You know it's almost summer when...

1. You know it's almost summer when your Bright Lights Swiss Chard is growing like gang busters. I have a special place in my heart for home-grown Swiss chard. Three years ago, when I was just experimenting with growing vegetables, I grew some Swiss chard. I will never forget how amazing it tasted, the first time I sauteed some fresh picked chard. I couldn't believe that a vegetable could taste that good. Oh, but I haven't always liked Swiss chard. Yes, I have strong childhood memories of being at my grandpa's house in Spokane (he always had an amazing garden with tons of veggies), being coerced to try some Swiss chard. I stubbornly turned my nose up at it countless times. I can still here my grandpa asking me, "Don't you want your Swiss chard?" And my answer was always NO! All I can say is that I'm so glad I finally saw the light. Swiss chard, especially the aesthetically pleasing rainbow chard variety, is super tasty and good for you too. Last night, I picked a big bunch of Swiss chard, cut it up into ribbons (stems too), sauteed it in olive oil, and then tossed it in a lactose-free quiche. I did a little google search a while ago for a lactose-free quiche and this recipe is pretty delicious and easy to make. I made the crust with whole spelt flour since we're currently experimenting with non-wheat flours. I also did not go the artichoke heart and sundried tomato route, although I think it would be tasty. In fact, the first time I made this, I used spinach and the rest of the home-grown dried tomatoes I had from Jake's sister, Amy. In place of cheese, I experimented with Almond Cheese for the first time. It's a non-dairy cheese that melts and actually tastes pretty good. The kind of almond cheese I bought is from Oregon, so it's local too. I don't really want to get into a bunch of processed cheese substitutes, but for something like quiche, the almond cheese (literally made out of almond paste) works pretty well.

2. You know it's almost summer when you see strawberries around. They have officially arrived at the farmer's market and are worth every penny. I've purchased and eaten two pints since I saw them there last week. Mine have started growing too, but I just don't get that much fruit from my plants, so I'm supplementing with the local farmer's market variety. Besides, as soon as I see a red berry on one of my plants, I eat it immediately. That's probably why I think I don't get much fruit off of them. Hmmm...

3. Finally, you know it's almost summer when you spot a zucchini at the farmer's market! You have no idea how excited I was to see the first signs of local summer squash at the market on Wednesday. My plants are still in the baby stages, so I have a ways to go before I have my own zucchini, but it's only a matter of time. More props to my aforementioned gardening grandpa for the plethora of zucchini recipes he gave me. I can't wait to start getting into those.