Pinja Challenge: Cherry Tomato Pie

Cherry (tomato) pie in a homemade (sharp cheddar) crust. 

Maybe I lean a little too heavily on Pinterest for inspiration, but so far it has not led me astray in the kitchen. Thank you, Claire, for coining the term "Pinja." Allow me to explain. Pinja (n): A ninja-like, resourceful wizard who successfully concocts things pinned on Pinterest. Claire's a quilting and crafting Pinja. I'm having fun honing my Pinja skills in the kitchen.

Halved cherry tomatoes, garden oregano, and fresh onions.

Late last week, I happened upon this lovely pie, via Pinterest, over at Not Without Salt. Cherry tomatoes sat on my kitchen counter, begging to be used up in a recipe—so happening upon one that called for roasting cherry tomatoes? This was just the thing. And on a sharp cheddar crust (one that required no rolling and just a handful of ingredients, might I add?)... Heaven. 

The finished product.

Alongside it we had a raw zucchini salad, dressed ever so lightly with avocado, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add a glass of malbec rose, and oh my... A wonderful dinner to celebrate the season's best flavors!

Simple raw zucchini salad; slice zucchini paper-thin with a mandoline, and dress with EVOO, S&P.

Oregano beginning to bud. We didn't eat these, but aren't they pretty?

What Pinja skills have you been working on? Do tell!

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Easy Caprese

Green tomatoes, red tomatoes, jalapenos, and banana peppers—all picked this week!

 Yesterday I made it sound like our garden was kaput, and some of you might have thought, "Wow, she's in a bit of a funk."

So to those of you who may have stopped by for the first time after seeing my Zucchini Enchilada recipe over on Whole Foods' blog, I want to say welcome to the Sustainable Diet Kitchen and Garden! Please stick around—there's plenty of cookin' and growin' going on.

This morning, I picked about a pound of perfectly ripe tomatoes (Romas, Black Cherry, and one lovely Purple Cherokee), almost two pounds of peppers, and one muskmelon. Full disclosure, I've been Googling, "When to harvest cantaloupe" for about a week now, trying to figure out when to pick the durned thing. Fingers crossed I made the right decision.

Black cherry tomatoes ripened on the vine. They have more of a purple tint in real (non-Instagram) life.

And oh, the tomatoes. We have so many! It's wonderful! This weekend's plans involve canning a couple of jars of Romas from our one plant. Last weekend, I watched my 8-year-old niece snack on cherry tomatoes and found myself thinking how awesome it was that she'd just sit there and plop them in her mouth, no Ranch dressing required. Ah, the little things in life.

We aren't growing any lettuce right now—it's way too hot for leafy greens in our yard, though my mom has been able to keep some growing well in the shade—but that doesn't mean we're salad-less.

Easy Caprese salad and some zucchini-arugula tortilla pizzas for a quick weeknight meal.

A quick Caprese salad is a great way to use some of our fresh tomatoes and basil. It's fantastic, even without mozarella on hand. A little shaved parmesan, a spritz of lemon, some ground pepper and sea salt, and voila! A garden-fresh salad.

For my next trick.... might I suggest a Caprese tortilla pizza. Maybe we can just call it a tortilla margherita pizza? Not to be confused with the other kind of tortillas and margaritas... Just a tortilla, topped with diced tomatoes, julienned basil, a little bit of cheese (I'm going to try goat cheese for a new kick), drizzled with olive oil and baked at 450 until the cheese is melted and the mini pizza crust is nice and crisp. I do believe I just came up with our dinner plans.

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Cook It Again: Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles!

Last night, I made a new recipe (it's like I'm always recipe testing—what gives?) and when we sat down to eat, the dialogue went a little something like this:

Ryan, after the first bite, "Yum! Wow, this is really good. What is it again?"
Me: "Chilaquiles."
"Fascinating. It's really good. Are you sure it's healthy?"
"Well, it's got a little cheese... but yeah, healthy*."
"How come you never cook things twice? Even if they're good, you don't make them again."
"I should write down the good ones so I remember to cook them again."
"Um, isn't that what your blog is for? How about, 'Cook It Again Thursdays' or something?"

