Saturday

First Harvest

Brought in my first harvest from my fledgling garden this weekend: spinach, broccoli, "baby" salad green and green onions. Can't ask for a better Mother's Day weekend than that! Made personal pizza for dinner to celebrate the garden's bounty. Had I been gardening last fall I would also have garlic, carrots and possibly ripe peas. Ah, next year!

These early offerings make wonderful additions to pasta, without needing to worry about formal "recipes". Peas, garlic, green onions and grated carrots can be added, to taste, to fettuccini or linquini: just cook the pasta, adding the peas in the last minutes if you like, drain, place in bowl. Crush garlic/chop onions and combine with olive oil, drizzle over pasta, add grated carrots, if desired, and parmisian cheese and toss.

Lasagna is also an easy way to use just about any combination of veggies: cook lasagna noodles, drain. Layer cooked noodles, roccata cheese, veggies (spinach, broccoli, grated carrots, chopped onions, crushed garlic, etc) in dip dish baking pan. Top with grated cheese.

Of course, there are dozens of things one could make with these ingredients, and these recommendation are not so different than those you will find in just about any cook book. The difference is the fresh, homegrown, organic veggies: the difference there is indescribable.

I have to admit that, in additions to the epicurean delight of the flavor that comes from garden fresh ingredients, I get a great deal of smug satisfaction knowing that this food comes to me with zero food miles, zero chemicals, zero abusive labor practices and zero animal cruelty.

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

Excellent! Bravo!

You're putting us all to shame -- relentless rain & late frost; our starts are still under lights!

But you've re-inspired me, and I thank you!