David's Plate: The Garden

I have always loved nature, always trumpeted the belief that, "outside is better than inside." Watching my parents toil each spring in their garden, I suspected that I too would someday tend my own garden. I did not imagine myself reaping quite the same joy as they seemed to. Still, with my love of the land, the forest, and the wilderness, it seemed inevitable that, when I did begin to garden, it would be something I would enjoy.

Such a garden came into fruition this May. My small porch is now adorned with a row of window boxes, and my outside steps carry terracotta saucers and pots. It will not surprise my readers that food provided the impetus for this garden, and everything that I planted, while pleasant to look at and sit beside, is edible. More specifically, I should say that I planted an herb garden. Along with your standard parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, I planted chives, cilantro, mint, chervil, Thai basil and seven common basils (with two more to come).

I also bought a small red table and set of chairs for the porch (they called it a bistro set). Now that the weather is nice, I look forward to enjoying dinner outside in my quaint little herb garden.

This week saw the first use of the new herbs: pierogies with sauteed peppers and onions topped with fresh chervil. This was the main event for Sarah, while Vanessa and I had it on the side with some bratwursts and grainy mustard. Sorry no pictures were taken (my camera needed batteries).

The gals have some plans to plant some vegetables and flowering plants in front of the porch. We really are dealing with a very small place, and do not want to crowd it, but I think it will come out nicely.

Now, because I don't want to leave anybody hanging, here are some food pics from the last couple weeks, completely unrelated, but nonetheless delicious:

Penne in White Wine with Shrimp and Bell Peppers