And so I give you, my inaugural "Cook it Again" post. I won't promise one every Thursday (you know how my Freshworthy Friday posts go), but he's got a point; it'd be nice to have a list of fail-safe recipes on hand. Especially easy ones that have room for improvisation already built in.

Back to the chilaquiles. I have unwittingly made similar dishes before, and last night realized it's amazing what you can do with some corn tortillas, a can of beans, and some vegetables. This came together in a snap and had all the merits of a tasty, family-friendly weeknight dinner. I only used two dishes—a pan for sautéing and the dish for baking. That's easy enough to clean up.

Chilaquiles, like enchiladas, have myriad variations and there is no one "right" recipe—so feel free to adapt as you please and add or subtract ingredients at whim. Basically, you need corn tortillas, a saucy mixture of vegetables with either a red tomato base or a green tomatillo base, and a little bit of cheese. Here's what I put together for ours last night, based on this recipe from Epicurious. Chilaquiles sometimes involve eggs; the recipe I used didn't call for them and I didn't add them. But now, it sounds delish.

Featured homegrown garden veggies: bell peppers, jalapeno, and zucchini.

*Because to me, beans and vegetables and corn tortillas (with only two ingredients) sounds pretty darn healthy. Mind you, I'm no nutritionist. 

Zucchini Chilaquiles

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 large or 2 medium green bell peppers, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 large zucchini, cut into small pieces

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (like Rotel)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
8 corn tortillas, cut into strips
3/4 cup shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a medium-sized baking dish (I used one similar to a 9x9). Chop the vegetables and open the cans. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers, and saute until the onions are nearly translucent. Add the zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and the beans and add the cumin; stir, taste, and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer for another five minutes.

Place a full layer of corn tortilla strips in the baking dish, completely covering the bottom of the dish. Pour about half of the zucchini and black bean mixture on top of the tortillas and add half of the shredded cheese. Add one more layer of tortilla strips, the rest of the vegetables, and the rest of the cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and a little bit browned. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Add a side salad or a scoop of homemade guacamole to round out the meal.

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Wordless Wednesday: The Garden Lives

After last week's sad tale of the squash vine borer attack, here's how the garden looks today. It's alive, and we're harvesting Plenty. Of. Food.

Have I shown you the watermelon patch yet? It's overgrown its boundaries, by a long shot, and there are some sweet little gems in there.

This smallish moon & stars watermelon will grow to about 20 pounds.

Eggplant starts are now growing where the zucchini once lived. One zuke remains, in the background.

All harvested this week: butternut squash, green tomatoes, and a trio of peppers.

Peppers, tomatillos, and heirloom green beans are going strong.

A bee happily at work inside a pumpkin bloom.

An heirloom variety of muskmelon (cantaloupe) nears full size.

Huge sunflowers threaten to bloom in the watermelon patch.

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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.

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Wordy Wednesday: The Life of a Farmer

Fallen zukes. Rest in peace, sweet plants.

It happened. 

Last week was a very busy week; we had fun social engagements every night and that left me very little time in the garden. So by Friday morning, when I noticed a little frass—the sawdust-like tell tale sign of squash vine borers—at the base of one, two, three... all SIX of our zucchini plants, I had a little melt-down. 

Here's the thing: there's little to no chance I could have totally prevented this. The fact that we've had two full months of unbelievable zucchini harvest thus far is remarkable in my book. Now happens to be the laying time for the vine borer moth and that means that the susceptible plants—those cucurbits with hollow stems—were especially vulnerable. 

I shed a couple of tears (because, in my own words, "I let my little plants down"), suffered through my husband's extreme eye-rolling at aforementioned tears, and then got to work performing surgery on the plants. 

Damage has been done.

"Surgery" meant taking a very sharp knife and slicing into the base of each of the stems. Any plants that show signs of wilting are probably goners.* But three of ours still looked strong, so I sliced into the stems and carefully pulled out the white inch-long grubs that were eating the plants from the inside out.

