It's Hot!

We are still eating asparagus. It has been a wonderful growing season so far, but I do tend to get tired of it after awhile. Now that it's hot, we won't have much more of it. I've been running out of ideas as to how to cook it, and since it's so hot, I've been adding it fresh to salads. The garden lettuce is ready to thin out so I'll have baby greens too. Here's a recipe for a nice cold salad. It's what's for dinner, with a nice cold beer.

Cold Noodle Salad
For the dressing, mix together 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon freshly-chopped parsley.
Use salad greens, green onions, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, mushrooms, asparagus, or any combination of salad fixin's and top with cold, leftover spaghetti or small noodles. Cooked ramen-style noodles are good too. Top with the dressing and add a sprinkle of sesame or sunflower seeds if desired.

Vacation was great!

Catching up on work and gardening since I've been back from vacation. Here's a shot I got of the wild ponies of Assateague. My family and I had a wonderful stay at the beach. It was very relaxing!

My garden grew tremendously while we were away. Look at these gorgeous lettuces. The red leaf head must have been 24 " wide. I stuffed it into this large bowl for the picture. They taste as delicious as they look too!

And, finally, a great vacation picture. My husband got this awesome shot of this polar bear via the underwater walkway at PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo! Isn't that incredible?

I was able to finish this knit shawl while I was away. I think it turned out great! Check it out at my Etsy shop if you'd care to browse!