Last night we pulled together a simple but tasty summer supper with friends after our boat-to-dinner outing was rained out. Tasty tenderloins on the grill, but virtually everything else was harvested from Rosslyn’s garden. Grilled eggplant and zucchini; a big salad based around mixed greens and vine ripened tomatoes; and a colorful gazpacho full of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, onions, and cilantro. Everyone helped harvest snd prepare the meal which always makes it taste that much better. Evenings like this are one of the obvious benefits of homegrown food. But there’s a less obvious and even more perfect perk: midsummer munchies!
Early in the morning before rowing my dory on Lake Champlain, or a little later, when returning from a bike ride, I head out to the garden.
A few fistfuls of blueberries or blackberries. Radishes or carrots. A plump peach warmed by the sun. A dozen ground cherries peeled out of their paper husks. Cherry tomatoes, or a beautiful yellow banana pepper, several sweet strawberries, tender haricot verts, a crunchy pear,…
And when you practice organic gardening (and holistic orcharding), there are no pesky pesticides to remove. Just scrumptious midsummer munchie satisfaction!
But Susan and I, our friends, and our families aren’t the only ones who appreciate the taste of seasonality. Carley absolutely lives for garden fresh treats. Having satisfied her midsummer munchies in the image above, the vestiges of a jumbo carrot offer testament to our Labrador retriever’s mid morning munchies satisfaction. Carley is a true omnivore. And her appetite for homegrown fruits and vegetables is insatiable.
Thank you, Hroth, for capturing this post munchie moment that I’ve transformed from photography into a summery watercolor.
What do you think?