Then I stuck that sharp knife right through each of them, without any feelings of remorse for killing a living being, because those little bastards were eating my plants. A farmer has to put her foot down. Right on the bug that's doing the damage.

At that point, I poured BT worm killer, which is approved for organic gardening, into each of the stems and covered them with compost. Then I watered the bed and waited with bated breath.

Rescued, for now.

We lost a total of six plants, and the remaining squash plants don't look too great. But three of the zucchini plants are still alive. In fact, I picked two zucchini from the largest plant this week, and there are blooms and small fruits on the others as well.

This is what the garden looks like today—Wednesday, six days after the surgery.

The less-full bed with a couple of thriving living plants. I'll take it!

Hope, in the form of baby zucchini on the vine!

It's an important lesson in gardening. My mom says, reassuringly, "That's the life of a farmer." But the thing is, my livelihood doesn't depend on these plants; we simply grow them to enjoy and share them. I can't imagine the heartbreak caused by drought or natural disaster or unstoppable infestation for a farmer who supports her family with her crops. So I am grateful that we have this backyard garden to pick and choose from; it truly is a luxury, albeit one that involves a lot of work!

Meanwhile, we're eating from the garden every day and sharing as much as we're able (which is to say, when we remember to take it to friends and colleagues).

And the fact that our more susceptible cucurbits were attacked makes me hopeful for the rest of them; the butternut, cucumbers, watermelon, and cantaloupe are doing fine. The bugs can't get them all.

Today's garden harvest.

*I should also note that the squash vine borer can live in the soil; so it's best not to plant squash in the same bed for three years. It works out well, though, since we have enough raised beds to rotate. We'll also have to rotate our tomatoes, but more on that next time on the Gardenerd Chronicles.

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Grilled Zucchini and Brie Sandwiches

Zucchini on the grill.

The long weekend meant I had plenty of time in the kitchen. A little too much time, if you ask my dear husband. It was my job to clean the kitchen within an inch of its life (or my life, depending on how you look at it), and every time I'd make some headway, I'd start another recipe. So I'd have a load of dishes in the wash, and decide I needed to do a batch of quick pickles. Halfway through that, I'd decide to add another vegetable to my pickling list and out comes the chopping board again.

It was exhausting, all the cooking and cleaning and cooking and... not cleaning. Oops.

Open-faced sandwiches: perfect for a backyard grill night!

My favorite new recipe from the weekend has to be this riff on Whole Foods' Grilled Summer Squash and Brie Sandwiches. It's fresh and delicious, and the leftovers today proved to be every bit as good as they were hot off the grill last night (with toasted bread and veggies broiled in a toaster oven—resourceful!).

It's also the perfect showcase for our Purple Cherokee heirloom tomatoes, which are finally red (purple?) and some of the last garden zucchini (more on that tomorrow).

I simplified the recipe out of necessity; we cooked these at someone else's house and I forgot a few of my ingredients at home. Suffice it to say, though, that the grilled bread topped with brie, a few slices of grilled zucchini, and a thick slice of an heirloom tomato make for an amazing summertime dinner. So even if you leave out the garlic and sprouts, this is a winning grill recipe.

Grilling summer squash is easy. And if you've got an overabundance of zucchini in the garden, go ahead and let a few of them get huge. The one I sliced and grilled weighed more than two pounds, but tasted wonderful grilled with a little olive oil and season salt... Not to mention, it fed almost five people.

Have you grilled summer squash yet? What's your favorite way to enjoy it?

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Homemade Popsicles for Memorial Day

Summertime means homemade popsicles!

Happy Memorial Day! The unofficial start to summer is officially upon us, and what better way to show some gratitude than to make homemade popsicles with homegrown fruit?

We're already knee-deep in stone fruit season here in Texas, so I had a bowl of tiny peaches from my mom's tree languishing on the counter. The fruits were just beginning to shrivel, and I knew that was a sign that they needed to be used right away.

