In New England, there is a very short window during the
summer – measured in weeks - when almost everything in the vegetable garden is simultaneously
ripe for picking. Today was one of those
days. As a result, tonight’s dinner was
one of those meals that deserves to be memoralized.
As an ‘appetizer’, there were five perfect ears of corn, so
sweet they needed no spice to enhance their flavor. Picked at 6 p.m., they were eaten before
7:30. A little butter and they were heavenly. That appetizer course was followed by a
second amuse bouche: a pair of
artichokes. Most artichokes are flown in
from cool marine valleys in California.
This one was ‘vernalized’ beginning in February and planted in
mid-May. The two artichokes from the
harvest were small but incredibly delicious.
There was a salad made of lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, beets
and beet greens – all picked today. There could have been carrots to go into
the salad, but they would have been too much.
For the main course there was a small piece of steak, and
accompanying that steak was a mountain of chard and green beans picked that
afternoon. There was also fresh yellow and green squash, but we were too
full. It was cooked to be eaten at a
later date - like tomorrow.
Apart from the steak and the butter (oh, all right, and the
gin, tonic and lime), everything we ate came from our garden. We ate until we were full; no need for
dessert. I know that in Boston, there
are restaurants that charge a significant premium for such ‘guaranteed
localvore’ fare; our meal was paid for with our sweat and gardening smarts.
Absent this post, tonight’s meal would likely have been
forgotten by January. This is a meal I
want to remember. To the glory of July
23!
Neal, what a wonderful and memorable meal! And how satisfying most everything but the gin and lime (and steak) came from your garden.
ReplyDeleteIn your previous posting I saw your attempt at growing sweet potatoes. Chris has planted small reds and so far it has been a disaster. Maybe too much rain!