This month didn’t require much traveling so I’ve been in town and cooking. When I cook for guests, I sometimes post the results of my efforts. What seldom gets posted is what I eat when I have the time to cook for myself. Recently I received an email asking me, “When you are at home, what do you like to cook for yourself?”
The answer is that I will spend hours cooking for one or two rather than eat something sub-standard. I’m lucky to have the time to indulge in that type of cooking. I have access to really fresh and flavorful ingredients and I have neighbors and associates who willingly and generously share food.
However, when I’m tired and hanging around my office writing or formulating a recipe, I like a simple yet fortifying meal. As summer comes to a close, I will miss the freshness that our home garden yields to us daily.
In tribute to homegrown, or even just fresh farmers market, foods I made a Garden Salad for dinner tonight. I will miss those succulent red tomatoes as the weather begins to chill and I’ll miss those hand harvested sunflower seeds. The lettuce will give way to cruciferous substitutes like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower for the fall and winter months, but in the absence of these foods my anticipation for next summer will grow.
Oh, and let’s not forget the spring bounty of goodness too! Since this is the last of the summer salads for a while I loaded it with fats and ate it all by myself. The photos are before I drenched it with homemade ranch dressing so you can enjoy all that crispness and fresh color.