Funny enough, I also learned yesterday by way of Splendid Table that shriveled stone fruits and tomatoes (before they are at the rotting stage) actually boast concentrated sugars—and therefore, concentrated flavors. So what I thought was a bowl of peaches about to go bad on my kitchen counter was actually a bowl of peaches at the peak moment to be adapted into a new recipe.

After a little Googling and recipe searching, I came up with the idea to make peach and tequila popsicles. There's not enough booze in these to really set you off (only about one shot divided between 10 popsicles), but it imparts just enough flavor to make these an adults-only treat. It also keeps the pops from freezing too hard, meaning they have a wonderful texture and are prime for enjoying on the picnic table outside. The super-sweet peaches really stand out. These taste like summer ought to.

I added a 1/2 cup grapefruit Italian soda, which added a nice bit of tang—but is not totally necessary. Feel free to sub with another Italian soda of your choice or simply more orange juice. Pineapple juice might also be a good substitute here.

Peach & Tequila Popsicles
Makes 8 pops

Very ripe peaches: enough to equal about 1 cup, after peeling and removing the pits
5 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1/8 cup tequila (or one shot)
1 cup pulp-free orange juice
1/2 cup grapefruit Italian soda or 1/2 cup more orange juice

Peel the peaches and remove the pits. Place in a medium bowl and mash together with the sugar to create a simple puree (no need to use the blender; a few small chunks of fresh peaches add to the awesomeness of these popsicles). Add the other ingredients and mix well. Carefully pour into your popsicle molds and put in the freezer for about two hours. Then slide in the popsicle sticks, and freeze for at least 8 more hours before serving.

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Zucchini Enchiladas Verdes

If you had told me I'd have tried a dozen completely different zucchini recipes before June because the summer crop would be that prolific, I never would've believed you.

But it's the truth. I feel like the Bubba Blue of zucchini: zucchini salad, zucchini salsa, zucchini bread, zucchini brownies, zucchini pickles, zucchini pasta, zucchini tacos... You get the point. (And just to clarify... I am not complaining about my surplus of zucchini. It's finding its way to friends and colleagues almost daily so it's not going to waste, which makes me oh-so-happy.)

Here's a recipe to really drive home the zucchini madness: zucchini enchiladas verdes. They're both stuffed AND covered with fresh zucchini.

I made this as part of a vegetarian and gluten-free dinner party; despite its multi-special-diet appeal, it was wonderfully received by the omnivores. In fact, I'd planned on having leftovers for lunch the next day, but that wasn't in the cards since we polished 'em off. If you'd like to add cooked chicken to the filling or wrap the enchiladas with flour tortillas, be my guest!

This may look complicated, but it comes together fairly quickly. Pass the time while they're baking to enjoy some chips and zucchini salsa, and maybe a zucchini margarita or two.

Home-grown veggies featured in this dish: jalapenos, bell pepper, pattypan squash, and zucchini.

Zucchini Enchiladas Verdes

For the filling:
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 medium squash, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

To assemble:
10 to 12 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups Zucchini Salsa*
1/3 cup water or vegetable broth
1 cup shredded cheddar or monterrey jack cheese

Chop all the vegetables and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell pepper, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped zucchini and squash and saute until the vegetables are softened just a bit, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Add the drained black beans and the spices, and cook until heated through. Taste and season as you see fit. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Mix the zucchini salsa with the water or vegetable broth. In the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish, pour about one third of the salsa/broth mixture—just enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Assemble the enchiladas: in each tortilla, put a good sprinkle of cheese (about 1 tablespoon) and about 2 tablespoons of the zucchini/bean filling. Roll tightly, careful not to crack the corn tortillas, and pack tightly into the baking dish.

Top the enchiladas with a handful of shredded cheese, and pour the rest of the salsa/broth mixture over the enchiladas. Sprinkle one more time with shredded cheese, for good measure, and pop them in the oven for about 25 minutes. Or until they smell amazing, the cheese is lightly browned, and you can no longer stand it.

