Officially Obsessed

I should not be admitting on the internet that gardening is my new addiction...but the old lady from Home Depot was right on the money with the whole therapeutic aspect of it. I could not help but stop on Ridgedale Avenue at the garden center during my drive by (it was either that or the Chevy dealer...do you think they'd let me behind the wheel of the '12 Vette for a test drive?) to find more veggies to plant after we finallly got the last new batch of "we might as well dig holes just because and throw in plants" in the ground which included more cucumbers, yellow watermelon, pumpkin, and canteloupe. Then today I got butternut squash, acorn squash, zucchini, and golden squash because I have tons of recipes for each of those ingredients and yet had none in the garden. Much to my dismay, the rabbits and deer tore completely through the pumpkin overnight. Just to throw it out there, you're gonna be seeing more recipes for rabbit stew and BBQ venison on here if Thumper and Bambi keep it up. I'm starting to think that I'm not only running out of ground space, but that all this effort may just be wasted on feeding animals I don't want to have keep coming back. Like I said before, I'm a little far from a tree hugger. Included are a few recipes I have on hand for everything I've been working on gardening. All have been very successful during testing, I just haven't made them with any of the vegetables from the garden yet to see if there is a difference in taste (harvest is still 4 weeks away).

Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

2 acorn squash, each split in half with seeds removed

1 tbsp butter for each squash half

1 tbsp maple syrup for each squash half

S&P 

Place butter, syrup, and salt and pepper in center of each squash half. Roast on a baking sheet at 350 for 30-40 minutes until tender.

Melon and prosciutto salad with Parmesan

½ honeydew melon, cut off rind and cubed

½ cantaloupe, cut off rind and cubed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tsp champagne vinegar

S&P

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin strips and broiled in the oven, then  crumbled

1/2 c (2 ounces) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese

Cracked black pepper (optional)

Mint sprigs (optional)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl, tossing gently. Arrange melon mixture on a serving platter. Sprinkle cooked prosciutto crumbles evenly over melon mixture, then sprinkle with shaved parmesan cheese and serve cold.

Orzo Primavera

2 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, chopped

1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 c shredded carrot

3 c chicken broth

1 c orzo pasta

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

S&P

Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil,  shallots, zucchini and carrots. Sauté 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add orzo and bring back to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally until pasta absorbs the liquid and is al dente, 10 minutes. Uncover and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Watermelon tomato salad

3/4 lb seedless watermelon, rind removed
3/4 lb grape-sized heirloom tomatoes
Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

3 oz goat cheese crumbles
8 leaves mint

2 tbsp olive oil
coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Cut the watermelon into large, imperfect chunks and slice the heirloom tomatoes in half. Combine in a bowl. Add lemon juice and white balsamic vinegar and stir. Crumble goat cheese over the watermelon and tomato mixture, add mint, torn by hand, and toss gently with olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper. Enjoy immediately.