Our first blackberries of the season with greek yogurt, raw honey and almonds.  Yummier.

I have about 2 lbs right now and I think I may have to try a strawberry buckle.  What the hell is a buckle?  I’ve been asked that so many times.  I’m originally a midwest girl and my west coast friends just don’t understand.  But, once I feed it to them, there’s no going back.  A buckle is basically coffee cake with fruit.  Here’s my FAVORITE recipe.  It’s for Rhubarb Buckle, but I think I will try to sub the rhubarb for strawberries.  How can you go wrong?  Seriously, try this.  It’s soooo good.  Skip the buttermilk and just use a mix of yogurt and milk if you are like me and don’t keep buttermilk around.  And, because I’m naughty, I make extra streusel and skip the oats.

I tended to my garden, watched the neighborhood bald eagles fly over, threw the ball at least 10,000 times for Lulu and watched the countless boats on the lake.  It’s been absolutely wonderful.  The sun is a wonderful thing.

I could literally watch my little vegies pop up and grow overnight.  They just needed a little heat.  We are all so happy.  No guilty feelings here.  Plus, doesn’t the world end tomorrow?  So, I guess it’s OK that I took some time to enjoy : ).

So, on to my fingerling potatoes.  I harvested some absolutely adorable little fingerlings a while back and decided to roast them up and make a yummy yogurt sauce – I love potatoes with yogurt!  Such a tangy and light alternative to sour cream.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Tarragon Yogurt

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs of fingerling potatoes (or something like that)
several fresh Tarragon sprigs
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Tarragon Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup lowfat plain yogurt
2 heaping Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Mayonaise (don’t judge me : ))
2 Tbsp fresh, chopped tarragon leaves
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 450.  Cut your potatoes in half, lengthwise.  Toss them in a bowl or right on a sheet pan with the olive oil, tarragon sprigs and salt and pepper.  Roast for about 30 minutes or until fork tender.  Remove the tarragon sprigs when you’re done.

For the sauce – just mix everything up and pour or dip your potatoes in it.  Delicious.

I have lots of absolutely beautiful beets and my favorite way to eat them is roasted with goat cheese in some way, shape or form.  Here’s a recipe for the Roasted Beet and Beet Green Salad I made the other day:

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch of beets
2 Tbsp fresh oregano (any herb would work)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Greens from the beets
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Arugula
1/2 log of chevre goat cheese
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts

Preheat your oven to 425.  Use a vegetable peeler to peel the beets and then cut them into about 1″ pieces.  I find it much easier to peel them before roasting them – and a lot less messy!  Toss those beets in a bowl or right on your sheet pan with the olive oil, oregano and some salt and pepper.  Roast for about 45 minutes or until fork tender.

Once your beets are done, heat a large saute pan over medium heat with 1 Tbsp or so of olive oil.  Add your greens and saute until wilted.  Add a bit of salt and pepper and a squirt of lemon juice.

Lay down your arugula in bowls or plates and add just a squirt of lemon, a dash of olive oil and salt and pepper to season your greens.  Top the arugula with a scoop of the wilted greens, a scoop of those gorgeous beets, crumble on some goat cheese and top with pine nuts.  Super yummy.  Should serve 2.

See those beautiful potatoes in the background?!  Next up is my Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Tarragon Yogurt…YUM!

I can’t believe I have beets, potatoes, and apples already!  Long gone are the days of snap peas…That’s the magic of growing all these wonderful vegetables.   Things look different every time I harvest.  It’s so much fun…I’m like a proud mama when I go out there to check on how everyone is doing.  Even though it’s mid August I still have so much summer goodness to look forward to.  MORE zucchini, peppers, tomatoes…oh, all sorts of goodies.  What are you growing?

I started with coffee out in the garden.  Watering, weeding and finding little bugs to photograph who call my garden home.  The morning sun is so beautiful.

Next, I was off to the park with Lulu for a sloooow run in the sun.  A run just for fun – not to challenge myself or push myself – just because it feels good.  Mount Rainier smiled back at us and it was simply gorgeous morning for the park.  I spend an awful lot of time at the park – running, running the dogs, walking the dogs, swimming the dogs.  I realized today that I have never once just sat down on a bench and just looked at the scenery and relaxed.  So Lulu and I did that today and boy, did it feel good.

Later I loaded up my arms with books, cookbooks, my sketch book, and camera for an afternoon on our rooftop deck to dream up delicious dinners, new jewelry designs and soak up some sun.  I’m still surprised that this is our view from our roof.  On a beautiful day – nothing is more gorgeous.  Feeling lucky…

I also made myself a delicious hazelnut iced latte – not sugar-free, not low fat – just sugary, fatty, caloric goodness.  Well, 2 sugary, fatty, caloric hazelnut lattes…

Then it was back to the garden to harvest some peas, lettuce, baby carrots, broccoli, potatoes and herbs.

Then, it was off to the farmer’s market for the summer fruits and vegies I crave all year.  It’s my favorite time of year for food.  We will be eating well this week!

Now I’m home and ready to head back up to the deck where I can forget the rest of the world exists.  Oh, and I’m bringing my Muddled Strawberry and Lemon Prosecco.  I might have to do this more often : ).

Our peas, greens, broccoli, and  herbs are all growing like mad right now.  So fun!

OK, so the snapdragons aren’t edible – but aren’t they pretty?

More greens, and our huge peas, carrots, beans, beets, eggplant and some other goodies that I hope live : )

Love the color of these nasturtiums too.  They are yummy and peppery and look gorgeous in salads.

I obsessively read gardening blogs and if you are looking for some gardening inspiration, recipes and LOTS of great info, check out these 2 amazing ladies – definitely my favorite reads:

Amy Pennington - Go Go Green Garden

Willi Galloway - Diggin Food