Fresh from the Garden

I love summer. I love gardening and green growing things (well maybe not the poison ivy.... I think I could live without it lol). The garden is growing strong. Flowers are blooming everywhere. It's just simply beautiful.

It never ceases to amaze me that you can take a single tiny seed, nurture it, let nature take it's course, have faith and hopefully with a little luck, rain, and blessings from above watch it grow into something beautiful that will either nourish the soul, the body, or both. *smile*

I never thought I could have such strong feelings about something so simple as a salad. Just knowing exactly where each and every leaf in your salad came from, that you planted, nurtured, and watched those little leaves grow, that you picked them with your own two hands and that just minutes ago it was growing in the ground and is now on your plate. It is just simply amazing to me still (and not to mention tasty too). ;)

Here are some of the goodies from the garden we enjoyed this week. :)

tuna, purslane, and chive salad on a fresh bed of buttercrunch

lettuce, topped with tomatoes, asiago cheese, raw sunflower seeds,
raw peas, nasturtium leaves, and green goddess dressing

an assortment of fresh baby salad greens, buttercrunch lettuce leaves,
and baby rainbow chard leaves, topped with roasted pecans, a blend
of mozzarella and asiago cheese, sweet dried cranberries,
juicy ripe freshly picked black raspberries, and green goddess dressing

lightly toasted french bread with a spread of whipped cream cheese
and topped with a mixture of diced fresh basil, oregano,
and chives tossed in olive oil

and on the drying rack: sage, thyme, lemon balm, mint, lavender, and stevia