June 24, 2013

Harvests are thin as the summer garden grows. For greens, I rely on old standbys–French sorrel and Swiss chard. 

The sorrel is sturdy and doesn’t mind living in a pot. The flavor is best fall to spring but hasn’t headed south yet. Read a previous post about French sorrel.

Fortunately, pests don’t like the lemony flavor of the greens. This week I’m planning a sorrel pesto with pasta.

In a pinch recently, I gathered refrigerator remnants for a taco salad with sorrel for the greens.

Covering the chard with bird netting salvaged the crop. Local birds like the chard as much as I do.

To prepare the chard I first sauteed the colorful stems in olive oil with diced celery. A friend’s Italian grandmother used to say “Everything tastes better with celery.” I agree. After the photo I added a dash of balsamic vinegar and sprinkles of an artisan salt. Best cooked chard of the season.

One lone plum dropped from our ornamental purple-leaf plum. It looks better than it tasted.

Longing for plums, I stopped at a gardener’s impromptu roadside stand where the largesse was shared. We were house-sitting in Santa Barbara  this week. The Montecito Farmer’s Market was a treat on Friday and I harvested summer squash from our host’s garden for a pasta dish over the weekend.

With a new palette of flowers in their expansive gardens, I arranged bouquets for the house. A long shrub row of hydrangeas was spectacular. Today, I’ll gather flowers from my garden to delight the senses.

Last week I did a second Harvest Monday post on Tuesday about carrots. If you missed it, check out the tricolor carrots here.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne’s Dandelions. It’s a time to share what you’re harvesting in your garden or how you’re storing or using it.