Yesterday we made dill pickles; tonight, heirloom tomato salad; tomorrow we make pesto....

City gardening can be a pain in the ass but it also pays off if you really work at it. Our cucumbers and squash have been coming in for days, the tomatoes have been ripening and the basil is just about to blossom.. We've been eating squash and cucumbers for days but yesterday my guy spent hours canning a gallon of dill pickle spears. Tonight we had a friend over for dinner and served her tetrazinni and a salad with our first tomatoes of the season, Black Krims and Costoluto Genovese, cucumber, purple onion, olives and mozzrella in Paul Newman oil and vinegar. Dessert was a locally grown cantaloupe pie. Tomorrow we clip the basil, toast the pecans, grate the parmesan and make pesto.

I absolutely love the intense, satisfying flavors of summer and its just beginning! We even have a local farmers market three blocks away every Saturday morning so what we don't have room to produce-like fresh peaches, corn, peas, cantaloupes, watermelon and honey can be easily found. Until November I plan to eat like a king!