Let cool and serve with brown rice and fresh salad. Serves 4-6.

*Any salsa verde will do, but the zucchini salsa really is tasty and cooks very well.

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Match Made in Heaven: Fried Green Tomatoes & Pimento Cheese

Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches with Lone Stars on a hot summer day. PERFECT.

Sliced green tomatoes (purple cherokee heirloom variety).

 This all started more than a year, when Ryan and I took a staycation. After a little bit of bickering about what to do for lunch (I'm the picky one), we wound up at a trailer called Fried Green Tomato and all was well with the world. We enjoyed these unbelievably delicious, perfectly Southern, summery sandwiches loaded with homemade pimento cheese and the trailer's namesake. Ryan's even had bacon and ranch dressing on it. Mmm-hmmm.

Nothin' more Southern than frying some stuff in your cast iron skillet.

So when I picked a couple of pounds of green tomatoes from our vines, I planned on a weekend lunch to recreate the best part of that day. Let me tell you, fried green tomatoes and homemade pimento cheese are ah-maz-ing together. Add a little Cholula and some fresh slices of cucumber and jalapenos, and you have yourself a real bonafide Southern meal.

I used a very basic recipe (the first match from Google; it seemed reputable) for the fried green tomatoes, and we both agreed that next time I should slice them thinner (maybe 1/4 inch instead of the nearly 1/2 inch called for in the recipe).

As for the pimento cheese, I have my own version that's pretty tasty. And, shockingly, it's slightly healthier than traditional pimento cheese.

Day two, still delicious.

Less Mayo Pimento Cheese

1 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
1 4-ounce can diced pimentos, drained
1 fresh jalapeno, deseeded and diced
1 tablespoon real mayonaise
salt and pepper to taste

No real brain work here: Just mix all the ingredients together. If it's a little too creamy, just add more cheese.

Fried Green Tomato and Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
makes 4 sandwiches

1 recipe Less Mayo Pimento Cheese, above
1/2 recipe Fried Green Tomatoes
8 slices whole-grain bread
sliced fresh cucumber, sliced fresh jalapenos, and Cholula for garnish


Assemble the sandwich: a quarter-cup dollop of pimento cheese (or more!), a few cucumber slices and jalapenos if you're feeling spicy, and then the fried green tomato—one large slice per sandwich.

Cut in half and enjoy with a cold beer in the middle of the day.

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When Life Hands You Zucchini...

What's left at our house of this week's harvest. Godzilla Zucchini weighs 2 lb, 6 oz.

Anyone have a recipe for zucchini-ade? Hang on while I Google that... (Of course! Zucchini-tini!)

I may have mentioned at one point that we planted our garden strategically this summer, hoping for a large crop of a smaller variety of veggies (as opposed to a large variety of vegetables with low yields).

Well. Large crop we've got.

My love for zucchini knows no bounds at this point; ask me again in a month and that answer may be different. In fact, zucchini salsa has been the find of the summer already, and it's not even June. This weekend, I whipped up a batch two batches of zucchini bread to share, giardienara pickles, zucchini salsa, and grilled zucchini enchiladas verdes (recipe forthcoming).

And it's funny; my stepmom asked me, after I touted my ten-pound harvest, "How many zucchini plants do you have?" "Six," I said, proudly. She hung her head in her hands. "Oh, wow. My mother told me to only plant one, it's all you'll ever need."

Maybe I've learned a little bit of a lesson for next season (plant only four zucchini plants?). That said, it's extremely rewarding to share this bumper crop with family and friends. I am not exaggerating to say I gave away ten pounds of home-grown vegetables to family this week (no, not just zucchini... a few peppers and squash, too!). It brings me so much happiness to share what we've grown. Tomorrow, I'll tote thirty-six zucchini muffins up to work to share with my colleagues. This evening, the neighbors are coming over for Sunday night zucchini dinner.

Maybe I'm missing my calling. Maybe I'm a little more like my farming ancestors than I first thought. Maybe I just need a big ole plot of land out in the country, and a tractor, and some goats.

