Lemons and Parsley and Capers, Oh My!

Parsley pesto with lemon and walnuts.

This may come as a surprise, but I daydream about my garden all the time.

Shocked, aren't you?

When I noticed the first fruits on the vines, a wave of joy came over me. It's another season, and these plants are beginning to feed us. A few weeks ago when I readied the soil and lovingly set each one in the dirt, eating their fruit seemed so far away.

The zucchini and squash plants, which I purchased as young transplants from a local nursery, have taken off and grown so quickly. The leaves on the zucchini plants are extraordinary—I'd forgotten how big they get, and how the stems are covered in tiny little hairs that prickle my fingers when I reach in. The tomatoes are reaching the heights of their cages and green fruits are appearing amid the blooms. It is simply amazing.

Each bed was readied with organic pest treatment, extra compost, pine straw, and organic seaweed-based fertilizer, and the care we took in this step might be what's contributing to the early success of the summer garden. That and the rain, which hit our plants when they were really young and vulnerable. A little rain goes a long way. I am happy to take joy in these plants before summer really hits us; we've already seen 90 degrees this week and that doesn't bode well for the upcoming months.

Part of me still feels like it's spring, and all the recipes that people up north are putting on Pinterest—asparagus tarts, quiches with leeks, parsley and lemon this and that—had me craving something bright and green.

By the time I got home, I found one more zucchini ready for picking on the vine, and decided to put together an entirely green meal. We still have curly leaf parsley in the garden, which I think is so much more fragrant than its flat leaf cousin, so I cut as much as I could for a pesto. This is one of my favorite tricks; rarely do we have pine nuts and basil in the house, but I do love a good herb pasta sauce. Swapping out the basil for parsley and the pine nuts for walnuts (or pecans) makes for a very springy dinner.

Our first zucchini of the season were prepared so simply: I sliced them into quarter-inch-thick rounds and steamed them, then served them with salt, pepper, and butter for a dish that reminded both Ryan and I of summers on our grandparents' farms.

Steamed zucchini with butter. Welcome to summer!

Pasta with Parsley Pesto, Lemons, and Capers

1 cup fresh parsley (curly or flat leaf will work fine)
1/2 cup walnuts
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup grated parmesan (don't skimp here—use the good stuff)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces (half a package) whole wheat angel hair pasta
1-2 tablespoons capers
2-4 lemon wedges
extra parmesan for grating

Set a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.

In a blender or food processor, blend or pulse the walnuts, parsley, parmesan, lemon juice and zest, and salt until combined. Pour the olive oil in slowly, and blend or pulse. Keep an eye on the consistency of the pesto. If it's a little too dry, thin with more olive oil until it reaches the consistency you like.

By now the water is boiling. Add your pasta and cook until al dente, about four or five minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the pesto. Serve the pasta and garnish each plate with a spoonful of capers, a little grated parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon.

(This was just right for our dinner; the whole grains go a long way toward filling us up. But if you'd like to add a meat component, this dish would be great with some simply baked chicken or fish.)

chalk it up to lessons learned

I can’t remember exactly how he put it, but Ryan said something to the effect of... he expects me to mess up sometimes. My learning curve and success rate have been on a steep incline in the kitchen, happily, but I am far from mistake-less. Which brings me to Tuesday night’s pink slip.

During my grocery shopping, I picked up a head of cauliflower for the sole purpose of roasting it. I’d heard from many people how delicious roasted cauliflower is, and couldn’t wait to try it. Besides, I get excited about any reason to use my favorite baking dish—a red 9x9 Le Creuset. I found a promising recipe for which I had every ingredient, including fresh parsley from the container garden. Not to mention, I’d just furthered my kitchen accessory collection with a retro juicer and could squeeze some fresh lemon juice.
Do you see where this is going yet? Yeah, but you don't know all of it.

Trying to make this a meal, I wanted to use up some whole wheat couscous and the leftover arugula from dinner the night before. Enter a recipe for orange-scented couscous, and then my brilliant idea to wilt the arugula in at the end for a splash of bitter green to compliment the sweet orange.

It sounds like a pretty good meal, doesn’t it? Fresh herbs, delicate orange zest, simply roasted cauliflower...

Well, let’s start with that. I prepped and photographed and plopped it in the oven at 450... Only to, about 15 minutes later, hear a strange POP! from the vicinity of said cauliflower in the oven. Fearing the worst, I slowly opened the oven door, and gained confirmation. My beautiful, perfectly square, singular Le Creuset dish was cracked down the middle. No warning, no distress signals, no last rites... Just sudden death. Without muttering one curse word (or shedding one tear), I reached in and carefully grabbed both very much separated sections of the dish. I picked up the head of cauliflower, whose destiny still lay in the delicate balance between it’s totally gonna be delicious and this is so not gonna work, dropped it in my equally red but not as cute red stoneware pie plate, and back in the oven it went. Finley was... let's call it suspiciously annoyed. Meanwhile, Ryan called on his way home. “I’ve had a minor kitchen setback, but it’s not so bad,” I told him, at which point I was dipping some leftover rosemary bread in the olive oil and sea salt at the bottom of one of the halves. At least I’m resourceful.

Onward, I thought, to my fresh orange zest and juice and couscous. It smelled wonderful, and probably would be fantastic maybe with some saffron (I’ve never had saffron, but for some reason I think it’d taste great with this) and not with arugula. But I dumped the arugula in anyway. Pretty! Ryan, standing behind me by then, wrinkled his nose at the thought of a savory orange dish. I’d forgotten that he’s not a fan (remember orange beef night?). Orange and chocolate? Awesome. Orange and couscous? No way. The timer signals that it’s time to take the cauliflower out of the oven, again, and I was happy to see that at least one of my stoneware dishes made it through the night unscathed. I set the table and plated the food... And we took one bite of each and decided: Unworthy! The cauliflower was still tough, though burned on the tips and completely void of any moisture at all (so I have yet to successfully roast a vegetable—WHAT IS THE SECRET!?!?) The oh-so-thought-out-orange-arugula combo was nauseating. Ok, it’s not that bad, I think, and direct Ryan to reach for some soy sauce. It’s just not working. I can’t decide whether to laugh or cry, so I leave the room. Ryan chooses for me and laughs; I re-enter the room and announce, “Let’s go get food, but we have to do the drive-thru because I’m in my pj’s and I’m not changing. And you’re buying.” Fin's part of it by this point, and wants to come with us. Ten minutes later we return with Cokes in styrofoam cups and piping-hot nuggets and waffle fries. For dessert I smother a banana with Nutella and sprinkle leftover orange zest on top, which makes for a surprisingly fantastic sweet treat. Of course, not wanting to break my budget for the week, and having ruined dinner, here’s what I scrounged up for lunch the next day... This just goes to show that when one dinner plan doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world. It’s just another little pink slip for the collection. And maybe a sub-par lunch at your desk the next day.