I'm one lucky lady.  Why?  Because my friends are excellent cooks.  In fact, I choose not to be friends with people who don't love to cook.  I mean, what's the point?  And when the friends who love to cook also grow a lot of their own ingredients, and it's summer, well, who knows what feast awaits us.

So I'll tell you about tonight's amazing dinner. Bobby and Eric, who live (at least sometimes) in Alford, served an 8-course meal, much of which came from right outside their kitchen window.  We always have a grand time at dinner, but tonight was super special because the food had just come into the house and couldn't be fresher or more delicious.

Imagine a menu that reads like this:  (*means from their garden)

Eric's July 9 Salad of avocado, grapefruit and cucumber* with pine nuts and EVOO (well, okay, avocado and grapefruit aren't local but the cucumbers are)

Bobby's mixed bag Caesar Salad with homegrown red* and romaine* lettuces

Grilled Swordfih with housemade pesto from home grown basil*

Grilled baby zucchini* with zucchini flowers*

Brown rice

Braised kale*

Housemade frozen goat yogurt with homegrown blueberries*

Nasty note--mushy watermelon from Taft Farms - nyet and yuck

As the summer months progress, more and more of our meals will come from the garden and they'll just get better and more copious and everyone will be happy.  Particularly me.  Just so you know.

I owe you another post about the pickling beets experience through which I just suffered.  And the chive infused vinegar I'm giving out as party favors at my next dinner party.  But it's late and I'm off to bed so that post will have to wait til morning.  G'night.