June Gloom

I live in Sunny San Diego where it is perfect every month of the year except for June. The coastal areas of San Diego is plagued with overcast. Usually it burns off by noon, but today it hung out all day.

June gloom effects our mood and our gardens. Everything in the garden grows slowly and its never hot enough. Perfect for winter vegetables such as lettuce, greens, turnips and herbs. I've been struggling with peppers, squashes, tomatoes, corn, melons, cucumber, and eggplants. I started my garden in late April and everything's been growing really slowly. Last year my garden stayed stagnant from late April through mid July, then BOOM everything exploded. Lucky this year I got a lot of good days before the gloom came along.

At the NC Garden my Dragon Tongue Beans were putting off handfuls of beans and the cucumbers were producing at least one a week. The heirloom tomatoes are bursting with flowers and lots of baby tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes are turning brilliant red. Unfortunately, the squash and the melons are still struggling to grow.

The situation is pretty similar at the Surf Club, but the volunteer cherry tomatoes that popped up in February are exploding. The herbs that were transplanted into 50 gallon tubs are look amazing. The winter greens are doing really well also. The salad bed of mixed lettuces, mizuna, cress, arugula, wild rocket arugula, mustard greens, and orach.

So I had a grocery bag full of beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and greens. But the weather made me crave something heartier. I went to the store looking for ingredients and left with cans of white beans, white kidney beans, garbanzo beans, white corn, new potatoes, and a big can of diced tomatoes; 1.5lbs of beef and a huge block of extra sharp cheddar. (I wished I had white heirloom tomatoes to make the stew... but I had to do with canned tomatoes.) On the way out I grabbed a fresh loaf of Kalamata Olive Bread.

I came home and diced up a large red onion and sauteed it with plenty of olive oil. When they start softening add the ground beef and brown it. I added 1 tablespoon of garlic salt and cumin. Right before the juices of the meat completely evaporated I added half a cup of Sauvignon Blanc. Cooked it for a minute then began adding the cans. I added the corn, tomatoes and two cans of white beans w/ juices, white kidney beans, garbanzo, and potatoes without juices and brought to a boil then reduced the heat to simmer it all together. Add a few sprigs of rosemary and oregano. I kept stirring it to keep the bottom from burning. Then added at least four cups of grated cheese into the soup. It was a cheesy bean soup.

With all my fresh produce I tossed together a simple salad. I mixed in fresh basil and cilantro with my homegrown mesclun mix, added chopped cherry tomatoes and cucumber, diagonally sliced beans, and home made goat feta and tossed it together with a bit of olive oil and balsamic.

It was fantastic. I served the salad and soup with toasted slices of the olive bread. The flavors came together really well, each dish supporting the other.

Taco Tuesday

Taco Tuesday is my favorite event of the week. I almost treat it like a religious holiday that must be observed weekly. I've been so busy I've been going out a lot, but this week was Roberto's last Taco Tuesday before going away to Italy so I wanted to make something good. I knew I wanted shrimp, black beans, and rice. Something simple and fast. And this turned out to be one of my fastest Taco Tuesday ever!

I made lemon garlic shrimp and scallop tacos with the meat laying in a warm corn tortilla w/ a mescalin mix salad and fresh cucumber slices topped with a glob of sour cream. Served with cilantro brown rice, and black beans.

Miss. Texas came over and made a superb guacamole. She is the sweetest thing ever... and not a hick. When she started making the guac the avocados were far from ripe but after working her magic and Roberto's expert mashing it came out to be delicious. (I think her choice of serrano chili was the secret.) Ken D made a "rustic" salsa out of home grown cherry tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, red onion, and lime juice.