Summer Eats

Caprese Salad, complete with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, 'cuz I fancy like that.

One of my absolute favorite things to eat in the warm summer months is fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato. In a panini, in a wrap, or just on a plate drizzled with olive oil and balsamic. It's that super simple dish where the flavors combine perfectly. So at a 4th of July bbq we went to, that is just what I brought. With fresh basil from the garden! Ok, so technically, the plant already had leaves when I planted it and I really just used those already grown for me.... but still, it totally counts!

An avid gardening enthusiast, Sadie is triumphant over those stubborn weeds. We both have gloves, kneeling pads, and tools. She loved it!

After some backbreaking weeding (the weeds seemed to win....) and some great help from Sadie, we finally have a little garden going. I've learned about potting soils, I've bought compost. I've learned that both are really freakin' heavy. I skip out to water my little lovelies every morning, I like to visit them. That being said, it's pretty small. We have very little sunlight back here so I just planted a few things to see if anything would even grow.

We are growing basil, parsley, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and our landlord gave us pumpkin greens to plant. I wonder if that will actually grow?! Also, a few geraniums for Sadie. I've been told they are super easy to keep alive. Which is good, because in the past I've not had much of a green thumb. Let's hope the days of my dried up, petrified office plant where one touch sends a flurry of brown leaf bits to the ground, are over.

I'm also growing a container of the larger tomatoes in another sunnier part of the backyard. So far this is what we have. Tomato mozzarella goodness, here I come!