Usually I plant my garden on Mother’s Day with my husband and the boys –it is their annual gift to me.
This year, we did things a bit differently. We had someone help us with the yard and basically ripped all the flowers out of the beds and replanted with edibles. This took place before May began and gave us a good jump on the season. By the beginning of June we were reaping massive amounts of garden greens from the front yard and having huge salads each night to keep up with the garden yield.
Combine this micro-farming experiment with our CSA share and all-in-all we are experiencing quite the bounty of fresh vegetables this year. It’s amazing! Many friends are sharing in our good fortune (and concomitant good eating).
Getting the garden in early has numerous advantages including a longer growing season. While I usually have green tomatoes in August around the end of the month, each year the plants die heavy with fruit on the vine with the arrival of the first frost in September. However, this year things may turn out differently. The tomato plants are already fruiting; I think we will have ripe red tomatoes by my birthday (early August). This is a good thing as my husband won’t partake in a store bought tomato! He will be very happy this summer. In fact he already is, other than my regular ritual of piling pounds of salad on his plate each night. I need help consuming those greens –can’t do it alone.
Our massive crop has prompted me to become quite creative with dressings in order to mix things up as best I can. Here’s one of my favorites.
Spicy Walnut Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a jar
- Shake well
- Drizzle dressing over your favorite salad greens
- Store remaining dressing in jar in refrigerator
- Keeps for 2+ weeks
Equipment
On the baseball front, things are moving along. We are knee deep in practices. My son had one this evening and has a scrimmage tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. He is doing ok on the all-star team, having a fantastic time with his teammates and actually getting a good amount of playing time in. Stay tuned for more baseball updates in the future.
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elana says
Betsy,
Yes, if you click on the words “smoked paprika” in the above recipe, you will be taken directly to the one I recommend.
Best,
Elana
Betsy says
Do you recommend a smoked paprika? I am so excited to find this site! I have been cooking and baking gluten-free sugar-free dairy -free now for about two years, but just recently found out about your site from a client. Thanks for sharing!!!!
elana says
Yes, I have been growing cilantro bountifully in my garden this summer and adding it to my garden salad mixes and pestos –it’s delicious!
Freedom says
definitely put some cilantro in it! My last batch was an organic herb salad mix with cilantro. I’d never had it in salad before, but I dont think I’ll ever eat it without again! Never thought of cilantro as a salad item.
elana says
Freedom -Thanks so much for sharing your nectarine spinach salad recipe –it sounds amazing! I will try it.
Laura Thanks for stopping by; I think your blog is great! Love your writing style.
Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says
That vinaigrette sounds so lovely. Wish my flat had more room to plant vegetables – but where we live even mint and parsely barely survive!!
Freedom says
wanted to share with you one that I created. You and your family might enjoy it, mine sure did! I have to use bagged salad, but I bet it would be better with your homegrown!