There's nothing better than a salad made from vegetables picked straight from the garden. It's one of my favorite summer meals and snacks -- the freshness of the veggies makes for a delightful and colorful meal. While this summer I've used various vegetables from other people's gardens (my dad's and farmer's markets, to be exact), I am never dissatisfied by the way it tastes.
With our 12 tomato plants Shaun and I have in our garden this year, we've only picked 4 or 5 so far -- but have many that are ripening at the same speed (anyone else have the word "salsa" come to mind?). Being the disorganized person that I am, I forgot to mark all my plants with which varieties they are so I'm "eating blind." The tomatoes we've had thus far are nice and sweet, juicy and kind of small.
We've also picked a few of our cucumbers this year. We only had one plant make it -- I planted a row of starts a friend gave me and one survived. Our cukes are small, about 4 to 5 inches and extremely sweet. They're the perfect snack or addition to a salad or cucumber sandwich.
My dad's cucumbers are large, about 10 to 12 inches long and snow-white on the inside. They're super crisp and have that undeniable cucumber flavor. He has so many I think I'm gonna pick the rest of what he's got and pickle some of them (which will be my first venture into pickling). Because they're fairly large with about a 3-inch diameter, they make an ideal addition to my pasta salads and garden salads when cut in big, thick chunks.
I see a lot of tomato and cucumber sandwiches in my future -- which is ok by me because there is almost nothing better than a cucumber wrap with a dab of cream cheese and sprinkled dill.
What's your favorite harvest snack or meal?
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