dinner from the backyard

I learned something this year. Something that I'd never really considered up until this point.

Plant more than a few summer squashes.

See usually I plant one or two zucchinis. Maybe a patty pan. Mostly for insurance sake because if everything else fails, you can always count on good old zucchini to produce. So reliable. But this year, with the new raised beds and no wedding to occupy every last second of the summer, I'm taking my garden a little more seriously. And by seriously I mean stuffing it full of everything I can. Including A LOT of summer squash.



And the good thing about lots of summer squash is that you don't feel bad picking them when they are teeny and delicious. Behold, ingredients for dinner:



That celery top looking herb is lovage. If you aren't familiar with lovage, we should have a little talk. It is so delicious and different and sweet and salty and weirdly a little like cardamom(?), if cardamom was crossed with parsely, and it makes everything taste exiting and divine. Last year my lovage didn't fare well, but this year I could make lovage juice.

The tricky thing about lovage is finding it for sale. Farmer's markets would be your best bet. Especially if you have a stand that specializes in greens and herbs. If you can't find it, you can always grow it from seed in a pot. Which seems like an awful lot of fuss for one ingredient, but I'm telling you, it is completely worth it.

And luckily it goes nicely with summer squash and a little bit of butter.