out of the garden ~ fresh mesclun
Happily, summer is finally here and the garden is growing like crazy!
First harvest was mesclun — how I love those slightly bitter baby greens!
They cry out for a piquant dressing that can stand up to their bite.
I have been experimenting, trying to make a reasonably healthy and most importantly *tasty* version of creamy roquefort dressing. After a few failed attempts, I think I finally hit upon something worth making. Roquefort can be very salty, so be sure to taste before adding additional salt. Also, if you don’t have thick homemade yogurt, use creamy dreamy Fage (say ”fah-yeh”) — it’s amazingly delicious!
This dressing tastes best made ahead. Tuck it into the fridge and give it a few hours for the flavors to develop.
Roquefort Dressing
makes about 6-8 TB
1 tsp good-quality olive oil
1 Tb white or cider vinegar
1 oz roquefort or other strong bleu cheese, crumbled
1-2 Tb onion, grated
2-3 TB thick yogurt (I used 2% Fage)
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
pinch of salt if necessary
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In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar until well blended. Add the crumbled cheese and grated onion and mix well. You can mash the cheese or leave it in little crumbles depending on your taste. Finally, mix in the yogurt. Add fresh black pepper and a pinch of salt if necessary.
Variation: Add one small clove of grated garlic and use lemon juice in place of the vinegar.
homegrown mesclun with creamy roquefort dressing
spinach in a pot
I have a weakness for cheese. Fresh spinach is a perfect vehicle for one of my favorites — tangy feta. While I could eat those two alone and have a happy lunch any day, tossing the barely-cooked spinach with salmon, a little pasta and alot more veggies meant a complete meal and less guilt for me 
Warm Spinach Salad with Salmon, Orzo and Feta
4 oz fresh salmon fillet
1 oz dry orzo or other small pasta
1-2 c fresh spinach leaves
1 oz feta cheese
1/4 c red onion, sliced thin
1/2 c cucumber, diced
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
pinch of salt if necessary
~~~~~
1. Cook the pasta:
Cook orzo according to package directions. Rinse with hot water and drain well. Keep aside.
While the pasta is cooking,
2. Poach the salmon:
Fill a small shallow pan with just enough water to cover the salmon fillet. Bring to a boil, slip in the salmon and immediately reduce heat to med-low. Fish should be cooked 10 minutes per inch of thickness, but I prefer mine underdone, so I poach it for about 6-7 minutes for a thick, center cut fillet. When the fish is cooked to your liking, use a slotted spoon to remove it to a plate. Remove the skin if necessary, and cool to room temperature.
3. Prep the veggies:
Wash the spinach well. If the leaves are large, cut them roughly. If small, leave whole. Microwave, with just the water clinging from washing, for 60-90 seconds, or until wilted. When cool enough to handle, squeeze if necessary to remove water.
Slice the red onion to thin rounds and cut rounds into quarters. Wash, peel, and remove seeds from cucumber. Cut into medium dice.
4. Assemble:
Toss the spinach with the pasta and raw veggies. Add the salmon, using a fork to break it into chunks. Crumble the feta over all, toss, and add fresh cracked pepper to taste. Feta can be salty too, so taste before adding additional salt.
5. Serve and enjoy!
warm spinach and feta salad with salmon and orzo ~ a healthy, indulgent meal!
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I planted a lot of things in containers this year, and they live on the deck. They are growing like mad and ahead of schedule, while the tomatoes and sole eggplant in the garden proper are just starting to come along. The upside of the container garden is that the deck gets more sun — by two hours or so, and the containers hold heat well. The downside is that they need moving daily — into the sun in the morning and back as the day wears on. They also need careful monitoring for water. The plants in the ground can go a few days without water in a pinch — those in containers dry out more easily and must be watered daily, unless it rains.
Golden Jubilee and Celebrity tomatoes, as well as Icihban eggplant are already blossoming on the deck, so time will tell. Their twins down in the garden are on, or even ahead of schedule compared to last year, but the difference between garden and deck plants is incredible. I hope these things produce as much fruit as they do foliage!
golden jubilee tomato and ichiban eggplant, luxuriating in the extra sun on the deck
same varieties in the garden proper ~ noticable difference!
container tomatoes on the deck ~ celebrity in front, mr. stripey in back
same tomatoes in the garden ~ left to right mr. stripey, big beef, and celebrity
It’s not all about tomatoes however — I have two varieties of green beans, a long green ‘louisiana eggplant’, chard, various peppers, lemon cucumbers, and some mystery gourds and eggplant growing on the deck as well.
yellow bell, poblano, and hot peppers, with green eggplant and thai basil etc…
blue lake bush beans, chard and lemon cukes
gourd seedlings ~ courtesy the fairy gourdmother 
fairy gourdmother strikes again ~ eggplant from seed, awaiting the move to a larger home
Well, enough of my garden. What’s growing in yours?
