Salsa Summer

The air is beginning to change. I noticed two weeks ago, did you? Indian summer is creeping up on us. In Northern California that’s what we have for fall in my area. The tomatoes are getting riper by the day and the feeling of abundance that I get when I look at the grapes ripening on the vine is heavenly. Last night I collected a variety of tomatoes – sungold cherries, little romas, a beautiful orange heirloom and some black cherry tomatoes –  and cut them up into a lovely summer salsa to have with the cod I broiled. By adding garden fresh jalapenos, chopped cilantro, shallots, a dash of salt and a squeeze of lime I had the perfect complement to my fish. Served with a crisp caesar salad with homemade dressing I had a well balanced summer meal. Last night’s salsa became today’s guacamole. Refreshing with a cut vegetable salad and a few corn chips for lunch.

While collecting basil for pesto this morning, I was struck by the softness of the light on the flowers in the yard.

The cosmos and sunflowers grew prolifically this year providing us with a scene of astounding beauty every time we stepped into the back yard.

Back to thoughts of fall though. It is time to get the seedlings started  for the winter garden. Ofer has been making new soil for us to do our fall planting with. He combines the heavy clay soil from our yard with sand, compost and manure and then mixes and waters to create a wondrous mix for happy plants. We put the soil with our little seeds into four inch pots on this great shelf we found on the street. This year we are planting a lot of different vegetables – many of them are heirlooms we haven’t tried before. Romanesco broccoli, calabrese broccoli, kohrabi, red cabbage, brussel sprouts, lettuces, chard, artichokes (green and purple!), shogoin white turnips and golden globe turnips, red beets, Italian parsley, and parsnips. The next round of starts will include even more! The room we’ve created by moving the chicken yard fence is getting our garden juices flowing!

Thoughts of fall were also quickened by the strong wind we had last night. I felt so cozy in bed with the sound of the wind through the window that my musings went to one of my favorite winter warmers – fresh veggie broth. So, this morning when the breezes persisted, I collected celery and chard from the garden, a big onion and a carrot I had sitting around and cut them all up into a soup pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Delicious! It’s great cool, too.

This broth is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. It’s wonderful as a cleansing soup for this time of year. Fall, according to Chinese medicine, is a time for letting go, allowing the old to move on. Clearing the lungs and large intestine, the organs associated with fall, is a beneficial thing to do at this time of year. Try some of the veggie broth, lots of chopped vegetable salads and freshly cut watermelon for a late summer cleanse in preparation for the fall that’s just around the corner.