Summer Salads and Garden Tending

A good friend is heading off on vacation for a couple of weeks and mentioned his garden would just be going to waste. Who am I to allow a good garden to go to the rabbits? Yesterday, I popped by for a tour and to make, you know, a sample harvest. The primary bounty? Lettuce, arugula and a bushy salad green that no one could remember the name of that's a little lemony. I came directly home and made an enormous salad.


Who remembers that arugula is supposed to be spicy! And as Chef Thom said in a post last week, when was the last time you had lettuce that tasted like...lettuce! I even made off with a baby onion. (The radishes are too hot and woody to eat. I may try pickling a few.) There are cabbages, beans, tomatoes for later, peppers, and herbs galore. (There was Japanese eggplant until a critter ate the *entire* plant.)

Supper last night was a simple dressing of oil and a white balsamic raspberry vinegar lurking in back of the cabinet along with salt and pepper, walnuts, a fresh goat cheese, and parm. Today's might be the grapefruit vinegar from Trader Joe's with oil, pistachios, maybe a bit of miso. Tomorrow, it might be parm and pine nuts with regular balsamic. Here's to summer -- and summer vacations. I'm always available for garden tending.