Recipe from the Garden: Tomatoes, Blue Cheese and Herbs

Can you tell I love cheese? I don’t think I can go a single day without some sort of cheese. For some girls their weakness is chocolate, for me it’s cheese. Put any kind of cheese in front of me and I’ll eat it. I used to HATE blue cheese. Really hated it. Then all of a sudden one day I liked it. Now I love putting it in salads. I’m especially fond of this buttermilk blue cheese that I can get at Wegmans. That’s what I use in this recipe.

Tomatoes, Blue Cheese, and Fresh Herbs.

This started out as a recipe from my “Grow” magazine, originally from “Fine Cooking” magazine, but I didn’t have all of the ingredients so it’s a simplified version. For the full version go to the recipe on “Fine Cooking.” Here is my simple version:

Tomatoes, Blue Cheese and Herbs

Ingredients
• Tomatoes
• Blue Cheese crumbles (or Gorgonzola)
• Balsamic Vinegar (I have found it is worth it to splurge for the good kind)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Chopped fresh herbs (I use Parsley and Chives, as well as a bit of Garlic Chives)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle a little balsamic and extra virgin olive oil. Instead of chopping my herbs, I have found they bruise less if I use scissors to cut them up right on top of the tomatoes. Then top with the crumbled blue cheese.

The tang of the blue cheese is pretty awesome with fresh tomatoes and also goes well with the balsamic. I am sad to say that I have yet to get ANY tomatoes from my garden this year, other than a few grape-sized ones. I have heard other people in my area say the same thing. Too much rain – the tomatoes just aren’t ripening. These tomatoes came from my favorite family-owned farm stand, Hunter’s, which I have mentioned before since they have the world’s best corn on the cob. Luckily I have PLENTY of fresh herbs in the garden to top this off. This is a nice alternative to Caprese salad, which is something else I have blogged about and eat often.

It Takes a Garden

Despite the torrential downpours we had earlier today, it turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous evening. I gathered some herbs from the garden to have with my tilapia (sage, lemon thyme, marjoram, parsley, basil, and garlic chives), then enjoyed a peaceful dinner on the screened-in back porch (safe from the mosquitoes!). As I sat there looking out at the garden, I counted eight yellow Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies. Wow, EIGHT! Five were on the white butterfly bush and three were on the purple butterfly bush. There’s a reason they call it a butterfly bush! I’m used to seeing that many of the white Cabbage Butterflies because they love the catmint, but I have never seen that many Swallowtails at one time in the garden. I tried to get a couple of videos, but it doesn’t really give the sense of how many were there. Here is one on the purple butterfly bush.

Here are three on the white butterfly bush. Hard to see all three of them in here.

I also saw one Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly, three white Cabbage Butterflies, one Hummingbird, one Goldfinch, two neighborhood cats, and a mommy bird feeding her babies in one of the birdfeeders on the shed (the same birdhouse I showed in my blog recently, but different babies this time). All of these creatures were happily living in perfect harmony in the garden. One of the cats briefly chased some Cabbage Butterflies...some of the butterflies chased each other..all seemingly very happy and playful.

Maybe the answer to peace on earth is more gardens in the world.

Mosquito Heaven

I don’t need any more mosquitoes in my yard than I already have, so I practice prevention by dumping standing water. This year, however, with all of the rain we’ve had, it has been difficult to keep up with it.

Waterlogged shells.

Today, in our area we had torrential downpours that totaled about 6.5 inches of rain in four hours. We’ve had so many bursts of storms this year that I have heard several people say it’s like living in Florida. I haven’t been to Florida since I was a kid, so I can’t really say. All I know is it is a change from most summers when we are begging for rain.

Below is a so-called self-watering pot, one of two that I purchased early this spring. They have become ponds, complete with their own algae. I need to drill drainage holes unless I want to become a mosquito breeder.

Waterlogged pot.

On a positive note, my water bill is a lot less than in past summers. I can count on one hand how many times I have had to water the garden this year. That’s just crazy.

A Neglected Flower Garden in August

I always kinda wondered what would happen if I didn’t keep up with my weeding and dead-heading during the season. Now I know. I have been so focused on my web design classes and homework, that I have not spent nearly as much time as I usually do in the garden. I miss it...and apparently it misses me.

A sure-fire sign of neglect: Morning Glory vines self-seeding in the grass, in the path, and everywhere. Believe it or not, this is my arbor: Climbing hydrangea on the left and climbing rose and Morning Glory vine on the right...and on the ground. Yes, there still is a gravel path in there...somewhere. Between the Morning Glory and the leaning Monarda and Purple Coneflowers, good luck finding it.

Overgrown arbor.

