Summer Style: Well-Dressed Pasta Salad, Lemonade, Five Easy Fresh Tomato Recipes & Front Garden Floral Displays

A capacious bowl of cold pasta salad is not only delicious like its steaming counterpart, there's also the benefit of a nice dose of resistant starch because letting pasta cool down, also cools down blood sugar spikes. Just mix ingredients, pop in fridge, sleep on it overnight, and the next day you got one lovely, exceedingly well-marinaded, and tasty concoction. If you made a hefty amount, it'll be there for you after doing chores or when you watch a video or welcoming you once the gardening is done for the day and beyond as it gets more flavourful through time. Since the dressing is what's going to permeate the pasta and give it an alluring oomph, choose ingredients you love. In my case: minced garlic, grated Parmesan, capers (Oh, how I adore thee!), olive oil, lemon juice, fresh basil, and silky, tart yogurt.

Romas from our potager are perfect for this salad as they are more meaty than juicy

For two meal-sized servings or four to six smaller ones: fistfuls of penne, 6; roma tomatoes, 8-10; yogurt, 8 T; extra virgin olive oil, 2 T; freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon; capers, 2 T; chopped fresh basil, 1 heaping T; finely grated Parmesan, 8 T; 2-4 garlic cloves, minced; salt (I used several tsp) and freshly ground black pepper (I did about 8 turns of the mill) to taste.  Toss penne into boiling water which should take about 12 minutes to become al dente, the perfect consistency for salads. Put all other ingredients except tomatoes into a large bowl. Whisk for about a minute.

No whisk chez vous?  A fork will do just fine instead.

Drain the pasta and let cold water run over the strainer so the penne does not cook any further. Give the strainer a few good shakes and then plop pasta into the bowl with the dressing. Can't be bothered to dig out a strainer or you don't have one? It's summer; let's keep it simple and easy. Use a slightly ajar lid or a plate to let out the water and keep the pasta in, fill with cold water, and drain again. Mix pasta and dressing well. Chop tomatoes and add to the dressed salad. Check seasoning. Remember that as it chills, the impact of seasoning fades a bit so it needs a generous hand. Cover and put in fridge for at least an hour. It goes well with lemonade, but then again most summery comestibles do: put 2-3 tablespoons of sugar in bottom of a glass (296 ml/10 oz), scant cover with hot tap water, stir till dissolved, add juice of a large lemon along with enough icy-cold water to bring the 'ade to the rim. During the summer we keep several water bottles in the fridge rather than bother with making ice cubes. If you got them, then float a few in your glass especially if the temperature is scorching.

Lemon waiting to be turn into 'ade

It's that time of the year when The Calm One and I get to enjoy tomatoes fresh from the potager every day till autumn. 

Here are some of our favourite dishes:

We put thinly sliced tomatoes on top of macaroni and cheese, add more cheese, and then broil till tomatoes are more sauce than not and cheese is bubbly.

Topping is a mix of edam and cheddar

The big ones, cored and stuffed with a mixture of chopped pulp, minced tuna/shrimp/chicken, and mayonnaise, are served over couscous.

Thickly sliced toms are placed on a bed of cooked brown rice which are sprinkled with olive oil, basil, parmesan, then put under the broiler.

Medium-sized, hollowed-out tomatoes are filled with a raw egg while the chopped pulp is placed on a bed of cooked couscous along with the filled toms, sprinkled with olive oil, thyme, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and baked covered for about twenty minutes.

They are added to salads and sandwiches, especially grilled cheese.

Pan-Grilled Tomato Basil Cheddar Sourdough Rye Sandwich

Potted tuberous begonias and dahlias which were started several months ago are brightening up our front entrance. Additionally, the cascading begonias are scenting that area with their remarkable, black-tea-morphing-into-grapefruit fragrance. Late July and August often see a dearth of flowers, so long-blooming varieties like these two, especially potted and placed in full view, can carry the garden into autumn. Since these beauties are working so hard and are not in the ground, they get a liquid feed weekly.

Deadheading in general is a good habit but is essential for showcased, potted flowers

À la prochaine!

RELATED LINK

The grand history of breeding fragrant begonias

Summer Break

Souped-up Garden will return in August. Take care, have fun, and keep cool.

Gardening, Like Life, Is All About Change

Last week saw a heat wave, this week is witness to cool temps and lots of showers.

Spruce, clouds, and a patch of blue

Eli the Kitten knows how to keep dry.

A nook in The Calm One's office

As does Dirac the Cat.

