Simple Summer Squash Salad

A beautiful dish with fresh, homegrown produce. Use small summer squash, picked very young. It will be the star of this simple, summery, side or light supper! 

Summer Salad Poetry

Use one small squash per person 

(if serving as a light dinner) 

and slice very thinly on a mandolin

(Mine were as thin as the tine of my fork is flat.) 

Add a handful of fresh mint leaves 

(per serving) 

cut into chiffonade 

(Roll up a stack of leaves and cut crosswise into thin strips)

Toast a handful of pine nuts per serving

(over high, in a seasoned, cast iron pan-  must have)

Until golden brown and fragarant

Make a simple dressing with the magic formula

(for each serving)

1 1/2 tsp acid (here vinegar- infused with chives perhaps?)

1/2 tsp of mustard

(Dijon: Grey Poupon)

Salt & Pepper; a pinch and a pinch

Whisk now for a moment... 

          &  then slowly whisk in 1 1/2 Tb oil

Toss together the squash slices, mint chiffonade 

(oh how fancy you are)

pine nuts and dressing

A few curls of parmesan

(with a vegetable peeler)

And the flavors of summer join hands in

The End

Garden Update... Summer Lovin'

This spring was perfect for gardening; warm start, good amount of rain, happy plants.

My proudest accomplishment so far is my tomato "jungle." The 8 tomato plants (4 varieties) that I started from seed are doing amazing!!

So far I have harvested and eaten all the peas; tore them down last weekend, they were shading and encroaching on the tomatoes. We also had a great early harvest of radishes, with which I made quick pickled radishes.

We've had one Baby Gonzalez cabbage, with quite a few more to come soon.

Even had one beautiful Chioggia beet!

Onions are starting to look almost big enough to pick! And I had so many that some I planted really close and have been using like scallions, cutting the green parts as needed! 

Onions forming nice bulbs!

This bed has (left-right) Onions, Carrots (f), Beets (b) Golden and Chioggia, Cabbages, Cauliflower, Swiss Chard & Basil (not visible), some interplanted lettuce

Tomatoes :)

Green Beans
(Bush on left, Pole on right) 

Tomato Jungle, Peppers, Eggplants,
Cucumbers, Round Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Sugar Pumpkins

Yes, the tomato plants are taller than me!

 Looking forward to some delicious harvests coming soon! All ready picking beans everyday!

Quinoa Sweet Potato Burgers with

Carrot Slaw

Recipe modified from ://www.insockmonkeyslippers.com/quinoa-sweet-potato-burgers-with-snow-pea-slaw  - photo credit to above)

Serves 2 to 4

Carrot Slaw

3 carrots- shredded

1 small bunch scallions, diced

2 Tbs orange juice

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs sesame oil

1 tsp honey or mirin

1 tsp fresh grated or ½ tsp powdered ginger

pinch salt and pepper

Burgers

1 cup water or veg. broth

1/2 cup quinoa (any color or mix, rinsed)

1 sweet potato- shredded and squeezed dry

2 eggs- beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs (plus more if needed)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp powdered ginger

1/8 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp dried coriander

pinch cinnamon

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil or cooking spray

Plain, non-fat yogurt

Bring water or broth to a boil. Add rinsed quinoa and cook 10-12 minutes until water is absorbed and quinoa is done. Drain any excess liquid and allow to cool.

Mix all slaw ingredients (except carrots and scallions) together. Toss dressing with shredded carrots and scallions. Set aside and allow to marinate slightly.

Once quinoa has cooled slightly, mix together with beaten eggs, bread crumbs, shredded sweet potato and spices/s&p. Form into 4 patties.

Cook patties in cast iron skillet or on griddle with a bit of oil or spray for about 5 minutes per side over medium-high heat until hot through and browned on both sides.

To serve: Place 2 Tbs yogurt on bottom of plates. Place patty over yogurt and top with a few spoonfulls of carrot slaw.

Early Spring

So, spring has sprung, and quickly!! I've been in garden mode since late winter, planning, re-planning! I've been using my newly acquired Excel skills to make spreadsheets (not the intended goal, but it's coming in handy!)

Here's a screenshot of my planting guide:

And here's my garden layout:

With the beautiful weather we've had Ben & I have all ready taken a few nice hikes. Last night we had a salad of daylilly shoots, garlic mustard greens and dandelion greens all foraged from a hike yesterday! I'll add a picture when Ben gets home with the camera! I am actually hoping for a little rain as I reminisce about the wonderful Morels I found last year!

As far as the gardening goes.... I started seedlings indoors in Feb and March. Eggplants, peppers (Cubannell and Cherry), tomatoes (five varieties), cabbage (Baby Gonzales) and cauliflower (Rainbow Mix). They're doing well and growing fast now that it's warmer in the basement under their lights!

Here they are on March 16:

And here on March 22:

Outside, our two 4'x8' beds were installed and prepared last fall:

 I added a little compost and ash (for potassium) and got to planting on St. Patrick's Day! Peas, radishes, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard and beets are in! 

Here are the radish sprouts:

And my newly made pea trellis:

Yesterday I got my onion sets in:

And even a few pretty flowers are coming up from the bulbs:

Stay tuned for more, I'm growing, foraging and cooking up a feast this year!