Things to Come...

Among my favorite things to do in life are cooking, gardening, and taking pictures. So naturally, this is one of my favorite times of year. Everything is in bloom and gardens begin to show the first sign of things to come as the weather grows warmer. As I walked around my yard this afternoon, I was taken by the true beauty of everything around me.

A Pea Blossom

When I was growing up, my dad had a huge garden in our back yard with every kind of vegetable you can grow in New Jersey soil. We also had peaches, apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries. I can remember sitting in the middle of a cucumber patch, picking a cucumber, and eating it right there on the spot (I still love cucumbers to this day). I find that having kids of your own makes you a little nostalgic of your childhood. So now that we have two little ones of our own, my husband and I set off to create our own garden this year.

Our First Snow Peas!

Its not quite the same magnitude of the garden I grew up with, but I think it will suit our family of four quite fine. We began planting our tomato and pepper seeds back in February, so to finally see the blossoms emerge on the plants brings a real sense of satisfaction. We're also watching the broccoli, lettuce, beans, cucumbers, peas, and corn grow bigger every day. I think its a great opportunity for our children to actually see where our food comes from to gain a better appreciation for it.

The First Sign of Tomatoes

Lettuce Ready to Be Picked

We also planted quite a few strawberry plants this year as well as some blueberry bushes, two apple trees and a peach tree. I think there are about 50 strawberry plants. I did not realize how much each plant yields until my father-in-law told me a well tended plant produces a quart of strawberries every year. That's a lot of strawberry shortcake!

One of Our First Strawberries

There is nothing like cooking with fresh ingredients and I am really looking forward to sharing our experience with everyone over the summer. Now I'm just going to have to find a cookbook with 101 different ways to use tomatoes!

Blueberries Ready to Ripen