Naughty and Nice

 


Josie & Brandon
explore Rebecca's Garden

Gardening can really be a family affair. While my cousin and her children were visiting last week, I showed the kids my garden and they took to it right away. Josie and I digged up a few potatoes and lettuce, while lil' B toddled behind us pulling off lettuce leaves to add to the harvest.

By the time we were done poking around, Josie was already pestering her mom for her own garden. So make sure you get the kids involved in the process. It's good for them to put down the gadgets and get outside, plus they can help with the weeding!

Potatoes, squash & zucchini

I decided to use those potatoes Josie and I harvested to make a delicious potato salad with a recipe I spotted on the back of a blue cheese dressing jar. Yes, blue cheese, so naughty, but so good. But wait, it gets better. The recipe also calls for crumbled bacon, even naughtier and even tastier. To balance out the decadent potato salad, I paired it with something a bit more figure friendly: Summer squash just picked from the vine and chicken, both grilled to perfection. A tasty dinner that's both naughty and nice!

Grilled chicken & squash with
blue cheese potato salad

Blue cheese potato salad



2 lbs of potatoes, cubed and boiled until tender

6 strips of crumbled bacon

1 tsp mustard

4 stalks of celery, diced

1/4 onion, diced

1 tsp parsley, chopped

Fresh ground pepper to taste (no need for salt!)

1 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters Method (of planting)

I stumbled across this planting method during a visit to my local nursery (NOT a big box store, but I will save that rant for another post) and I immediately thought of sharing it here on this blog. Though I certainly have the space, this method promises to be a space saver, so it would be perfect for those of you that don't have that much room. So give it a try and make sure you check back and let me know how it went.

Summer pasta

Every time I wander into the garden, I am pleasantly surprised by all the progress. Whether it is the small fruit of the melon starting to take shape, or the weight of the tomatoes pulling the vines to the ground, I love taking it all in.

Today, I plucked another bushful of beans into my basket, twisted off some zucchini, squash and cucumber and then dug up a few onions.

In the past, root vegetables like onions have not done well in my garden, or so I thought. And then I realized that I did it wrong in the past. The key is to make sure you have a nice mound of soil for the onions, potatoes, or carrots to grow into. Then, as they grow, you want to keep pushing up the soil around the vegetable. The tops usually start to die off when they're ready, but you can always just dig carefully around the vegetable before you pull it up to ensure that it is ready.

Once I had all my veggies, the eternal question arised: What's for dinner? I decided to make a quick pasta dish that has tons of flavor and is pretty good for you, too.

Summer pasta
1 lb pasta
enough olive oil to coat a large saute pan
1 small onion, diced
5 garlic cloves
1 c. diced zucchini
1 c. diced squash
a few hot cherry peppers, to taste
a few roasted red peppers
handful of fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, basil)
1 tbsp butter
Grated cheese

While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in pan. Add onions and garlic then squash, zucchini, cherry peppers, and red peppers. Cook until desired tenderness.

Before you drain the pasta, add about a cup of the pasta water to the pan. Add butter, pasta, herbs and grated cheese. Toss and serve.