Getting back into the Groove.

WOW! Summer is almost over, yet it feels like it just began. Our garden is finally taking off. Green beans, sweet peas, paddy pan, buttercup squash, lemon cucumbers and basil all started from seed finally looks like a garden. My strawberries are dying, but something tells me my 25-30 lb watermelon plant is strangling their roots. I ate a my first cherry tomato off one of my tomato plants, though not many more are growing. Hopefully it will be a successful venture. I want to learn and practice pickling and canning. How great it would be to open a jar of my tomatoes to make sauce instead of having to buy the tasteless winter tomatoes in the store. Pickeled lemon cucumbers sliced as a garnish for a bloody mary. Yummy. Spicy pickled green beans for salads... I can't wait to see what the garden produces!

My neighbors garden has been keeping us well fed. BEETS!, lettuce, kale, and chard. We are not going hungry in our household. It is so enjoyable to just boil and slice beets, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. They are like a cold yummy candy. I've been eating them like this or throwing them in a salad with strawberries, spinach, hazelnuts (thank you neighbor), fresh asiago, and an orange balsamic dressing. Grill a piece of chicken and you have got a killer meal!

My hope is to be back and updating this at least once a week. New recipes, pictures and ideas... Maybe a funny dog story or two... Check out food52.com a great community based website that I will also be updating with new recipes and hopefully answering some foodpickles. (Whole Foods will be joining with them once the cooking department is up and running... )

Until next time...