The garden is brimming with things to pick and use and herbs are at their peak right now. I have tons of basil and parsley (figuratively, of course!) along with the things I DON'T use every day like rosemary and sage. I've gotten some serious mileage out of my arugula and swiss chard. And PS... the swiss chard is going strong this season ... I think it's because it's been cooler here this summer than the past decade or so!
And because of the not-so-global-warming-like temperatures so far this season, my cucumbers, squash and peppers are crazy! I have several cucumber vines in the garden that seem to have taken over! And my squash plants are so large this year, I have nothing to compare them to. The beans are doing great and as always, the okra is abundant. But the only thing that at least in MY garden has been slower this year than normal are my tomatoes. Usually by now I have tons. But with the amount of green tomatoes on the vines, when they ripen ... look out! Canning City is calling my name!
And because of the not-so-global-warming-like temperatures so far this season, my cucumbers, squash and peppers are crazy! I have several cucumber vines in the garden that seem to have taken over! And my squash plants are so large this year, I have nothing to compare them to. The beans are doing great and as always, the okra is abundant. But the only thing that at least in MY garden has been slower this year than normal are my tomatoes. Usually by now I have tons. But with the amount of green tomatoes on the vines, when they ripen ... look out! Canning City is calling my name!
I thought that a few pictures of some of the things I've picked in the past week or so might be appropriate instead of a recipe for every entry of my blog. So here's just a sampling of the stuff I brought to my kitchen on July 15.
And just a couple of days later on July 17, I had way more than I could handle. I passed some things off to a few friends. But I sure love the way it looks when I bring it into the kitchen!
I have some fun things in my garden that I wouldn't call "everyday" vegetables and I love to share those with my friends. One of my absolute favorites that I discovered is an heirloom variety of cucumber called lemon cucumbers. They are the tastiest treats in the garden. Each cucumber is a very beautiful lemon
color and about the size of a baseball. When you cut them open, they are nearly twice as fragrant as a regular green cucumber and the taste is magnificent! The flesh inside, along with the seeds, looks familiar like a traditional cucumber. But there is a citrus like "zing" that these babies have that I've never tasted before. I love to use them in salads but instead of burying the flavor with other things, I like to slice them, top them with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and a drizzle of hearty extra virgin olive oil. That seems to truly bring out the flavor of this variety. And the good thing is, if the seeds in a lemon cucumber are fully mature and I save them, though I grow two or three other varieties of cucumber in my garden, they will not cross pollenate and create a hybrid. B
eing an heirloom variety, they stay true to their genetics and only produce beautiful little lemon cucumbers the following season. You certainly won't find bedding plants for these at your local Wal-Mart, Lowe's or Home Depot but they are super easy to grow from seed. I have about 8 plants growing in a patch and if there aren't over 100 small yellow flowers just waiting to become cucumbers, there aren't any!
The other truly incredible vegetable that I feel I need to expose every gardener to is the cubanelle pepper. This is a beautiful and mild version of pepper with a lovely color that every gardener should try. I used to be able to find these up north in grocery stores that carry a lot of Italian foods ... in th
e south, not so much. So I looked for them everywhere to actually grow my own supply. They seem to like a bit more water than your regular bell pepper (that now comes in every color of the rainbow), so I grow them in large pots on my deck and can water them more regularly than the pepper plants in my garden. The color is exquisite and as for taste, they seem to embody a perfect blending of flavor and texture of the finest green bell pepper and the yellow banana pepper. Italians use them in recipes and for simply frying. OK, here's something I was raised on and if you haven't tried it, you have NO idea what you're missing. You can use green peppers, red pepper, banana peppers ... but the best flavor will come from a cubanelle pepper! Seed and slice the peppers and simply fry t
hem slowly in olive oil as not to brown them. Add salt and fresh black pepper to taste and MY favorite taste treat is to fry them with one medium temperature chili added to the pan. Fried peppers with a crusty loaf of Italian bread and I'm in heaven! I guess it's truly a large part of my Italian heritage because I eat like an Italian. I tend to have a very Mediterranean diet. And if you went to a good Italian restaurant and ordered and antipasto plate as an appetizer or the course before the pasta (anti = before, pasta.... well, duh!), no doubt you've had roasted or fried red, sweet bell peppers. In Italy, at several trattoria where I was fortunate enough to eat, the platter contained cubanelle peppers.
