Lately... It's Lettuce.

Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs from the garden.

There's been a whole lotta cooking going on. Sunday I spent most of the day in the kitchen making casseroles. Five of them. With meat. Ryan lamented that, "It smells so good, and none of it's for me." (I also failed to take a single photo of the marathon cooking event; it's probably better this way because it was a little bit... chaotic.)

I had a grand ole time making King Ranch Chicken, lasagna, chicken spaghetti, and more for my lovely sister-in-law and her family. They're expecting their second child any day now and apparently I'm vicariously nesting by way of freezer-friendly casserole dishes. Poor Ryan. There was organic beef cooking on the stove in our home and it wasn't for him.

Once all the casseroles were shuttled to their house, we had only leafy greens and garden vegetables left. Which is just fine by this particular vegetarian-not-that-strict.

Let me tell you why this was particularly exciting: because my quick-pickled banana peppers would be the star of the show.

We have a bet going in our house. Hold on to your hats, this bet is c-r-a-z-y... That's just how we roll.

Ryan insists that "real" pickles (those processed in a hot water bath in a pot so big that it takes up two burners and takes almost two hours to reach full boil) taste better than "quick pickles," which are made with the exact same brine but left to pickle in the refrigerator for two weeks. I argue that quick pickles, made in the same brine but stored in the fridge instead of being fully processed, taste just as good.

While we haven't done the official pickle taste-test, the quick-pickled banana peppers were awesome. I also made tzatziki sauce with some of our garden cucumbers. Round it out with some homemade hummus, multi-grain tortillas, and a perfectly dressed salad, and you have yourself a bonafide Greek night. I'll admit that falafel would've been a nice touch.