The Perfect Day

I have spent the last five days in Washington, DC at the Summer Fancy Food Show sponsored by the National Association of Specialty Food Retailers.  This is the largest show in the country and is totally overwhelming!  It was so nice to wake up in my bed and be able to wander out to the garden and see the progress. 

Many of you don't know that my husband and I have a small farm that specializes in naturally grown, heirloom produce.  We grow the varieties from seed that have been painstakingly saved through history.  This morning I was surprised by some beautiful lemon cucumbers that look like a lemon but are tender and sweet.  Best picked at lemon size, one is the perfect serving size.  On the other side of the cucumber garden, the Japanese Long was just reaching it's perfect size of one foot.  Long and thin, this is the cucumber that is billed as burpless, and almost seedless in your large grocery stores.  Often sold for over $2.00 each, I felt like a millionaire as I picked this fruit, especially since mine was organic.

As I travelled back to the house I passed the small herb garden where the Genovese basil had started to try to bloom which is a huge no-no.  The beauty of basil is the more you cut, the more you get so I couldn't wait to find some scissors and trim it right up.  It immediately filled the kitchen with that aromatic scent that only fresh basil can give.

Several hours later I whipped up a great little dressing of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, mustard and spices.  Chopped an onion and tomato, tossed it with the lemon cukes and served a delightful salad for dinner.  Ahhhh, the joys of summer!