That's what you get from nature even when you 'forget' about it. Our garden is in a wild state, oh yes. Since baby arrived all priorities have shifted and he's obviously become the first of those. Second has to be my husband and third the Montessori teacher training course. In the fourth position comes all the rest, which includes our garden. Back in spring we planted it with some tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, various herbs and rhubarb. Some other plants were already on site, like blackberries, raspberries, plums, grapes and one unhappy strawberry plant. We basically neglected all of them pretty badly (not a good start, I know, but I realize more and more that I haven't got super powers yet and hubby is way too busy right now to lend a hand) so we thought we'd not harvest much at all. The wet summer we've had so far didn't make things look more glamourous. But, GUESS WHAT, nature had one surprise after the other in store for us!
Not a day goes by, without me filling a bowl with berries! And what to say about Marigolds and Nasturtiums? And the might pineapple sage that's looking gigantic? There's then the rocket patch, the juicy plums that have come and gone in no time (delicious!) and yup, even some tomatoes and now we're waiting for the slooow bell peppers to reach their adulthood, hah!
Pretty awesome stuff, I tell you! This just makes me wonder what we could gather if only I dedicated more time to tending to our veggie patch... That's the plan anyway, so time and effort will bring an answer to my question.
Anyway, I'm two times lucky as my lovely parents enjoy growing green stuff in their field too, so the recipe I'm posting below owes its coming to life to them. It's full of summery feeling (the green and yellow zucchini) and a hint of the autumn that's fast approaching (the pumpkin: one of my all time favourite vegetables!) plus a bonus from my wild garden: marigold petals, lemon balm and peppermint.
So here's a summer salad that's pretty darn easy to whip up with just a bit of organizing due to the longer cooking time needed for the brown rice. I made quite a bit so that I could eat leftovers which are pretty handy with a 4-month-old requiring almost constant attention. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
THREE SQUASH - BROWN RICE SALAD
1 green zucchini (courgette)
1 big or 2 small yellow zucchini
1 small pumpkin (like the blue skinned ones)
3 cups of brown rice
half a cup of sunflower seeds
half a cup of hemp seeds
lemon balm and peppermint leaves to taste, chopped
petals of 5 marigolds plus one for garnishing
1 tbsp of good quality olive oil
salt
While the brown rice cooks in a pot of boiling water (about 45 mins), wash, chop into small cubes and steam the three squashes. They won't take long, according to the size of the cubes, about 7 mins to get them 'al dente'. I did put the yellow zucchini one minute earlier though, because it was a little bit tougher than the rest. Also, lightly toast the sunflower and hemp seeds in a small non stick pan.
Once both the rice and the squashes are cooked, drain and let cool down a bit, then mix them all in a big bowl together with the rest of the ingredients and let it sit on the counter until it's cold enough to transfer into the fridge. Eat as is or pack it up for a pic nic with extra nuts and seeds to feel fully satisfied with just one delicious bowl!
The marigolds add a touch of sunshine, which is most welcome here these days, and a fresh nutty taste. Gotta love 'em!
Friday is 'Ferragosto', bank holiday here in Italy and almost every business or shop shuts, activities come to a stall and if you break your car this week you most likely need to wait until the next. You see how almost every Italian person stops this week. Literally. Even if you want to avoid it, Ferragosto drops on your head like a brick. Most italians will then try and go somewhere on holiday (with the usual traffic jams on the motorways) or stay at home and eat watermellon. Needless to say, we'll be at home, eating the watermellons that my parents always so kindly supplied us with and playing with Diego whilst looking around us and dreaming our future garden and house. It's not so bad after all, is it?
