Garden to Mouth

Snapping a sugar snap pea right off the vine and crunching its sweetness between my teeth sparked something in me last weekend.  It was right before the sun was thinking about setting and the breeze floated across my skin, influencing tiny uniform bumps along my arms.  Or perhaps the mid-summer epiphany caused the goosebumps:  I will have a garden.  My own vegetable and fruit garden with tidy rows of onions shooting their floppy green ribbons up from the dirt; vertical ropes of pepper plants; snakes of watermelon vines with embryonic green-striped growths; patches of vibrant, multi-colored lettuces; and tarp-covered sections of hidden, dusty baby potatoes.

View picture above for 3 potato varieties dug up from a friend’s garden in rural Maryland:  Beautiful, earthy brown potatoes with deep crevices and intense golden flesh; juicy, round red-skinned potatoes; and small, majestic, violet spuds.  For a simple, sultry summer dish, thinly slice potatoes, sprinkle with aromatic chopped garlic and finely chopped fresh sage and oregano, top with luscious, overripe tomatoes, and finish with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.  Pour approximately 1/3 cup broth in bottom of pan.  Bake in a 375° F degree oven for 35 minutes, until top is light golden brown and sides looks crispy.  Sumptuous   summertime dinner paired with green salad.  It’s the simple things...