Garden Harvest

Yesterday I was feeling very behind. I was behind in my blogging, behind on the dishes, the laundry, the vacuuming, starting dinner. I was even behind on finding the cord to charge the camera battery. Motivation to complete my "behinds" was non existence. Then, I had an epiphany. I was only behind by my own standards; in my own mind. This realization freed me up to stop worrying about being behind and get creative.

I went out and raided my garden to make vegetable tempura for dinner. I was thrilled to find eggplant, summer squash, carrots and a couple of green beans ripe for the picking. Paired with a sweet onion from my parent's garden and I had more than enough selection for dinner.

We set up the deep fryer outside on the porch. There's something to be said for picking the veggies right from the garden, dipping them in batter, frying and eating them. Cooking and eating the tempura outside is a bit of a tradition for me and DD. It's a special summer time treat that we always look forward to.

Tonight I hit up the garden again. This time I chose an eggplant, summer squash, my first two cherry tomatoes and basil. I added some broccoli from the fridge and the leftover tofu from last night. After sauteing the veggies and tofu together with some seasonings, I tossed in linguine, the basil and freshly grated parmesan. It was a satisfying and healthy dinner.

I'm looking forward to the next month of fresh veggies and all the possibilities. Pastas with veggies, BLTs, eggplant parmesan, tomato and fresh mozzarella pizza, corn on the cob, fresh green beans and more. I've already eaten the spinach and kohlrabi. I missed the peas while I was in Salt Lake City. I know by the end of summer I'll have exhausted all my options with eggplant. We'll have eaten our fill of summer squash and corn. The basil will reach it's peak and the onions will be harvested. But it all seems so glorious and wonderful right now. This winter when I'm face to face with a pale, flavorless tomato at the grocery store, I'll be planning my next year's bounty.