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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

summer is for gardens and salad

this is the second post in the summer is for salads series.  if you'd like another great recipe check out this post.

our pumpkin plant.  so far we have one little lovely coming in!
 Our garden has done really well this year.  Better than years past.  I think the deep mulching really has paid off.

I planted pumpkins earlier this year than I usually do.  Which means I'll have pumpkins way before halloween.  But I'm ok with that, as long as I have pumpkins!  I've never had a successful pumpkin patch because I've tried to time it with halloween (planting seeds on the 4th of July).  This year I planted them in May and we already have one little punkin coming in!  I'm thrilled!

glorious basil!  remember to pick those sweet flowering heads off for better yield.
 And the basil!  The faithful companion to the tomato.  I love, love basil and cannot get enough of it.  Which is a good thing.  Because we have tons of it!  The taste of summer to me is basil and tomatoes.  We have harvested 4 pounds of grape tomatoes alone this year!  That has been such a yummy treat!  And one of my favorite sights this summer has been Buddy running into the house with his shirt pulled up into a pouch, overflowing with tomatoes.  He exclaims "mama, I have a surprise for you!" every single time.  That boy...

baby japanese eggplant
 Wee japanese eggplant.  We have only harvested four eggplants so far.  For some reason my plants can only produce one at a time.



 Onto the salad.  This salad is the taste of summer.  Oh!   I think I'll call it that so it will sound fancy.  Introducing THE TASTE OF SUMMER SALAD!!!

You will need:

3 cucumbers
3 tablespoons of plain yogurt ( I really like Greek yogurt in this)
handful of grape tomatoes
dill
salt
pepper
and some fresh parsley ( if you want it to be pretty )

Mix it all up and call it done!  Best after it is chilled in the refrigerator for an hour or so.  Or even the next day.  Go nuts.

I am really enjoying having salads already made and ready to go in the fridge.  They are so easy pack up for a picnic, or have at home after a long bike ride or time spent in the garden.

5 comments:

Amanda said...

Oh, what a lovely summer it looks like you're having! Isn't it nice to have grandparents handy? Keep enjoying that garden of yours! Mine is feeling awfully tiny this year, but I should be getting at least some tomatoes in soon. I'm praying you get positive adoption news very soon!!!

Rosie_Kate said...

Yummy! We're still a month from cucumbers and it's longer than that until we see tomatoes! (Okay, well maybe it'll be sooner for some folks around here, but I got my cukes in a little late... they're just wee little babies right now!)

Your pumpkins should keep in a cool place until halloween if they're picked and cured when they're ready.

Maria Rose said...

I have garden envy!

Rosie_Kate said...

Here's a pretty good article about pumpkin curing:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-24-c.html

I always cure my squash and sweet potatoes, but I don't have the advantage of outside heat and humidity when they're mature. I have to do something artificial in the house. A very warm, humid bathroom works. I usually put them on a towel by the woodstove and put a damp towel over them, dampening it every day to keep the humidity up. I'm guessing that won't work for you, though. :-)

Nicola said...

Yum! We picked our first huge, delicious cucumber this evening!