Backyard Stories, Ingredients

Harvest of the Day

by Irene

The eclectic still life pictured above shows my backyard harvest of June 7, 2019.  It reflects the beauty of a backyard garden, with a delicious variety of produce at different stages, depending on the crop, from left: the last batch of asparagus; a volunteer sprig of cilantro on top of bunching onions planted last fall; first strawberries, perhaps not ripe enough, but promising a good season; two young parsnips, from sowing my garden seed last year; the first bunches of self-seeded chamomile and aka shiso (from Japanese aka – red, and shiso – perilla).

Last summer, I wrote about how “chefs who are also vegetable gardeners, often advice to design a meal starting with the produce at hand, and build the menu around that, instead of seeing vegetables as the sidekick on the dinner plate.” I had no problem finding inspiration to cook this harvest, on the contrary, the conflict was to decide on one menu, or even just chop everything in a bowl and add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  As tempting as that might have seemed, I ended up preparing three separate recipes, which I will share in future posts: Veggie Omelette with a Mexican Touch,  Pink Ice Tea Limeade, and Strawberry Ice cream.

Still Life photo for Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD) Challenge

imageI would like to thank Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian for nominating me for the Blogger Recognition Award. I enjoy reading Kristian’s posts; I find them always clever and interesting, often with intriguing plot twists.  Since I have been previously nominated for this award, please check this post for rules and my responses.  I am afraid I cannot nominate as many bloggers as requested, but I think the following are more than deserving (if any blog is award-free, please accept my apology and ignore the nomination):
Ribana at Popsicle Society
Saltwater Cowgirl Explores
Pretty Pursuit

24 thoughts on “Harvest of the Day”

  5. I love seeing your harvest, Irene. I got quite a few asparagus this year with all of the year. The rest is now going to seed. Nothing else to harvest yet, but the 2 tomato and 2 pepper plants are going well. The tomatoes and peppers started late are going to be planted in the ground soon. I have swiss chard started and 2 kinds of zucchini are sprouted and growing well. Herbs in containers that live from year to year are chives, rosemary, lemon mint, and lemon thyme. I used all but the chives with dinner tonight. Such a satisfying feeling to grow food and eat it. Pink Iced Tea Limeade sounds so refreshing!

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    1. Your garden sounds amazing, MsJadeLi! My rosemary did not survive last winter, so this spring I got a potted one, and will bring it inside in the fall, I will probably post the tea recipe next week. Happy gardening!

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      1. I bring the rosemary, mint, and thyme in and make sure to water it well. When I brought it in before and it dried out, like I usually let my houseplants do, it didn’t survive. The rosemary will even turn into more of a shrub. I have read that rubbing the leaves and smelling it is a mood enhancer. I do it and believe it does. Happy gardening to you also, Irene 🙂

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  7. Pingback: Veggie Omelette with a Mexican Touch – My Slice of Mexico

    1. Yes, it is lovely to go in the backyard and find something to cook, almost like those game shows with the challenge to create dishes with the ingredients you are given (e.g., “Chopped “)

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      1. I love Chopped! It’s so fun to watch what people make with ingredients you would think should never go together. Watching what you make is fun too.

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      3. Yeah, I can’t imagine making up something that fast. I think you could though although the timing would automatically disqualify some dishes. Some things need a little more time to taste good.

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