Saving flavor

The herbs have done so well in the garden this summer. An 8 inch deep pile of thyme twigs in a very low oven yielded this half sheet pan of dried thyme leaves, almost a full pint! The basil, well lets just say this photo is the 4th harvest with no sign of things slowing down. I am giving bouquets away.

Otherwise things are slowing down. The early warm nights means few tomato blossoms setting fruit, and the beans never recovered from the virus that hit them early on. I have an Italian edible gourd plant going wild though.
You eat the buds and young leaves!

Foraging and harvesting

Here at the coast in July I am lucky enough to be able both to harvest from my gardens and to forage from local waters. Right now that means steamed blue crabs and seemingly unlimited cucumbers and tomatoes. Especially cucumbers.

Finally

As many of you know, it has taken awhile for tomatoes to ripen this year. They are ripening now, and I have cherry and grape tiny ones, plus orange, striped, and chocolate full sized ones maturing. They will make a daily dinner standby when mixed with the overly abundant basil and daily cucumber harvest.

I welcome them, as it has not been a very good garden for me this spring. The littler dog ate the tops off the pea plants daily, so I didn't bother to react to an aphid infestation that led to their final demise. Despite a strong start, my beans puckered and yellowed, it looks like a virus, and stopped producing after the first few tasty harvests. They have new flowers now, so we will see.

Some seasons are just better than others. I have high hopes for the remaining items I will tend this summer, and for the bounty I will buy at county farms.