This is the arbor as seen from the back of the path, from where my statue “Winnie” stands. See, there IS a path in there. Watch out for the bees, though. They love the Monarda and Purple Coneflowers. I just planted the Joe Pye Weed last year and it seems to be thriving on neglect, hence the word “weed” in the name, I guess.

Ah-ha, there IS a path in  there.

Yep, that Joe Pye Weed sure has made itself at home in the back of the flower garden. I had planted it to try to shield the view of the neighbor’s yard and it has taken that job very seriously.

Joe Pye Weed.

Another sure-fire sign of neglect: Wisteria taking over the greenhouse, the shed, and the roof of the family room...as well as spreading all over the ground.

There’s a greenhouse in there somewhere.

The wisteria is traveling from the greenhouse to the shed overhead, almost completely blocking out the sun. As I say often in this blog, I have a love/hate relationship with my wisteria. LOVE it in the spring when it’s blooming because it’s absolutely gorgeous and smells heavenly, but HATE it the rest of the year because it grows an average of 10 feet per year. I’m guessing it has grown more than that this year with all the rain we’ve had to keep it going.

Wisteria blocking the sun.

The path from the gate to the back yard is nice and shady now from all of that wisteria.

Path from the gate to the back yard.

 Um...yeh...you can’t even get into the shed. At least the birds have a quiet, forest-like setting for their home now. Check out those seed pods. Just another reason I have wisteria popping up all over.

Wisteria blocking the shed door.

Where the heck did this one come from? The only wisteria that is on this side of the yard is my tree wisteria and that doesn’t spread. I think these vines are coming from my neighbor’s yard and are snaking their way from the side of the yard, through the woodpile area, on its way to the kitchen garden. Better stop that pronto.

Wisteria vines.

One thing that is thriving on neglect is Brian’s hop vines. They are taking over the one side of the shed and spreading into the daisies. We need to string these up better next year so they go upward more and not outward so much. They have plenty of hop cones on them.

Hop vine.

Considering the state of neglect, the flower garden doesn’t look TOO bad from a distance. This is what we see while sitting on the screened-in back porch.

The flower garden.

Well, actually, you can see the arbor is overgrown from here...

The flower garden.

This was taken while standing by the shed and looking towards the back of the yard.

The flower garden in August.

If you stand in the back of the yard and look at the flower garden, it doesn’t look all that bad. One thing that is kind of nice is the garden is so full of plants now, I don’t have as much weeds to deal with.

The flower garden, as seen from the back of the yard.

The butterflies sure do love the garden. Every time I look at the garden, I see at least two of these yellow Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, plus tons of the white cabbage butterflies. The other day I saw four Tiger Swallowtails flitting about. They looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on a purple Butterfly Bush.

The purple Butterfly Bush is leaning way over into my kitchen garden this year. I obviously didn’t prune it far enough in the spring.

Looking towards the house from the back of the yard.

The butterflies also really like the David Phlox, which is still blooming, but not as pretty as it was a few weeks ago.

White Phlox David.

I often see the hummingbird at the Black and Blue Salvia, but she (it’s a female) is so gosh-darn fast I can’t get a picture of her.

Black and Blue Salvia.

This yellow Showstar, an annual, is really a showstar this time of the year. It always takes the Melampodium a little while to get going, but once it gets going it is constant color and doesn’t even need dead-heading to keep pretty. Now that’s my kind of plant! How the heck did that orange cosmos get in there? I kind of like it. It’s like its playing hide and seek.

A yellow annual: Melampodium Showstar.

The purple Coneflowers are still hanging on, but not as pretty as they were. Of course, the Goldfinches still love them.

Purple Coneflowers and Joe Pye Weed.

I planted three Ice Plants in the front of the flower garden this year and they seem really happy and are spreading. I have actually tried to get rid of the Creeping Jenny and it keeps coming back. The bright yellow/green foliage is nice, but it will spread anywhere and everywhere. I have had this purple sedum in this cool pot ever since we moved into this house. I keep thinking I should transplant it, but then look how awesome it looks. I love the foliage color combinations in this photo. I am more into foliage colors now and wish I was when I first started this garden so it had more of this kind of contrast.

Ice Plant, Creeping Jenny, and a pot of purple sedum.

The right side of the flower garden usually looks best in the spring and summer, whereas the left side looks best in the late summer and fall. I pretty much planned it that way. There’s all sorts of stuff on this left side: From Hydrangeas to a Butterfly Bush, to Asters, Pineapple Sage, Black-Eyed Susans, Sedums, and Geranium (the perennial kind).

The left side of the flower garden.

Hydrangeas, Black-Eyed Susan, and a Butterfly Bush.

I wish I knew what the two Hydrangeas were called that are in this bed, but I don’t.

