Meal: Our Herb Garden
We planted our garden just before the wedding planning got crazy, then became its absentee landlords during weekend planning trips, honeymoons, and other weddings. Between weeks of neglect, and Lena’s “early harvest’ of our onion, beet, carrot, and pea seedbeds (she dug a foot-deep trench through it), I had nearly given up hope.
But earlier this week, after yet another weekend away from what was left of the garden, I noticed Lena gnawing on a big green roma tomato. Lo and behold, several more had managed to swell beneath the undergrowth. So I ran out, grabbed a couple of stakes, and opened them up to more of the ripening sun. Now they just have to beat the frost.
We had no idea what perennials and bulbs had been planted by our predecessors, and there was only so much mulching could do to clean up the beds. As it happened, there was a whole lot of morning glory looking to climb a trellis we had removed, so instead it strangled the herb garden (pictured). But I noticed that our herbs were hanging on among the weeds. It looked like there were salvageable leaves of rosemary, sage, basil, and oregano, along with hearty stands of fennel, peppermint, and (thanks to Spot’s tending) catnip. Autumn had worked late pulling together her classroom, and I smelled an opportunity.
I threw some frozen gorgonzola-walnut and sundried tomato-cheese ravioli from the Real Food Store into a pot, and picked some herbs. The rosemary and sage went into a saucepan with browning butter, then over the gorgonzola ravioli. The basil and oregano went into a simmering can of crushed tomatoes (alas, not our own), then over the sundried-tomato ravioli. Delicious. Next month we’ll have tomatoes, and next year veggies, but this week herbs will do.
August 21st, 2004 at 11:39 am
Sounds excellent, and sadly familiar. We’ve resorted to telling ourselves that fresh herbs are the most important thing of all. With those, you can make anything you buy at the store taste fantastic. Jen and I had a very unsuccessful garden this year as well. But last night, we used fresh mint, oregano, and thyme from our herb garden and it helped us forget about the sad little tomatoes we have shriveling on the vine. I say: Viva los Herbs! (Only I don’t say it out loud, in case someone who actually speaks Spanish might here me).