Coarsely crumble each slice into smaller, uneven pieces.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add tofu and cook in a single layer, without stirring, until the pieces begin to turn golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Then gently stir and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all sides are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes more.

4. Add spinach, mushrooms, scallions and the peanut sauce and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are just cooked, 1 to 2 minutes more.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 225 calories; 14 g fat (2 g sat, 3 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrate; 12 g protein; 5 g fiber; 229 mg sodium; 262 mg potassium.

TIP: Ingredient Note: Rice vinegar (or rice-wine vinegar) is mild, slightly sweet vinegar made from fermented rice. Find it in the Asian section of supermarkets and specialty stores.

© 2008 Eating Well Inc. Reprinted by permission from The EatingWell Diet (The Countryman Press, 2007).