Woke up to a seasonably warm, muggy, mid-summer Saturday morning.
Grabbed a cup of coffee, “opened office” under the patio umbrella and finished up some client work left over from the week. I had every intention of doing this and a few household chores before heading down to the garden to weed and finish trimming off the storm-damaged growth from the remaining vegetables. Maybe even harvest some basil for a fresh batch of pesto. But before I knew it, the sky was darkening, a fierce wind blew in and thunder began to rumble. Then the skies opened up and the deluge began, accompanied by a brilliant display of lightning and raucous chorus of thunder. And a we’ve gone from downpour to slow gentle rain and back again several times as storms continue to push through North Jersey.
The garden is going to have to wait today. Not that I’m complaining. The air temperature cooled down, we definitely need the rain (although so much so fast does cause issues) and it isn’t like I’ve got nothing else to do. I decided it would be a good time to catch up on posting some of the things I’ve done with the goods from the garden – I’ve had a few great meals from some of the things that I grew, and despite the loss from the storm, the garden is still producing. Here’s a quick look at what I’ve enjoyed so far this growing season.
Romaine lettuce, radish and tomato salad with fresh mozzarella, with olive oil & balsamic vinegar drizzle, and a tall cold glass of sweet ice tea.
More delicious garden delight meals to see, after the jump…
Garden ripe tomato with mozzarella and fresh basil, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Yum! Chunks of cucumber & diced green pepper salvaged from the hail damaged garden, with diced onion, crushed garlic and chopped dill, were soaked in a strong cider vinegar, salt & sugar brine and made great bite-sized snacks for happy hour!
Making “lemonade from lemons” – green tomato relish made from hail damaged tomatoes. Not going to let them go to waste!
Swiss chard (harvested just hours before the hail storm hit), sauteed in butter & garlic with chick peas & ripe garden tomatoes.
Survivors: Tomatoes and a pepper that survived the hail storm relatively undamaged have now ripened and are providing new, fresh ingredients for meals. Confession. There were three additional cherry tomatoes that didn’t make it into the picture – had to be taste tested *in* the garden!