First Garden to Table of the Season

We are finally getting to that time of year, where the bounty from the garden is coming on quickly. What a perfect time to use some of the freshest of produce to create a garden to table menu. We were pleased to have the space for 2 guests this week and still keep reasonable social distancing in place. Our guests this week were Sheila and Andrea, 2 friends that we have been wanting to catch up with. Shawn and I have not seen Sheila since the beginning of lockdown, while Andrea is our partner in our community garden plot.

As we gathered under the pergola, Steph had a surprise for us, Ungava Gin, which is made from botanicals native to Nunavik. So we started our evening with G&T and Crostini with figs and goat cheese.

These figs were recommended by our produce guy and I have to say they were the nicest that I have had in a long time. The gin gave the drinks a hint of the scent of northern juniper and a nice citrus note.

After some time catching up on life, a tour of the garden and a nibble, we gathered at the table to enjoy a yellow tomato soup.

I must confess that with only one yellow tomato plant this year, we did not have enough for a soup yet, but Steph found us the last of last year’s frozen tomatoes. With some basil, picked just before dinner, this was a great way to start our meal.

Our next course started with Swiss Chard Lasagna, with greens picked 10 ft from where we were sitting.

This has been a favorite of ours for years, cheesy and creamy and served over a light tomato sauce. We accompanied this with a Farro salad with garden vegetables, a caprese salad, zucchini fritters and grissini.

The farro salad came out beautifully and will definitely appear again. The fritters are already a favourite, but I think two of the stars was a dish I have been waiting for and a new spin on fries. We finally got to have squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta and try portobello fries.

This completed our table in style. The blossoms are so delicate and light, with a flowery note, crisp on the outside and creamy inside. The Portobello fries were a real treat, not too overpowered by the mushroom, with a wonderful light coating. If no one told you, you might not realize what they were made of. Although we could not get everything from the garden yet, that we needed, the homegrown flavours shone through. I also gave us a chance to catch up with and share with friends that we have not been able to see for some time. We may have had to keep our distance, but we still enjoyed a lovely summer evening.

I don’t normally do this, but since this post is a bit of a look back, we had received a nice note, from our guest Sheila, which kind of captures what many people think of vegetarian meals, so I thought I would include it here:

“What a lovely surprise in the midst of incarceration to get a dinner invitation and to such a feast!
I had been reading about meatless Mondays and wondered what that would be like as I am a bit of a carnivore, but with such a delicious variety of vegetables done in so many different ways you don’t even think about meat!
Every bite was delicious from the figs with balsamic reduction, the tangy soup, the earthy, breaded mushrooms, the meatless lasagna, to the last taste of the salad.
 I nearly forgot the deep fried balls with the sour cream! I could have feasted on those alone!
The Heirloom tomatoes were so sweet I will be seeking these out from now on!
It was so good to touch base and I am honoured to still be part of the mix!”

After re-reading this note, i had better get caught up on some more posts.