First Cuke Harvest and Cucumber Trellis

It’s official. I’ve picked my first two pickling cukes of the year. I want it noted for the record that I did share one of the cucumbers with Rob. They were so delicious. I love cucumbers. They’ve been my favorite ever since I was a kid. My grandpa used to have a big garden every year. I remember going over there and heading straight for the garden to see if there were any cucumbers to pick.

This is the first year I am growing English or Burpless cucumbers. Here’s one starting to grow:

The cucumbers are doing really well this year and growing like crazy. We built a cucumber trellis this past weekend so they don’t overtake the entire raised garden bed.

My Green Zebra tomatoes are doing good. They should be ready soon. I can’t wait.

Garden Update

This year we are starting off small since it is the first summer in our house. I’ve got two 4′ x 8′ raised garden beds and a bunch of containers on the patio. I’m growing several types of pepper including green, yellow, and orange bell peppers, and melrose, habanero, and jalapeno peppers. I’m also growing pickling cukes and trying my hand at growing English cucumbers.  There’s also eggplant, radishes, carrots, lavender, basil, Thai basil, lemongrass, red kale, and two types of beans (green – bush and purple), and  a couple types of lettuce. I also have a few varieties of tomatoes including a few heirloom. This is my first year growing Green Zebra tomatoes, which are one of my favorites.

Now for some pictures, which I took probably two weeks ago.

Green Zebra Tomato:

Roma Tomato – I can’t wait to make fresh salsa:

Lavender:

Orange Bell Pepper – not orange yet:

Lettuce:

Cucumber:

Raised Garden Bed – Cucumbers and Peppers. I am building a cucumber trellis this week:

Black Eyed Susan Flowers:

Palm Sedge – I planted some of these front when I ripped out all the hideous and half-dead shrubs the previous owner had:

First harvest from the garden (aside from some basil) – Yellow Bell Pepper. I actually harvested two. I fried them up with some onions and put them on top of a Tofurky Kielbasa in a bun. Rob added Bubbies Sauerkraut to his.

Pizza with Onions, Peppers, and “Sausage”

I can’t believe it’s July already! I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t been making many new dishes. One of my favorite stand-by dishes is vegan pizza. I usually make 4 pizzas so we have plenty for dinner and for our lunches for the next couple of days.  It’s even great for breakfast. As you can tell, by the time I get home from work and start dinner, I am not too picky if my square pizza is a bit more free form.

I topped this pizza with onions, melrose peppers, and the “sausage” is the Italian Sausage Style Seitan from Upton’s Naturals, which is a locally made product.  The “cheese” is Vegan Gourmet – Follow Your Heart.