Gifts From A Home Garden

   
     I'm so grateful to receive fresh vegetables from a friend's garden.  My husband has a co-worker who routinely shares the most wonderful vegetables from her garden.  She leaves these vine-ripened beauties in the office kitchen for anyone to take home and enjoy.  When my husband came home tonight he had some of her grape tomatoes. I was so excited when I saw them, you'd have thought he was handing me gold nuggets.  They are such a treat because they have that unmistakable just picked home garden flavor that can't be beat.  Although I usually prefer to eat these raw, I put some of the tomatoes in the sauce I was making for lasagna. They added so much fresh sweet flavor.

Food Frump

   
    I didn't realize I was such a food frump.  My food presentation at mealtime had become the culinary equivalent of baggy sweat pants. However, since writing this blog, I've started to serve food in something besides Gladware.  Today, after I took this picture of my husband's fresh made salsa, guacamole, and chips, we actually sat down and enjoyed a festive colorful meal. I felt like I was getting special treatment--the kind reserved for "company."   I couldn't help but think, "This is nice," and  "I can get used to this."

    The fresh salsa is made with raw corn cut off the cob, tomato, black beans, cilantro, vidalia onion, lime juice, hot sauce, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper. It's light, refreshing, and full of flavor. 
    The guacamole is avocado, tomato, Vidalia onion, cilantro, and lemon juice.
    The crispy homemade chips are made from Ezekiel sprouted whole grain tortillas. They toast easily in a pan on the stove top. While the toasted tortilla is still warm, it is cut into triangles.