garden blessings

You meet the nicest people working in a garden.  People who love a little earth and the beautiful things that grow there enough to brave temps in the high 80's and physical labor that most of us don't need to worry about in today's world. (Although at least it does remind you to send out good wishes for all those who do work out in the sun all day, every day!).  It also makes you grateful for friends to garden with to lighten the load...

On the subject of gratitude, isn't it also a gift to have access to all the clean, fresh water that we want whenever we need it?  We are so aware of that as we spend more and more hot sunny days in the garden; watching children playing joyfully in it while we and our plants drink deeply of it feels very abundant.  (Community member Liz just got back from a mission trip to Guatemala and the stories of people feeling grateful to be able to pump drinking water from a local old-fashioned free-standing well makes us feel doubly blessed).

It takes a considerable amount of effort to move water in large volume from the pumps (one is at each end of the 7 acre community garden) and then tote it in buckets to the plants but other than that, most of the heavy work in the garden is pretty much past.  It's been lovely to begin to find vegetables ready for picking and we've found a few zucchini, peppers and onions ready for harvesting.


picking the veggies is so much fun

nice green tomatoes are on some of our plants

our first zucchini from the garden this season

What do you do with all of the squash that start rolling in pretty soon?  One recipe we've used a lot in the past week has been to dip thinly sliced coins of yellow squash or zucchini in olive oil, parmesan cheese and garlic powder and then roast them at 400-450 degrees for 15-20 minutes (turning once).  They are a crunchy, golden side dish or snack and a great way to introduce kids to how easy it is to enjoy zucchini.

yummy quick zucchini "chips"

You are always welcome to stop by out at the garden to pick some fresh, local zucchini once they start coming in in earnest, but if all of this talk makes you hungry, you can check out a local farmer's market or join a CSA like Spiral Path Farm throughout the growing season (more info about them on Facebook or on their website).  We've been enjoying their produce as well and love to support them by spreading the word!

Eat local and have a great week! :)
~Marykaye