But for now, I'm perfectly happy with our little backyard garden and its ridiculous yield of zucchini.

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Dining Alone: Tortilla Pizzas

Dining al fresco; this pizza is topped with pattypan squash and arugula.

Things are busy these days. While my hubs and I normally dine together, the last few weeks have hosted an unusual number of solo dinners. Ryan is taking some evening classes (for fun things, not school-related), and when I'm left to "fend for myself" for dinner, things in the kitchen can get a little strange.

And by strange, of course I mean delicious. 

When I'm cooking for myself, I tend to take risks. With no one but me to impress (or let down), the pressure's off. This usually involves curry, or eggs, and always the mandoline. Something about paper-thin vegetables lends itself to a feeling of upscale dining. 

Everything is nice and crispy and delicious!

The words "tortilla pizza" don't normally conjure ideas of fresh vegetables and good cheese. They're a quick and unfancy way to shovel food in your mouth, right?

Wrong. My impromptu tortilla pizzas that were inspired by the garden and an arugula craving are quick, healthy, and even a little gourmet. They are bright and fresh and even totally worthy of a dinner party—for one, two, or twenty!

I made a couple of versions; some with zucchini, some with squash, some without arugula... But my favorite by far was the zucchini and arugula. Feel free to experiment!

Arugula, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Tortilla Pizza

Serves 1* 

2 whole wheat tortillas**

1 small zucchini, sliced paper-thin on a mandoline

2 cups (or handfulls) fresh arugula

1-2 ounces goat cheese

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste

1-2 lemon wedges

Prep the veggies. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and top with a generous layer of the paper-thin zucchini slices. Add one cup or one handfull of arugula for each pizza. Drizzle the olive oil on top and evenly disperse the goat cheese. Top with a little shaved parmesan, salt, and pepper, and spritz with a squeeze of lemon. Pop in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400, or until the cheese is melted and the edges are crisp but not burnt. Alternately, this is very easy to bake in the toaster oven!

A word of caution: tortillas can sometimes puff up with steam when they are heated. Just keep an eye on it; I learned the hard way when I made mine in the toaster oven and toppings wound up falling onto the heating element. And of course, be careful of the tortilla bubble; it's full of steam and that will be very hot should you puncture it!

*I found that two of these little tortilla pizzas made for a perfect meal; they're just like arugula tacos. If you're enjoying them with a side dish or decide to add a cooked protein (grilled shrimp or chicken would make a nice fit), you might find that one fills you up. And if you're cooking for more folks, just make extras! These come together so quickly and require so little oven time that you'll find they're perfect for summer nights.

**The whole wheat tortillas offer a nice nutty flavor that compliments the arugula. They're also healthy. Win-win, but you can use white flour tortillas if you prefer and I won't be too embarrassed. 

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Summer Squash Tacos on Whole Wheat Tortillas

It's a good day when Ryan walks in as I'm cooking dinner and says, "Oooh, smells good."

Now, this may lead you to believe that every time it smells good, it tastes good. But I generally take it one step too far in the healthy direction: "You were doing so good with this recipe until you busted out the soba noodles." "Why'd you have to add flax seeds to this?" "I think it's good, just... dense. Did you sub whole wheat flour again?" "Are you sure you should've made this without any oil at all?" "How many vegetables did you put in there?"

Cast iron makes this so much better; I also like to use my invisible hand to stir.

This, however, is a meal that manages both the delicious and healthy factors. For real. This is like, have your cake and eat it too. Or, have your tacos and eat them too. You get the point.

Tiny bowl of spices.

Last night's harvest: two zucchini, two pattypan squash, one bell pepper, one jalapeno, and one banana pepper. Add to that a little store-bought supplements (onion, baby portabellas, and tortillas), and you've got a meal. In attempting to stay ahead of the zucchini and pattypan harvest, I've used a combination of them here. But you can use one or the other if you like.

