The Tastes of Summer

The other night, we had a tremendously satisfying, summery meal hot off the grill.  There was grilled veg, including zucchini and peppers (from the garden) and red onion.  Those yummy grilled veggies were paired with seasoned rice, pea fritters (more garden-fresh goodness), and tofu steaks.  We drizzled a creamy peanut sauce over the whole plate.  It really tasted like summer.

Hooray for a grilled dinner!  7/18/2023

The meal celebrated our first harvest of the Carmen peppers this year.  We harvested the first Glow peppers last week.  We proritise these "lunchbox" type peppers since they mature so much faster than a standard bell pepper.  

What a beautiful homegrown cabbage!!  7/11/2023

We're endeavoring to keep better garden notes this year.  In the past, we've been all over the place--from weighing every single bit harvested and keeping copious daily notes to literally writing down nothing for the whole year.  Nada.  Zilch.  We have a tendency to swing in an all-or-nothing fashion.  If we can't be "perfect" then what's the point?  It is such silly logic.  So, the garden notebook this year is a hopeful balance.

We tossed the veg in a little oil before it hit the grilling basket.  7/18/2023

I have primarily made maintaining the Garden Notebook "my" duty this year.  Matt already does so much more than me for the garden.  I still often have to consult him for my notes, but I think having it assigned to just one of us will increase the consistency.  

One section of flowers growing along the front walk (i.e. The Wildflower Walk).  7/18/2023

If nothing else, I've recorded the dates we started the seeds and the dates of the first harvests for each variety.  I'm trying not to get bogged down documenting every little detail.  I hope to capture a useful gist.  Things like the date of our first harvest and last harvest of the season or when we actually planted the seeds.  We'll know what varieties we tried and a general sense of how long they took to grow. 

To achieve a chewier texture, Matt air-fried the tofu a bit before throwing it on the grill.  It was pretty genius!  7/18/2023

The garden is growing well.  The herbs are a real standout for me this year.  Perhaps it is just because I am improving at utilizing fresh herbs in my cookery, but dang!  It has been wonderful.  So much basil, chives, oregano, and mint!  Mmmmmmm!  We made pesto that was 50/50 mint and basil.  The pea fritters are packed with chives.  Muddled mint makes for a swell addition to a summer cocktail.  We have a fresh batch of chive blossom vinegar bottled up.

The first sunflower on Matt's wildflower walkway along the front walk.  7/18/2023

It has been so rainy that we're just now setting up the drip lines in the garden.  Man, oh, man do we love having a rain-capturing system.  The wildflowers have really taken off.  The bees are busy in the blooms.  We harvested our first cabbage.  Ginger insists on staying in the garden all day--though I cycle home and check in on my lunch break.  I made a new batch of chile sauce with the first cayenne peppers.  We've picked three cucumbers so far and they were the crispest, freshest I've ever tasted.

The 15-Minute Seitan from The Pot Thickens--featuring homegrown peas, cabbage, basil, and zucchini amongst other veg.

Tonight we're filling our mini pool since we're finally going to be home this weekend and the forecast is looking hot, hot, hot.  We've been traveling (and having a total blast) every weekend since May and we're really looking forward to a weekend at home.  So is Ginger.  She's missed us--and the feeling is mutual  :)

Ginger has a few favorite spots in the garden, including this grassy patch by the vine-covered fence.  I was worried she was harassing the resident Chipping Sparrow there, but she's abided by our no-killing-birds policy like a champ.  She has hardly caught any voles this year either though.  She has fewer and fewer teeth with each passing year.  After her appointment in February, she only has one tooth left on her upper right side.  Maybe her hunting days are dwindling.  Or maybe we just don't have an active vole population this year. 7/19/2023