One Local Summer - Week 6

Finally, my garden is starting to produce in earnest, with many of this week's veggies coming from just a few feet outside my back door.

I use my Italian vegetarian cookbook all the time, with this week's marinated cauliflower salad a new find. The lighter cauliflower is from my garden, that glorious purple cauliflower is direct from the farmer. I've never seen cauliflower in such a gorgeous hue! I lightly steamed the cauliflower, made a quick vinagrette-type dressing, and tossed in a handful of calamata olives for extra flavor. After a quick one-hour marinade at room temperature, it offered a crunchy, tangy, counterpoint to the rest of the meal.

This is the first year I've successfully grown eggplant! My kids made fun of my little happy dance on the porch when I spied the first fruits, and a friend offered only cheerful disdain regarding my joy over "tasteless purple vegetables," yet I remain undaunted.

I love eggplant!

I sliced the eggplant and some garden-fresh green peppers, brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper before broiling them until browned and tender.

These luscious slices were then layered between homemade bread, with just a tablespoon of olivada (homemade, but imported olives) spread on the bread.

It was heavenly!

I've been dying to make my favorite stuffed tomatoes and finally had enough locally-grown (from about 100-ish miles away in Missouri) and tasty tomatoes to make it worthwhile. The tomatoes are hollowed out and filled with a mixture of homemade breadcrumbs, fresh parsley and basil, salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic. Baked at 375 degrees for 20 minutes they are incredibly flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth terrific.

I can't wait to see what my garden - and my farmer's market! - produces this week!