It’s difficult to want to do much cooking in summer, sometimes because it’s too hot and sometimes simply because everything is so luscious on its own. But whether you decide to cook or not cook, mealtimes are good times during the summer.
This is most of Saturday’s bounty from the farmer’s market, although I got another basket of peaches to send back with Bill and another basket of raspberries just to eat! 🙂 I was thrilled to hear that the next round of raspberries is just coming into season!! And we’ve been gorging on fresh peaches for weeks now. The smell is divine. I took a basket of them along to Wyoming and we had fresh peaches every day. I have a feeling some might go along to Philly this coming weekend, too. Well-traveled peaches are a glorious thing when they’re local peaches traveling in my van rather than being trucked in from somewhere distant.
Last night we had a friend over for dinner. The main course was pasta with the cauliflower sauce, (https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/whats-a-stranded-traveler-to-do-shop-eat-cook/), and for side dishes, rounds of crisp cucumber and strips of red and yellow pepper. It was light, delicious and absolutely healthy. I used parsley from my “roof garden” plant, a plant that is thriving, safely away from predators who want their green fix.
The banana pepper plant that’s the other half of the roof garden is producing plenty peppers for Megan’s enjoyment.
And for those of you who have been following the pumpkin plant’s take-over of the two raised beds, here are the latest photos. I need to do some weeding, but that plant is powered by some sort of alien force, I do believe!! When it gets to the prickly pear, we may have a plant WWF (that’s Wild and Wacky Flora) fight on our hands.
This, that and the other thing 
You’ve got green thumb gardening mojo. I envy you.
Aloha,
Doug
It’s hard to grow much when we go on vacation every August because usually I can’t find anyone to faithfully water. The deer, chipmunks and other animals take their toll as well, which is why I don’t have any tomatoes, but this year the herbs and the pumpkin have flourished, which is nice!
Can’t wait to see those pumpkins, I’d buy some for you lol
If I get even half as many pumpkins as there are blossoms, I’ll be thrilled. Just wonder then they’ll start forming. You’re welcome to have one or more if I have some and you stop over to pick it up. :-0
About your pumpkin – must be something in the air this year! My tomato plants have gone berserk and overrun the entire garden…somewhere down underneath are rows of beans and basil, but at this point it’s a challenge to find them. I’ve never seen such enormous tomatoes – plants, that is, not fruit, unfortunately.
I haven’t had good luck with tomatoes with being gone and because of the animals, so I’ve just given in for now and buy them at the farmer’s market. Sounds like you have a real garden, which would be lovely. In Naperville, since the rental house is landscaped, we’ll probably do pots on the deck or porch.
That’s one advantage of not taking a real vacation this year – I’ve been around to keep things watered!