Pages

Thursday, June 11, 2009

I'll have some peas, please!

With all the sunshine and warm weather we've been having lately and the help of the two hundred feet of garden hose, our garden is really taking off. I picked the first batch of peas yesterday, and while there were enough to serve for dinner, I decided to save them along with others I will pick in the next couple of days for the whole family to enjoy on Saturday. There is nothing like fresh peas from the garden. They are so tender and flavorful. When I was a kid, my mom always made them with a cream sauce and they are very tasty. But for myself, I enjoy them the most just lightly steamed with a pat of butter and a sprinkling of salt. The simpler, the better.

 


The zucchini, green beans and cucumbers are starting to bloom. I also have teeny little green peppers, Early Girl and Celebrity tomatoes the size of golf balls, and even the heirloom tomatoes have tiny little fruits set on. My eggplant isn't doing as well. One of the blooms has fallen off, but it has another one coming on. The lettuce has been pulled up as it was turning bitter from the heat of the sun, and in its place, David sowed beets and carrots.

 

 

 
Posted by Picasa


I'm making some pesto this weekend, too. That's flat-leaf parsley in the background and petunias on the right.

 
Posted by Picasa


As a relief from all the green, how about a little color?

A delicate evening primrose.

 


Yarrow
 


A perfect day lily

 


This is penstemon which the hummers and the bees love. If you look closely, about two-thirds of the way down the stem, there's a bumblebee sticking his head inside.

 
Posted by Picasa

17 comments:

Char said...

beautiful shots - I wonder if eggplant is like zucchini and puts out male and female flowers? first the male blooms to pollenate the female and dies, then the female bloom is what grows the fruit. Just a thought.

Ruth said...

Pretty new header!

I tried some fresh uncooked peas last summer when one of Don's distant cousins brought some to the family reunion. Yum.

Your garden is really progressing well, I'm a little jealous. So sad about the lettuce though! I really had hopes of putting some in next year. Boo.

I want to make pesto this weekend too. The basil aroma has been driving me wild - one of my favorite things, period.

Your mom's pea recipe sounds a little like the very delicious and very fattening gnocci dish I had at lunch out with a friend. Yeah, steamed is probably better.

VioletSky said...

I've just put an order in for a case of basil - my first try at making pesto (not having a yard, I can't grow nearly enough basil!)

Can I make it to your place in time for dinner?

Susan said...

Thanks, Char! I didn't know the answer to the male/female thing either, so I looked it up and apparently eggplants are self-pollinating and each blossom has male and female parts. I'll probably be lucky to get any fruit off it, because the maturity takes 80 days. Maybe I'll get a couple before frost.

Susan said...

Thank you, Ruthie! I like that the barn is kind of blurry in the background and we found the well pump by someone's garbage a couple of years ago. It just amazes me the things that people throw out!

Don't be sad about the lettuce! We had a lot of salads from it before it started getting bitter. That always happens. It's really an early spring vegetable, but since we had such a late spring it actually went a lot longer than usual. Don't let it deter you from having your own next year.

I love walking by the basil and giving it a brush with my hand so I can smell it. The same with rosemary and sage.

Susan said...

Wow, Sanna! Are you going to invite an army to eat all that pesto? or are you freezing it? It's really easy to make if you have a food processor. Are you using pine nuts or walnuts? I like it both ways, but usually use the walnuts as they are more economical.

You certainly do have time to make it for dinner, 'cause it's on Saturday! Haven't decided what to make with the pesto pasta and the peas, but I found a really yummy-sounding and looking grilled pork tenderloin recipe in the current Cooking Light mag, so I might try that. Are you even more tempted now?

alaine@éclectique said...

Your garden looks great, really healthy. It's really cold here now and my eggplant has about 6 still growing. We picked a few before the frosts and left the little ones but, guess what they're still growing! I just go out and pick one to put in the roast. The frost didn't affect them, maybe because they're up against a brick wall?

Your peas look luscious; I might try them this year.

Sandy Nawrot said...

I love your new header! Reminds me of home. Everything about your blog reminds me of home!

California Girl said...

Your basil is beautiful as are your green beans and flowers. We have rain up here in the northeast and it's been gloomy the past few days. Sox have beaten the Yankees 2 in a row though. That's something!

Susan said...

Ladybug, how wonderful that you are still harvesting even with the frosts. I bet the brick wall is retaining enough heat to keep them going. Mmm, what kind of roast?

Susan said...

Aw, Sandy, thanks! Maybe you can come up north for a visit sometime. I'll make you feel right at home. Lots of homecooking, comfy bed and some good wine? Have I tempted you yet?

Susan said...

Cali Girl, thank you! We finally got some rain yesterday and today. We were really getting dry.

Go Sox! Yay!

VioletSky said...

I am getting the basil wholesale, for a ridiculous price, but I'll share some of it with someone else who also wants to make pesto. And yes, I was hoping to freeze it. And I was hoping to use pine nuts, but I may have to use walnuts for some. And I love pork tenderloin.

JackeeG4glamorous said...

Beautiful garden and lovely pictures. I'd love to eat those peas!

Susan said...

Sanna, I really can't tell much difference in the pine nut pesto and the one with walnuts and walnuts are a lot cheaper.

The tenderloin was yummy!

Susan said...

Jackee, thank you! My mother-in-law loved the peas, so I made sure she had several helpings. I ended up with about a pound and a half after they were shelled. They were really tender and tasty.

GailO said...

I can't believe how big that basil is already!...I must be doing something dreadfully wrong!