Kitchen garden harvest

Kitchen gardens are so gratifying at this time of year.  There is such a variety of wonderful summer vegetables, and they are just so pretty.

Out strawberry patch is yielding bowlsful of delicious red fruits every day, which we're eating on cereal or a dessert with icecream or cream (or both).  The heirloom tomatoes are just beginning to ripen, and the cucumbers and zucchini are prolific. The basil, both sweet and Thai varieties are filling their air with their enticing scent, and we are loving the pesto and traditional Thai dishes that we're able to make.

Of all the areas in our garden, this little plot is, without doubt, the most satisfying.  The seasonality of the crops means that we can experiment with different things without worrying about long term outcomes.  If a plant is successful we grow it again.  If it struggles then we won't.  If we like a vegetable we plant lots of it.  If it's difficult to purchase locally we grow our own.  If it tastes better that the store bought equivalent we grow that too.  Tomatoes, for example, and really fresh herbs.

I love the way Jemimah is involved in the production of the food that we place on the table.  I love the way she checks what is ripe each morning, and how proud she is when she brings in a basket of newly ripe produce for my approval.  Woe betide if I don't ooh and ah loudly enough.

Today we're having bruscheta for lunch.We'll rub our own garlic onto freshly toasted sour dough bread.  We'll add our own chopped juicy red tomatoes and our own basil.  We'll sprinkle it with Murray River salt (because it is pink and pretty), drizzle it with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and crunch it up.  I reckon it'll taste better than the food from any top restaurant.  And we'll eat it outside on our own deck and we'll feel self-satisfied and just a little smug, knowing that we can do it all again tomorrow.  Mmmmmmmm