When there is a break between downpours, I head on out. The rain is so much better for various young vegetables than my valiant attempts at watering.

Can't beat beets!

Parsnips, which are wonderful, cream-coloured root vegetables with a sweet and earthy taste, have many a month of maturing ahead of them.

Its leaves bear a resemblance to another umbellifer, celery

Rhubarb thrives on moisture, so it's happy.

Sweet red peppers are already forgetting the scorching heat.

Though I will rig up some kind of protection against the sun for its tender flesh

Felines may adore catnip, but I suspect they love the smell of petrichor even more.

Beefsteak tomatoes as they grow are being twirled around the tuteurs

The peach and fig trees are as relieved as I am that they don't have to rely just on my spritzing them with a hose.

Laurel hedge, peach tree, & fig tree (upper right) 

As do Shasta daisies and hydrangeas.

À la prochaine!

Heat Wave Smoothie!

Temperatures are staying high, around 40 degrees C/100 degrees F. Thank goodness for thick stone walls, terracotta roofing tiles, and window shutters. Daily watering is required so the potager behind the house gets drenched in the mornings and the front/side gardens are soaked in the evening. Hand watering is opted instead of sprinklers because there is less wastage plus I can determine which plant needs how much. Calla lilies and fruiting stock receive a lot. Lavender and Rose of Sharon are drought-resistant so not a drop for them.

Iris foliage, potato, and tomato beds

Blackberries are ripening. Enough were harvested to make a smoothie!

Making a bee-line for the cool sous-sol, I passed one of the ivy-covered pillars supporting the pergola and noted this golden leaf amidst the green. Though lovely, it could be a sign of heat stress.

Like many in our quartier, I remain in the house during the rise of sweltering heat as the day unfolds. It's a good 10 degrees cooler there, and in the sous-sol, even more. But still, much better not to turn on the oven or use the stove if possible. Using a stick-mixer, I blended the blackberries picked earlier along with almond meal, a very ripe banana, lemon juice, yogurt, and some ice-cold water. The mixture was sieved and then quaffed down.

In the late evening, I ventured out to water the front and side gardens. Besides hauling hoses and watering cans, I needed to take care of a trembling house sparrow fledgling that was on the hot concrete path underneath the eaves where many nests are tucked away. Sliding a paper towel under the fluffy one, I took it to a shady spot to check for injuries (since birds have no sense of smell, the parents will never know that I touched their offspring). As far as I could make out, its wings could spread out to flutter, and its feet were in working order. The trembling had stopped. It was then carried over to some bushes near its suspected nest and placed under them. Hopefully everything worked out for that avian family. House sparrows have around four clutches in succession during the season which keeps the Mom occupied at home. Hence it usually is the Dad who brings food to the little ones on the ground while they strengthen their wings by flapping them and hopping about. And the heat is a stressor for them so keep those bird baths full, clean, and cool (freeze water in a bowl, place in bath, and as the ice melts, it refills and freshens).

Rock, lavender, Shasta daisies, abelia, and purple plum tree

A pot of dahlias is starting to put out blooms. Several months ago, once the weather was warm enough, two tubers were place in a medium-sized pot filled halfway with loosely packed potting mix which was kept slightly moist since they easily rot. As stems shot up, more mix was added.

Where there are flowers, there are pollinators.

The garden on the west side of the house, and where the baby sparrow was put, boasts of a nice clump of daylilies.

They put out many stems with a lot of buds. Each flower lasts just a day, hence their name.

One more bloom to go!

The Desperado variety wows. I love the delicate, maroon edging.

À la prochaine!

Maintaining One's Cool

A hot spell has started in the southwest of France and will continue for at least a week. Shade-loving plants invite you to come out of the heat and spend some time in their haven of freshness. Several months ago, I lightly covered three fragrant, cascading tuberous begonia bulbs with potting mix. Each were given a separate pot of around 20 cm/8 inch diameter. They were kept warm and slightly moist until the weather became mild which is when they were put outside in the shade until their foliage appeared. They then could have been planted directly in the ground or as in my case kept in pots. In the latter instance, the frost-tender bulbs do not have to be dug up but just brought indoors during the winter. Blooming heavily from early summer through autumn, tuberous begonias beckon with their soothing perfume, gorgeous flowers, and stunning leaves. Not to mention they thrive in gloomy areas of the garden.

A potted begonia nestled in the deep recess of a small sous-sol window

Any horticultural specimen that can bush out in verdant lushness, whether in the sun or the shade, is a welcomed sight in the parched garden.

