What? It’s this easy to make my own ricotta? Okay then.
Since I don’t have a dedicated garden space, other than the strip on the side of the house for all my herbs, I plant my vegetables in amongst the shrubs and perennials. That’s worked for me nicely so far. I grew a single zucchini plant this spring thinking one plant would nicely provide the two of us with just the right amount of edibles. Wrong. I’ve eagerly taken stock as the blossoms bloomed, watching for the tiny little vegetable to form from its shrivelled end. Sure enough, a couple mornings later, they were all gone. Every single one of them eaten. Now, don’t try telling me how cute those rabbits are because I’m not amused.
Shown clockwise from top left: thyme, rosemary, tarragon, Swiss chard — hither and yon in the yard.
We both enjoy Pasta Puttanesca occasionally so that’s what I made for supper last evening using this recipe from Laura Vitale. As I do with most recipes, I used her recipe as a guideline. I added a bit more anchovy, increased the amount of garlic and capers, plus added a tablespoon or two of Sherry vinegar. You can use any pasta at all; it doesn’t have to be spaghetti. Enjoy it with a glass of smooth red wine like we did.
We’ve been invited to friends on Friday for pizza night. I’ve been asked to bring dessert. Since the weather is supposed to be warm, I’ve decided I’m going to make something cold: my homemade orange ice cream. I love al fresco dining with friends in the summer. Another of life’s wonderful pastimes.
With the warmer weather (finally) more people are out walking and biking, everyone cheerful. Handfuls of people walk past on their way to the beach. The air is briny, the sun warms me like an autumn sweater, the perfume of the jasmine and lilies drifts in waves like summer whispering her secrets.
And now a soundtrack for a lovely summer’s evening. I wish I could play this song but I’m quite content to listen to his enchanting piano playing: Riyandi Kusuma playing Ed Sheeran’s Perfect. Enjoy.
[PS: With this new template, I’m not able to change the colour of links so they are obvious. But if you hover over the text, you will see which is the active link. I’ll try to remember to add an underline so links may be more visible.]
So sorry to hear of the predators that robbed you of your zucchini. So far, we are doing OK, but they don’t seem to be blossoming as much as last year. We do have the zucchini in a raised half-barrel pot, so there have been no predators; just the occasional squirrel who decides to bury a peanut or two left out by our neighbor. Those radishes look so delectable. I always forget them for my salads. The DoF on the Swiss chard works very well.
your garden images are stunning. the pasta dish sounds scrumptious. i could eat Italian every meal. while listening to the piano video, Hadley begged to watch. it dawned on me that she’s equating this video and your last one with the times when she lies next to me as i play. i shall have to go spend some time doing that with her now : – )