Spring is here and I’ve got little baby beet seedlings in the greenhouse but I can’t wait 65 days for them to make beets.
So until then I’m getting organic beets at the store. They are a vegetable, in my opinion, that spans all seasons. We ate this roasted beet soup hot and cold and both were delicious. So if you’re still freezing your tush off- heat it up. If you are in CA and it’s gone straight from winter to summer- keep it cool.
Here we are already ending the first week of July. The garden is going gangbusters and we’re loving every minute and every morsel. We’ve been enjoying greens since March, peas over the last month and the broccoli has actually gone to seed now. But for me when the root veggies start showing their true selves, I feel summer harvest knocking at the door. These baby carrots and beets are only moments shy of fully maturing. We are devouring the first zucchinis, blissfully ignorant to the idea of the late August green giant overload. We have Green zucchini, Costata Romanescos with the racing stripes, and Scalloped green/yellow pattypans soon to arrive. Unfortunately, I mismarked the yellow crookneck and they seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle.
***UPDATE*** I’m pulling out the pasta pea bit from my last post so it’s not smushed in between the cabin and the salmon and the …..And you may still get another one later today for the berry tart bake off! Where did June go??? Ok… just pretend like you’re surprised 🙂
Yes, I did make MORE pasta and had a lovely but challenging afternoon taking photos of it. It was like a haircut you keep having a go at and never feel you get quite right… except with less long term effect.
Here is the link to the Donna Hay photo challenge at Jungle Frog Cooking.
And here is the original picture-
The image comes from the summer issue of Donna Hay’s issue 55 (febr 2011). The photo is taken by William Meppem and styling by David Morgan.
And this is my go at it 🙂
And this is the one I couldn’t decide on…
And here’s the rest of it you’ve already seen….
Here’s the recipe but head over to Junglefrog if you want to Print. You should go over there anyway because it’s a great site.
Boil up you noodles of choice… regular semolina or one of the many gluten free varieties. The recipe called for Penne but I like the twists… And get yourself some peas! I love using pea shoots for the green and Donna Hay used Arugula. I also added cut up snow peas giving it a little crunch.
I used fresh shelling peas, snap peas, and pea shoots all from local gardens. I used to love growing pea shoots for salad. You can even do this in a pot of the porch.
A little olive oil, fresh garlic, lemon juice and zest, fresh goat cheese and did I mention PEAS!
It’s a simple dish that can be made ahead of time and served at room temp or warmed up a bit…
A wee bit more asparagus…really, you will soon be missing it when the lovely, fresh local spears are gone and the long hauled, pithy ones return.
Ok… I’m at it again. I’m loving making these videos. I will probably continue unless I hear how boring they are to normal people. Well, honestly, then I may still continue doing them because they are self gratifying. So I’d love to get some feedback. Or not. No really I want it…. thx wt
I’m placing it here, up top, so you have the option to watch…. or you can scroll past to the recipes.
Kale is in. In season. In fashion. Just plain in. It’s a funny thing kale. It’s a great summer salad and really can be grown in the pacific Northwest at least, and I’m sure here in Germany, year round. Just at the peak of heat, it bolts, but usually there’s another patch just coming up and it’s only a short kale eating pause. (Baby red russian kale in summer is great raw in green salads.) But we think of it being “in season” in winter. Certainly here in Hamburg, it’s out in kilo size bags. I think because it is also often the garden Savior. The plant you can knock the snow off of and still harvest. It’s even sweeter after a frost. It has to be very very cold to kill the kale. And it only asks for a light cover such as remay (lite woven fabric) to give that bit of protection to hold out through the freezes.
Wendy's Place 