Beauty bush (it recently flowered) and lavender. 

Green is not the only garden coolant, so are blue and purple.

The fabulous heuchera Stormy Seas.  Purple stems carry delicate clusters of tiny, creamy flowers

Since Eli the Kitten is a feline, he has built-in cool which guides him into shady nooks.

A heuchera and candy tuft sandwich with Eli the Kitten filling

High temperatures can't make a dent in the exuberant green of the laurel hedge.

Peach and fig trees are in the background

Twenty-four cuttings were taken from the hedge about a week ago. Each one was dipped in rooting hormone, had their leaves clipped in half to prevent evaporation until roots are formed, and placed in incubators outside under the pergola to keep the humidity high and afford protection from the sun. In a few weeks, when new foliage shows, they will be planted in two nursery beds. Not this autumn, but next, they will increase the length of the existing hedge.

The vents are kept open at present because of the heat

Mostly unripe, but some blueberries are turning, well, blue.

Yes, I am depriving the house sparrows by using netting! But it's green and cool.

Even reds can appear cool if they are blue-reds.

Lacecap hydrangea keeping its cool in the shade

Under the boxelder and purple-leaved cherry plum trees, coolness abounds. The asters and Japanese anemones are leafing out well. In the fall, they will softly light up the shade with their blues and pinks. Until then, the asters are sporadically pinched back as to avoid staking.

Ivy growing up the tree trunks increases the green quotient 

David Austin's fragrant Falstaff climber thrives in the sun, but with its quartered, purple-red blooms, brings a touch of cool regardless. The best colours for roses in hot climes are the deeper tones as they tend not to fade as the lighter-coloured ones do.

Cool velvet!

À la prochaine!

Baby Beet Greens, Peas, Garlic, Parmesan Farfalle

The Calm One was out shopping for pasta he uses in his three pasta/three cheeses mac 'n cheese: penne, corkscrews, and pipes. Reaching for a box, he saw that it was already opened. So he reached for another, and that one also was unsealed. So he wriggled his long arms even higher, so high that when he grappled with a hopefully sealed package, he heard a crash on the other side of the aisle. Chastened, he hastily put it in the cart and after noting that the closure was intact, made a speedy getaway. And that is how we get to try new things. As the pasta was farfalle.

Rise, O steam!

Harvesting peas is a Goldilocks endeavour. The pod needs to be plump, but not so much that every molecule of air is replaced with pea. In other words, the pod should not be completely rigid but still a bit pliant.

Peas over a certain size will not be as sweet. The perfect pea placement is when they are just touching each other.

Beet seed naturally forms clusters so no matter how carefully it is sowed, there will be an opportunity to harvest baby beet greens by thinning, leaving about 10 cm (four inches) between beets so the rest can develop into ruby beauties.

I prefer young and even older beet greens to spinach in terms of taste and texture

Ingredients are in bold. For one serving, put a couple of fistfuls of farfalle in boiling water. Contrary to traditional advice, use just the amount of water to cover as giving the pasta the room to swim does not do anything necessary and takes more time to bring to a boil, plus a more flavoured water makes a better sauce. Cook for ten minutes. Toss in a handful of shelled fresh peas. Simmer for a few minutes or until the peas and pasta are mostly done as their cooking will continue in the sauce. Keep a few tablespoons of cooking water aside. Drain and reserve. In the same pot, saute a minced garlic clove over low heat in a tablespoon of olive oil for about a minute or until fragrant. No browning please! Toss in a handful of chopped baby beet greens. Stir until tender, just a few minutes. Add the pasta water or in my case a combo of pasta water and chicken stock. Stir in the pasta and peas, coating them with the sauce. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. If the peas and pasta are getting overcooked, pour out any remaining liquid and give the dish a final stir over the heat. Salt to taste and serve with freshly grated Parmesan and freshly milled black pepper. I thoroughly enjoyed scoffing it down as it tasted FRESH! Thank goodness for the potager.

You are looking for a glazing effect not a soupy one

Lavender out in the front garden fills the air with its fragrance.

A pollinator busy at work.

Though expansive garden vistas are lovely, I tend to gravitate towards a peekaboo perspective giving a layered view: Queen Elizabeth rose, a veggie bed, and lavender.

There are not many strawberries left to harvest, but luscious raspberries make up for the slack. Most days there are enough for a morning feast with cereal or for dessert or for a late night snack.

The first daylily opened a bud the other day. Each day there will be new flowers hence their name.

One of our five plants

À la prochaine!