salad

Fresh produce abounds!

Our garden hasn’t been quite as bountiful as we had hoped, but it’s coming along. It’s been so hot we’ve been having blossom drop on both tomatoes and peppers – flowers come in and then wither. After 20 years on the east coast, we’re dealing with a bit of a west coast learning curve. Next year should be better, global warming permitting…

In the meantime, though, the stuff coming in is excellent! And we have a great Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, as well! There really is nothing better than home-grown or locally-sourced food.

We love Summer Produce, and salads are one of the best ways of being able to enjoy a bunch of different things.

salad

This particular salad really did have it all:

  • Roasted Golden Beets
    • Beets roasted on the grill with olive oil and garlic.
  • Green Bean Salad
    • Blanched green beans with thinly-sliced leeks, olive oil, white wine vinegar, S&P
  • Tomato Salad
    • Fresh tomatoes from our garden, thinly-sliced red onion, garlic, olive oil, drizzle of red wine vinegar, S&P
  • Roasted Broccoli
    • Roasted in a grill pan on the grill with olive oil, S&P
  • 4-Bean Salad
    • Four different canned beans, drained and rinsed, roasted red pepper, onion, garlic, BBQ sauce, mayo, S&P
  • Bacon
  • Avocado
  • Hard-Cooked Eggs
  • Two Lettuces – Romaine and Red Leaf
  • Bleu Cheese Dressing

Perfection on an oval plate.

In other gardening news…

The cherries are done for the season – and they have made a sticky mess in the front. Now that we know what to expect, we’re going to have to make an effort to get higher into the tree to harvest more. Definitely live and learn. The plum tree is coming along nicely. Plums are turning purple – but still way too hard to pick or eat.

There are at least six eggplants coming ion – and more on the way. We fried up our first harvest of hot peppers and have been enjoying them on sandwiches.

Harvested about a pound of potatoes – dinner tomorrow night – and we may see beets in a week or so.

We’re not hurting for food around here – that’s for damned sure.