It is that time of year again when the backyard garden is producing goodies. Tomatoes, green beans, broccolini, cauliflower, peppers and cucumber are ready for harvest. Fresh herbs from the garden are always available. Beet will be another few weeks. Another crop of lettuce is growing too from seeds planted last week. What could be better than walking to your backyard and picking the vegetables to have for lunch and supper?
My husband and I eat vegetables and fruit every day. How we eat them changes with the season.
Now, salads are the stars of the menu with homemade dressings. Quinoa salad containing roasted vegetables is delicious with such dressing and is a new favourite this year.
Fruit in combination with vegetables is new for us. Today we are having a pineapple, cucumber, avocado and onion salad. We quite like watermelon salad with spinach, onion and feta with a lime dressing too. The combination of fruit and vegetables is tasty and there are endless ideas on-line.
We always experiment with the combinations of course. Recipes on-line are a great starting point for your own combinations of favourite vegetables or fruit. We often add avocado and tomatoes. My husband likes cucumber. We prefer blanched cauliflower and broccoli to the raw vegetables, a bit of crunch but easier to chew.
Prepared salad dressing hasn’t been in our shopping cart for a long time. Making our own is so much better, leaving out the chemical preservatives and using combinations of fresh citrus, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, honey, olive oil and balsamic vinegar which have so much flavour. We go easy on the salt and use pepper liberally.
The garden produce gives the wallet a break for a few weeks. The prices in the grocery store are on the rise and our income is not. This time of year, with produce so readily available, one would think the prices of fruit and vegetables would be lower. That isn’t the case. A large package of cherry tomatoes a few weeks ago was almost $9.00, more than we paid last winter. Eating fruit and vegetables isn’t cheap. Our grocery bill will be lower for the next month with our home grown vegetables. Besides, time in the garden is good for the mind and body.
Restaurant food has lost its appeal for us. Every so often we eat out but we always enjoy coming back to our homemade fare. Time has made us less appreciative of convenient and easy, leaning more towards our own tastes and preferences, good old homemade! Home-grown is the added bonus.
23 comments:
Plentiful bounty!
: )
What bountiful, mouth watering vegetables you have. Home grown is definitely the tastiest. I love the sound of your combination salads and dressings.
ooooh i could not agree more!! it is so fun to go outside and decide what you will have for dinner!! home grown has so much more flavor too!! our garden has been awesome this year, it looks like yours is as well!!
we still buy bottled dressings but i have been seeing a lot of nice homemade recipes. i may start going that route as well!!
How lovely to have outdoor space for vegetables. Nothing better than fresh from the garden. They look wonderful.
You and your husband eat much the same as we do - lots and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. We like the watermelon with feta and lime salad, too, but I've never thought of adding spinach to it - will try that some time. You are so right about the cost of groceries! Enjoy the bounty of your garden.
My parents would grow a select variety of vegetables, stuff that wasn't always available in the grocery store. And that would end up in the basement freezer for over the winter.
Nothing like vegetables that come right out of the soil. You have a good variety and a good crop.
That looks like a great garden! Ours hasn't done as well this year, but fresh veggies we buy on a farm are working well for us!
Homegrown and home made: Yes!
Impressive cauliflower.
Coffee is on and stay safe
Hello,
Homegrown is the best! It is nice to walk out in your yard for your fresh picked veggies. Your plants are looking healthy and beautiful.
Take care, enjoy your weekend!
I cannot remember the last time we bought salad dressing. We always make our own. Sometimes it's as simple as oil and vinegar. Judging by the price of cherry tomatoes the cost of produce on PEI seems to be quite a bit higher than here in Ontario. Yesterday i paid $4.99 for grape tomatoes, the same for a punnet of Niagara peaches.we haven't grown vegetables for years so we don't have the pleasure of picking our own.
Homegrown food just tastes so much better, well done. Lovely set of photos. Sorry I have not been visiting, I just seem to be extra busy. I am taking photos but not much time to go through them!
Keep safe, Diane
You are good! Home grown vegetables and fruits are the best-I just made raspberry juice and it tasted delicious
Wonderful post!
You just reminded me it's time to harvest our green beans, too. I loved our beets this year, and I should plant some more, but I probably won't. I'm feeling a bit lazy these days.
Home grown and freeze
Produce is expensive, and doesn't seem to last very long.
We have not grown a garden for years. But when I used to , I always found it such a thrill to pick the crops. I would go out every morning to see what was new. Such fun . Enjoy your produce.
I enjoy the same veg/fruit combinations that you do Marie, but I can't step into the back garden to pick them unfortunately. I would love to start a veg garden as wonderful as yours and maybe one day I will 😉
Are you pputting up the veggies for the coming winter?
"The garden produce gives the wallet a break for a few weeks. The prices in the grocery store are on the rise and our income is not." I certainly agree with this statement, Marie. I try to buy fresh veggies at the local farmers' markets in our rural area. I grew up eating homegrown vegetables and I miss having a garden to eat from. You motivated me to make some homemade salad dressings. I don't like most of the ones I purchase in the store. Love your photographs.
Oh this is mouthwatering post indeed dear Marie :)
each bit of it reminded me my mother and her garden full of such splendid healthy vegetables !
so true about the free of sprays veggies ,market veggies specially spinach and cauliflower hard to rely on anymore ,i wash them in many waters ,sometimes i boil them ,i loved how you grow and prefer homegrown veggies .
we too prefer eating home unless in journey
Your vegetable garden looks wonderful. It's been years since I grew vegetables and I miss it but we are not in a good location to grow them anymore. Enjoy your bounty.
What wonderful veg! We have tomatoes and chillies, but nothing else.
I'm afraid I am very boring with salad. I need to be more adventurous like you.
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