the good, the bad, and the ugly

It's been about a month since the garden got started. For however "therapeutic" I thought it was going to be, I'd say there has been a fair amount of work involved that I wasn't anticipating. I am very proud of myself that I remember to water the poor things ever few days, although I'm thinking its the tremendous amount of rain, and not my valiant efforts, that is probably keeping them alive.

The good: I'm excited to report that the tomatoes seem to be what I'm having the most luck with. General consensus is that it will be another 3-4 weeks before some of you happen upon baskets and baskets of them at the squad building. I'm excited to learn how to make fresh sauce with them as soon as they're ready to be picked, but that is going to involve learning how to steam and peel them. I'm patiently waiting for Caprese salad too, hoping that I'll be able to say that I used fresh grown tomatoes, basil and homemade mozzarella to make it.

The bad: the neighbors must think I'm out of my mind when I'm outside on the back deck yelling at the various chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer, and every other neighborhood critter that have made themselves at home and are enjoying the feast. And every single plant that I put in the ground out back got demolished in the first four days, so I've just accepted the fact that I'm meant to just be a "container" person (as they call it at Home Depot) and I've moved on. The strawberry plants are obviously void of any berries because of the aphids, and my lettuce plants continue to wilt because of the heat. As you can see, each of these have been banished to the outdoor table in hopes that the chipmunks will learn to stay away-I don't know what makes me think that rodents can't climb but I'm just running with it for now.

The ugly:  I feel like I've learned one of the lessons from "Eat Pray Love" where you have to accept that some things are out of your control. I recently decided that the Topsy Turvy is one of the ugliest inventions ever, and I have no idea why people would put them outside of their house. I'm just glad that it's hidden in the back of the house. We will see if it really help grow more tomatoes than any of the other containers on the deck; until then I'm skeptical at best.

But my one true accomplishment was picking my first harvest of the year.

Yep, it's a green bean. Just one. And I'm happy to report that it tasted exactly like a green bean you'd buy at the store. Nevertheless, I grew it and compared to last summer I'm officially ahead of the game. So I've decided to include a recipe which includes green beans (though it is one where the beans are not the highlight) for when I'm able to pick a few more. Enjoy!

Recipe from the garden of the day: Goat Cheese Timbales

10 oz goat cheese, softened

2 oz cream cheese, softened

3 green onions, thinly sliced

12 slices prosciutto, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp champagne vinegar

3 tbsp shallots, chopped

Butter lettuce leaves

Steamed green beans

Mix cream cheese and goat cheese together in a small bowl with green onions and sprinkle with pepper. 

Line 6 ramekins with plastic wrap, leaving excess hanging over the edges.  Line with prosciutto, with one slice laying vertical and one slice laying horizontal to form a cross. Place equal spoonfuls of cheese mixture in each ramekin. Fold prosciutto over to cover. Fold plastic over to cover and compress. Chill overnight.

Invert ramekins to release.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small nonstick pan over medium heat. Add timbales, seam side down. Cover and cook until cheese is soft, flipping once, for a total of about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate and let set up for one hour.

Meanwhile, combine vinegar and shallots in bowl. Whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, toss the greens and beans in the dressing  to coat then distribute onto salad plates. Place the cooked timbales on top of each salad, and serve immediately.