Summer Squash Tacos on Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium pattypan squash (or two small yellow squash), chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
5 baby portabella mushrooms (or one large portabella), chopped 
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons white wine, vegetable stock, or water
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
6 to 8 whole wheat tortillas*
non-fat plain Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, chopped fresh spinach or lettuce, and salsa for garnish

Prep the vegetables. Mix the dry spices together in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat for about two minutes. Add one tablespoon of the canola oil, and after about 15 to 20 seconds, add the onions. Saute the onions until they become golden brown, stirring frequently. Toss in a pinch of salt. Add the bell pepper and jalapeno and saute for a couple of minutes, just until the peppers have color.

Next, add the mushrooms to the pan. They will release some of their own liquids; once the mushrooms have cooked down, add the second tablespoon of canola oil and the white wine. Stir everything well.

Add the zucchini, squash, and spice mix and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the squash are very tender. The liquid should all cook out and you'll be left with a nice taco filling.

Fill the tortillas with the sauteed vegetables and top with garnishes of your choice. (Pictured: arugula, spinach, non-fat plain Greek yogurt, shredded monterey jack, salsa verde.)

*This recipe will make enough for 6 super-stuffed tacos or 8 normally-stuffed tacos. If you want to make it 8 super-stuffed tacos, add a can of drained black beans just before the squash.

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Early Summer Garden Tour

Here's the garden plan which has helped me tremendously. No more impulse buys or super-crowded beds. Well, almost.

I hope this is as much a treat for you as it is for me! (GARDENERD ALERT.) I was so excited to get home to the garden last night and take photos, because I knew it was finally time to show everyone how the plants are doing.

They're alive. Which is fan-TAS-tic. And many of them are blooming!

You may notice a few strange things, like white dust everywhere and random logs in the garden beds. These are attempts at keeping pests at bay. The white dust is both DT (diatomaceous earth) and BT (bacillus thuringiensis), which are organic gardening bug deterrents and seem to be working for now, knock on wood! The logs are an effort to keep the cats at bay—they've been especially pesky in that one bed, since I don't have enough pine straw down to deter them. They love to dig in the beds at night. It aggravates me to no end. These are not our cats, mind you, they're cats that live near us. I've also sprinkled ground cinnamon in all the beds to further deter the kitties. Mildly effective as far as I can tell. It seems the best way to keep them out is to crowd them out.

While I tried to plant all of this from seed, many of my attempts didn't work. So from seed, we have cantaloupe, watermelon, pole beans, edamame (impulse buy, when I found out it was too hot for snap peas!), butternut squash, and yellow straightneck squash. The cucumbers, tomatillos, tomatoes, zucchini, scallop squash, and all the peppers are transplants.

Without further ado... the early summer garden!

And here it is in reality. Don't mind the overgrown grass, that's this weekend's project.

The first tomatoes on the vine—a cherry tomato heirloom variety.

Look how big they've gotten! See the comparison from a few weeks ago here.

A squash blossom early this morning.

Zucchini plants are about to start producing. But see the base of the stem? I'm concerned.  

The tomatillos are getting so big and are blooming like crazy! 

Tomato varieties: Purple Cherokee (3), Black Krim (1), Striped German (1), Roma (1),  Grape (1), Black Cherry (3).

The heirloom variety Purple Cherokee is doing really well so far!

Fin loves hanging out in the garden. Just last night, she stomped on a squash plant to get to a squirrel.

"And Finley, what do you think of vegetables?"

I planted edamame underneath the cucumber trellises; this is a first for me. Fingers crossed!

Look closely at exhibit B: this is a chicken-sized crater, aka proof that the chicken made it into our yard. And there used to be a cantaloupe plant there.

The Original bed, with the cucumbers (almost ready to grow up their trellises), edamame, and the last of the kale.

The trellises turned out so lovely. Pole beans will grow up (heirloom varieties in purple and green) on this side, and the butternut squash are on the other side (squash and beans are companion plants). Edamame take up the front row (which is the only place I squeezed in more plants than I'd planned to). 

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