Thanks for checking in on me while I enjoyed a bit of a summer hiatus. My work and garden have kept me busy and off the computer. What a great summer it has been here, weatherwise that is. Barely a week in total of 90+ temps, beautiful cool nights and sunny days. The lettuce held out a week or two longer and the summer veggies came on late, but they are oh, so delicious!
I put in my first patty pan squash plant that I picked up for 50cents. We have been eating (and sharing) our squash harvest for weeks. I cut them into rough chunks, add some halved tomatoes, toss with some olive oil, s & p and roast over the grill in a grill pan till barely soft and the tomatoes sweeten. Then I serve as a side, or toss into warm pasta with fresh chopped basil and chunks of goat cheese. Yum! What do you do with patty pans? I'd love to hear. Also, somehow lovely dill decided to invade my garden. The result was loads of refrigerator sweet dill pickles and salmon spread. Not bad for a freebie herb. I went light on the tomatoes this year. They take up so much room in my little space and we have a great little farmers' market just down the street every week where I can pick up what we need. One great treasure has been the Rosa Bianco Italian Eggplant. My first attempt at eggplant and what a treat. No bitterness and a smaller fruit, great when there are just 2 of us.
As the summer wains, the basil becomes woody and the squash leaves melt into the soil, I'm getting ready to replant the lettuce and harvest the over abundance of swiss chard. Chard recipes, anyone? High school football begins next week and that means leaf raking will be just around the corner. Having enjoyed a lovely summer I am looking forward to my favorite season, fall.
In the cooking department, I have pictures and blogs waiting to be published. I made a lovely watermelon sorbet, received a fun box of goodies from the Emeril line that I am playing with and have a report on the Demy, a cool kitchen gadget that I was able to preview. All this will be upcoming soon. In the personal department, I am getting ready to start an exciting job with a wonderful company, not sharing details yet, but I will be melding my love of food, horticulture and sales, all in one job! Again, details to come.
As for my obsession. Well, satisfaction was a long time coming. The object of my desire?
Yes, this wonderful secret concoction of herbs, fruits and gin that make up the exquisite Pimm's No 1.
I was first introduced to this libation at The Greenhouse Tavern this past spring. (If you have yet to get there, what are you waiting for? This place is the bomb! He has one of the hottest gigs around and is being written up and down. The food is over-the-top good and they utilize local products. GHT is also the only certified green restaurant in the state!) Their Pimm's Cup cast it's spell on me and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I search and searched for this elusive liqueur in my immediate area, the usual response was one of puzzlement and then looking at me like I had a third eyeball. My "obsession" post referred to my waiting for a Pimm's delivery from an online site. That was a disaster. After tracking the shipment online for days, every day showing that it was scheduled to arrive at the house, the box was finally shipped back to the seller, the wrong zip code was on the package. The seller emailed that they would gladly reship the goods if I payed the shipping cost, again, which was almost the cost of the bottle! I turned down the generous (?) offer and my cost of just the Pimm's was refunded. So, now I was down the shipping fee and still no Pimm's. I emailed Amelia, Chef's Widow, the other half of The Greenhouse Tavern's Chef Jonathon Sawyer, to see where in Cleveland I could find the Pimm's. She was so great to send me the location, and off to the big city I went, procuring 2 bottles. I could barely wait to get them home.
Sadly, the bottles have come and gone, and I must venture back for more. As for my Pimm's Cup recipe of choice? Here's my rendition:
Pimm's No.1 Cup
Place a generous amount of ice in a highball glass. Add 2 oz Pimm's No.1, 4 oz of limonata or Trader Joe's French Market Lemonade, 2 slices of English cucumber, several sprigs of fresh mint (I have lime mint in the garden) and top off with club soda. Relax and enjoy!
Would love to hear your Pimm's stories! Here are some garden pics! Enjoy the last of summer!
BTW, yes, I have also been knitting up a storm! Talk about obsessed!
