Plantastic!

After a slow start, my garden is really starting to take off!

The May photo was taken one month ago.  I was already a bit concerned I had planted my greens too close together...

...now they are completely overcrowding one another (bottom center, below). Instead of being a mere 5" tall like it was in May, the healthiest chard is now over 12" tall.  I've tried to take out one row of it to create some space, and I cut the lettuce way back when I harvest it for my many salads.  I have also thinned out the radishes (in the front row) since they were a) taking over and b) the few I have tried were really tough.

In addition to the greens, I am growing numerous tomato varieties (some planted this spring and some volunteers from last year's fallen fruit), cucumbers, marigolds, carrots and summer squash.  Not pictured are the onions, spinach and snap peas my housemate planted and I have since adopted since she gets her fill of fresh veggies from her weekly CSA share.

Thanks to the farmer's market, I have quite the herb collection on the side of my patio.  I use the basil pretty regularly, and often grab some mint leaves just to munch on when I am going past.  The larger mint plant is spearmint and the smaller, darker one is chocolate mint.  The latter is an excellent palette cleanser.
 

Lately we've had a lot of rain here in central Virginia, so I think Mother Nature deserves most of the credit for the garden's success thus far.   I am afraid I'll be missing some important developments in the next few weeks and hope there will be plenty of (red) tomatoes and zucchinis left when I get back!

A Week of Eats--June 10

Looking back at this week's eats, I had a few observations.  First, I didn't think I even had enough pictures for a round up as I've been eating a lot of the same lately: salads and sandwiches.  Conveniently, an enticing meal showed up in my blog reader earlier today, and I happened to have 98% of the ingredients on hand (see #5 below.)

Second, the stars of this week's line-up are the two dinners I made while following recipes.  Both also involved drinking a glass of wine while cooking, so it's awfully hard to say whether the recipe or the accompanying beverage should get the credit.   Maybe some of both?

1. Potato and Chard Skillet with Eggs torn from an old Cooking Light.  One of the two winners mentioned above.
2. Garden greens topped with brown rice salad with tomatoes, cucumber, mozarella and banana peppers; chicken sausage with ketchup and mustard on a slab of toast on the side.  This was dinner on one of the days I did Insansity...I was hungry!
3. Breakfast tacos with eggs, turkey, cheddar and salsa verde.  
4. Salad with garden greens, last of the roasted beets, queso fresco, kidney beans and homemade garlic croutons.
5. Shrimp scampi from this recipe.  I halved the butter and added chard from the backyard.  Another winning recipe!

I am headed home to AZ on Thursday, and I need to clean out the fridge before I leave.  Should make for some "interesting" meals this week...

A Week of Eats--June 3

I have a summer-y selection this week:

1. Peanut noodle salad made with whole wheat spaghetti and veggies.
2. Chicken and brown rice with sauteed greens and zucchinis from the City Market.
3. Salad with corn, tomatoes, peas, olives and queso fresco.
4. Spring rolls with chicken, rice, garden greens, carrots and edamame on the side.
5. Another salad, with roasted beets, hard boiled egg and chewy bread on the side.

Spanish Tortilla

Almost three years ago now, my family took a trip to Spain.  My brother was studying abroad in Italy for the first part of the summer, but since both my parents and I had been to Italy we decided to meet up in a place that was new to all of us.

We had a great trip, and saw quite a bit of the country on our 10-day guided tour.  We also ate a lot of excellent food--bread, olive oil, ham, tapas, tinto de verano--and last but not least, a Spanish tortilla or two.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing my recipe collection for something to bring to a potluck, and decided to try making a Spanish tortilla on my own.  There were only a few ingredients, most of which are shown here:

I sliced the potatoes and onion with the mandoline slicer, chopped the pepper and sauteed everything in a fry pan with butter and olive oil until the potatoes became soft.

Next I cracked nearly a whole carton of eggs into a bowl; scrambled them with salt, pepper and a bunch of fresh parsley.

I layered the potato mixture into a greased baking dish, and poured the egg mixture on top.  Then the whole thing went into the oven at 375* for 20 minutes or so until the edges started to pull away from the walls of the pan and the center of the eggs were set.

There was not a scrap left after the potluck--I guess people liked it! 

A week later, I had more potatoes, so I made another "tortilla" for myself.  It was also good, but a bit less so after a few days in the fridge.

We have another family adventure coming up at the end of the month...to ALASKA!  I wonder what culinary inspiration I will come back with.  Here's hoping it won't take three years to show up on here!