Gardens Make for Great Eating

Over the past few years, I have really taken to gardening, particularly growing my own vegetables.  There really is nothing like harvesting things from your own yard that you grew from seeds, planted and cared for with your own hands, and then eating them!  Each year I try to grow something new.  This year I'm trying eggplant and broccoli, so we'll see how that goes!  I even had to build a new raised bed this year because I was a little over-zealous during my seed ordering!  In this one are all of my vines (squash, zuchinni, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, and eggplant).  Here's hoping I didn't plant too late!

This bed is my older one and this year it is home to radishes, romaine, spinach, arugula (which didn't do too well), shelling peas, green beans, broccoli, cayanne peppers, and bell peppers.  I have some roma tomatoes, blueberries, and my herbs in planters elsewhere in my yard.  

So, what I love about this time of year is thinking to myself, "what's for lunch?" and being about to walk outside and pick what looks good.  This particular day, I made a yummy salad with the lettuce, spinach, radishes, and peas.  Just add some fresh mozzarella, salami, vinaigrette, and some crunchy Chinese noodles, and you have a lovely lunch!  I usually make a lemon vinaigrette, which I will share with you (it's super simple!) but here I just used a balsamic vinaigrette.  

 

Lemon Vinaigrette

1/4 c. good olive oil

1/4 c. champagne vinegar

juice from half a lemon

salt

pepper

ground ginger-a pinch

a pinch of lemon pepper spice mix

Whisk together and pour over your salad!

What do you love to grow and eat?