For those of you that haven't had the fortune of spending time in Italy, a trattoria is the greatest thing on earth. It's where the locals go.... It's sort of a restaurant but small, maybe 10 tables maximum. The menu is truly small. Sometimes it is run out of a house and the mama is in the kitchen cooking for two or three tables of customers. When I said the menu is small, I do mean small. Usually whatever mama decides to create for the day, that's what's on the menu. Just like home ... and just like the real Italians eat! And what a treat it is.....
And with that beautiful memory of cedar trees and wheat fields with a villa in the distance, poppies growing wildly everywhere, and the soft fragrance of olive trees from the surrounding hillsides, it's time for me to sleep and dream of beautiful Italy so I can create more beautiful recipes to included in this blog! Goodnight and until next time, as always, ciao!
And just a couple of days later on July 17, I had way more than I could handle. I passed some things off to a few friends. But I sure love the way it looks when I bring it into the kitchen!
I have some fun things in my garden that I wouldn't call "everyday" vegetables and I love to share those with my friends. One of my absolute favorites that I discovered is an heirloom variety of cucumber called lemon cucumbers. They are the tastiest treats in the garden. Each cucumber is a very beautiful lemon
color and about the size of a baseball. When you cut them open, they are nearly twice as fragrant as a regular green cucumber and the taste is magnificent! The flesh inside, along with the seeds, looks familiar like a traditional cucumber. But there is a citrus like "zing" that these babies have that I've never tasted before. I love to use them in salads but instead of burying the flavor with other things, I like to slice them, top them with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and a drizzle of hearty extra virgin olive oil. That seems to truly bring out the flavor of this variety. And the good thing is, if the seeds in a lemon cucumber are fully mature and I save them, though I grow two or three other varieties of cucumber in my garden, they will not cross pollenate and create a hybrid. B
eing an heirloom variety, they stay true to their genetics and only produce beautiful little lemon cucumbers the following season. You certainly won't find bedding plants for these at your local Wal-Mart, Lowe's or Home Depot but they are super easy to grow from seed. I have about 8 plants growing in a patch and if there aren't over 100 small yellow flowers just waiting to become cucumbers, there aren't any!The other truly incredible vegetable that I feel I need to expose every gardener to is the cubanelle pepper. This is a beautiful and mild version of pepper with a lovely color that every gardener should try. I used to be able to find these up north in grocery stores that carry a lot of Italian foods ... in th
e south, not so much. So I looked for them everywhere to actually grow my own supply. They seem to like a bit more water than your regular bell pepper (that now comes in every color of the rainbow), so I grow them in large pots on my deck and can water them more regularly than the pepper plants in my garden. The color is exquisite and as for taste, they seem to embody a perfect blending of flavor and texture of the finest green bell pepper and the yellow banana pepper. Italians use them in recipes and for simply frying. OK, here's something I was raised on and if you haven't tried it, you have NO idea what you're missing. You can use green peppers, red pepper, banana peppers ... but the best flavor will come from a cubanelle pepper! Seed and slice the peppers and simply fry t
hem slowly in olive oil as not to brown them. Add salt and fresh black pepper to taste and MY favorite taste treat is to fry them with one medium temperature chili added to the pan. Fried peppers with a crusty loaf of Italian bread and I'm in heaven! I guess it's truly a large part of my Italian heritage because I eat like an Italian. I tend to have a very Mediterranean diet. And if you went to a good Italian restaurant and ordered and antipasto plate as an appetizer or the course before the pasta (anti = before, pasta.... well, duh!), no doubt you've had roasted or fried red, sweet bell peppers. In Italy, at several trattoria where I was fortunate enough to eat, the platter contained cubanelle peppers.For those of you that haven't had the fortune of spending time in Italy, a trattoria is the greatest thing on earth. It's where the locals go.... It's sort of a restaurant but small, maybe 10 tables maximum. The menu is truly small. Sometimes it is run out of a house and the mama is in the kitchen cooking for two or three tables of customers. When I said the menu is small, I do mean small. Usually whatever mama decides to create for the day, that's what's on the menu. Just like home ... and just like the real Italians eat! And what a treat it is.....
And with that beautiful memory of cedar trees and wheat fields with a villa in the distance, poppies growing wildly everywhere, and the soft fragrance of olive trees from the surrounding hillsides, it's time for me to sleep and dream of beautiful Italy so I can create more beautiful recipes to included in this blog! Goodnight and until next time, as always, ciao!
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