Black-Eyed Susan and a white Hydrangea.

This one really flops over in the rain and will also flop if I don’t prune it far enough back in the early spring.

White Hydrangea.

Ah-ha! There’s Winnie. Hard to see her anymore from the front of the garden since it’s so overgrown along the path. This is another white Hydrangea that has really gotten big over the past few years. I love it. (Still need to finish this path back here.)

Another white Hydrangea.

This was taken from behind the flower garden, looking towards the shed.

View from behind the flower garden.

So despite neglect, the flower garden really isn’t looking as bad as I thought, expect for maybe the arbor area. However, weeding and dead-heading are definitely in order. What does a neglected vegetable garden look like in August? Tune in soon to see.

Recipe from the Garden: Zucchini Tart with Lemon Thyme and Goat Cheese

Yep, sorry, yet another recipe. But hey, the fun part of vegetable gardening is eating what you grow! I promise to post garden pictures soon.

I got this recipe from “Grow” magazine, which is a supplement that “Fine Gardening” magazine (BEST garden magazine ever!) puts out every so often about vegetable gardening. The recipe actually originally comes from “Fine Cooking.”  Check out the recipe. If you have lemon thyme, or even just plain thyme, and zucchini, that’s the bulk of the recipe. The goat cheese is added goodness. You can never go wrong with goat cheese in my book.

Zucchini Tart with Lemon Thyme and Goat Cheese.

I only had half of the amount of goat cheese that I needed, so I halved the recipe. Also, I have to eat gluten-free, so I used gluten-free flour to make the crust. My crust didn’t hold up all that well, so next time I plan on trying Chebe’s gluten-free pizza crust mix for the crust.

This took longer to make than I realized. If I had looked through the recipe I would’ve noticed that the dough has to refrigerate 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes after rolling it out, then it cooks for about 40 minutes. It had a good flavor, though, and I’ll definitely try this again with the gluten-free pizza crust.

Recipe from the Garden: Cucumber-Wasabi Gazpacho

Brian spotted this recipe on a blog about cooking and eating in Maine called From Away. We had plenty of cucumbers in the garden last weekend, so we decided to give it a try. Rather than type out the recipe, I’ll just give you this link.

Cucumber-Wasabi Gazpacho.

This cold soup is very light and refreshing on a hot day. I suggest making sure it’s nice and cold before serving. The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of wasabi paste, but I wanted a stronger flavor so I doubled that. Don’t worry, it wasn’t too spicy. I also doubled the apple cider vinegar. Brian absolutely HATES shrimp, so instead of garnishing his with the shrimp that the recipe called for, I used chopped cucumbers and scallions. This was surprisingly filling. I think it would be best as a small cup rather than a big bowl, as an accompaniment to something else. After finishing it we thought we should’ve saved some because we have a feeling the flavors would be even better the next day. Brian thinks a good garnish would be feta, but he would probably put feta on anything. It might be worth trying, though.

Recipe from the Garden: Hot Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Herbs

Those two little hot peppers that you saw in my last post got turned into stuffed peppers tonight. They are Capsicum Annuum "Mariachi" Hot Peppers. The flavor is mildly hot, probably not even quite as hot as a jalapeno.* They start out yellow and ripen to a deep red color. They are meant to be used raw, such as in salads, or you can cook them.

I originally was going to use a recipe. I saw something on Martha Stewart’s website that I thought I would try, but then decided against it because it used jarred peppers, the liquid that comes with it, lemons, and mint, etc. I just wasn’t diggin’ that idea. I decided to just wing it based on what herbs I had in the garden. I don’t have measurements, I just did it to taste.

Hot Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Herbs

Ingredients
• Hot Peppers
• Goat Cheese (softened)
• Chopped Scallions
• Red Pepper Flakes (optional if you want a little extra heat)
• Chopped Fresh Chives (I used Garlic Chives because I have an abundance of that in the kitchen garden right now)
• Chopped Fresh Basil
• Chopped Fresh Oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Broil the hot peppers for 5-8 minutes (turn halfway through heating). Let the hot peppers cool so the cheese doesn’t melt when you go to stuff them. Mix the scallions and herbs with the goat cheese. You can add a little salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the peppers with the cheese mixture. (I used the flat end of a chopstick to help push the cheese to the bottom of the peppers.) Garnish with chopped chives or garlic chives. I suggest cutting these into smaller bits to eat, but if you like hot stuff, go ahead and pop one right in your mouth!

Makes a good little app for a summer night. I only have one plant of these hot peppers, but boy, there are a TON of little peppers forming on there. One plant is definitely enough, at least for me.

* Postscript: I just learned the hard way, the smaller the pepper the hotter it is!