Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The first fruits of my labor | Pasta with Tuna and Garden Fresh Arugula

It starts...the garden has started to produce the first of its many offerings; fresh arugula. God, I love this time of year when I can grocery shop in my own back yard, with the freshest vegetables right at my fingertips. The arugula came fast and furious, it has been used on grilled pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, tossed with sundried tomatoes and also in this lovely dish that I found on Simply Recipes, Pasta with Tuna, Arugula, and Hot Pepper. I followed the recipe to a T except for I substituted chunk white tuna in water, and added a bit of crumbled blue cheese in at the end. Delicious. I actually thought it could use more arugula as it wilts down to nearly nothing when it gets hot.

I have to thank our lovely neighbors Vibhu and Angela for the arugula seeds. I can't wait to watch our side by side gardens grow this summer. They better be prepared for a few episodes of drive by zucchini-ing should the plants take off like they did last year.

Gosh, I just can't wait.

What are you planning on planting this year, anything fun or unusual? Watch for garden picks as we go forward. You'll all be calling me Mary Mary Quite Contrary.

Yes, thats me.

PS. What the hell is a cockle shell?

Rating = Damn Good (So Damn Good if you get the arugula from your back yard)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

mission of the day...find arugula seeds for my garden!
thanks for the inspiring recipe.

p.s: your blog was the first that introduced me to the world of food blogging. a thousand thank yous for enhancing my life!

JB said...

AF - Thank you so much for your kind post. I'm so happy that you like the blog. I can't wait to post more recipes as the garden grows. Keep reading, I'll try and give you more ideas.
JB

Allison said...

Basil. We live in an RV full time, but fresh basil is worth the effort of putting the pot in the truck and keeping it upright while driving. It's just amazing how much easier it is to chop that than the half dead crap you get in the plastic boxes. The flavor is so much better.