Today let me share with you one of my favourite seasonal trends…bringing food in fresh from my own garden. I’m not much of a gardener, but at this time of the year all sorts of natural instincts kick in and I find myself wandering through farmers’ markets admiring the tomato plants, checking out carrot seed packets and longing for my old neighbour’s rhubarb harvest.
Living on a rather small plot of downtown Toronto does not allow me to live out all my gardening dreams, but I make concessions and do what I can.Check out my herb pot. There’s oregano for my roast tomatoes, rosemary for my scrambled eggs and parsley for my salads. There’s more and I’m sure I’ll figure out what do with it once I identify it all (help? suggestions?)
No mixed herb pot could contain my love of basil, so that herb gets its own chance to shine. This goes in my paninis, in my Caprese salad, in my pesto and my bruschetta. Yum.
I encourage the kids to get in on the action, and I’m excited that my daughter’s growing carrots at daycare and my parents have planted a pumpkin seed for each grandchild at the cottage (above the septic system…we’re anticipating giant jack-o-lanterns this Halloween!!). One of the most exciting mornings this week was when I found this strawberry on our hanging basket…it may not have been huge, but it was big enough for each of the kids to get a bite!!
I am so envious of your pot and your tomatoes. I grew up planting a small vegetable garden with my father every summer and he would tend it while I was off at camp, away at the cottage, etc. Now I have a husband who is very busy and not the least bit interested in maintaining a garden for me, while I leave him for the summer months and hang out at family cottages…I don’t blame him, but I do miss the fresh treats.
I feel inspired to cook with some garden-fresh herbs – yummy!
LoriD, I cannot tell a lie…I had a little help from the kind folks at Costco with that herb pot.
Did you plant your mixed herb pot yourself? It’s gorgeous!
We’re doing some vegetables on the patio this year: roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beans, green peppers and spanish onions. I’ve also got some oregano growing in one of the pots, but I’ve never grown fresh herbs before, so I’m not quite sure what to do with it or even if it’s ready to do something with!
I love gardening, too! This year we are growing more veggies than flowers in our containers on the back deck…we have parsley (looks like some in your herb pot, too), mint (the kids love to nibble on the mild-tasting leaves), rosemary (no idea I could put it in scrambled eggs…good tip), lavender (smells heavenly) and basil. We are also growing a tomato plant, a bunch of carrots in a deep pot and lettuce, cucumbers and beans. We also have apple, cherry and plum trees in the back yard, so that provides some fun summer munchies, too.
Your strawberry looks delish!