AUGUST 'GRATEFUL HEART' GARDEN ~ LEMON PASTA with ROASTED SHRIMP

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart."

~ Celia Thaxter

'Old Garden Companions'

(Daisy/Purple Coneflower)

PURPLE PLEASURES

(Phlox, Purple Coneflowers, Dwarf Chinese Astile, Daylily)

Astilbe, hosta, Rose of Sharon, Hydrangea

LEMON PASTA with ROASTED SHRIMP

~ Summer friendly ... light/luscious adapted from Ina Garten

2 lbs. (peeled and deveined) large shrimp

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

coarse salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 lb. angel hair pasta

fresh chopped basil to taste

Grated Parmesan or fresh feta cheese to taste (optional)

• Preheat oven to 400º and bring large pot of water to boil.
• Place shrimp on baking sheet with olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss well and spread over pan. Roast for 6-8 minutes, just until pink and cooked through.
• While shrimp are roasting, melt butter and olive oil. Cook garlic until soft. Add lemon juice, zest and a touch of salt to taste. Add salt and a drizzle of olive oil to boiling water. Cook pasta al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving some cooking liquid.
• Quickly toss pasta in butter/olive oil. Add roasted shrimp and 1/2 cup of reserved cooking liquid. Toss again adding fresh basil.
• Serve hot topped with cheese. (6 servings)

Note: A good garden fresh salad and favorite summer wine makes the meal complete.

Daisy

Purple Coneflower

Garden Pleasures

(Phlox, White Coneflower)

Hardy Hibiscus

(Rose Mallow)

Ivy Geranium

"Summer's lease hath all too short a date."

~ William Shakespeare

FAREWELL SWEET JUNE ~ 'SIMPLE PLEASURES' ON A QUIET SUMMER'S EVE' (GRILLED ROMAINE with BLUE CHEESE-BACON & BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE)

“God Almighty first planted a garden; and, indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.”

~ Francis Bacon

Purple Coneflower

(Echinacea purpurea)

GRILLED ROMAINE with BLUE CHEESE-BACON & BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

~ Excellent summer salad slightly adapted from Guy Fieri (Food Network). Trust me, this will be a repeat!

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4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 lb. bacon

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3 Heads romaine lettuce, cut in 1/2 lengthwise

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Cook bacon in sauté pan until crispy. Remove, blot grease, and crumble. Set aside.
• Drain grease but do not clean pan. Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and sauté onion until soft and caramelized. Add balsamic vinegar hand heat to boiling, scraping brown bits from bottom. Remove from heat.
• Brush romaine lettuce with remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, place on gill cut side down, and quickly sear.
• Serve lettuce, cut side-up, and drizzle the balsamic dressing over the lettuce. Sprinkle with blue cheese, cracked pepper, and garnish with crumbled bacon. (6 servings)

Note: Original recipe called for sautéing bacon with the onion. I prefer the crumbled crisp bacon on top instead of in the dressing.

Rose (June Flower of the Month)

'Carefree Beauty' Shrub Rose

White Coneflower

(Echinacea 'Big Sky')

Monarda didyma

(bergamont, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Oswego tea, crimson beebalm)

JUNE GARDEN

'THY ETERNAL SUMMER SHALL NOT FADE' (MID-SEPTEMBER FAVORITES) ~ PISTACHIO PESTO PASTA with GRILLED LEMON SCALLOPS

"But thy eternal summer shall not fade."

~ William Shakespeare

ANNABELLE HYDRANGEA

PISTACHIO PESTO PASTA with GRILLED LEMON SCALLOPS

~ Before the frost hits, harvest basil for this deliciously sweet meld of flavors

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PESTO:

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup roasted pistachios

1/3 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. chopped green onions

2 Tbsp. chopped red onion

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

pinch coarse salt

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. linguine

1 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese

chopped green onion for garnish

pistachios for garnish

• Combine basil, pistachios, Asiago cheese, green and red onions, garlic, salt and pepper in food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add oil and incorporate into pesto until smooth. Adjust seasoning.
• Cook pasta into boiling salted water until tender but firm. Scoop out 1 cup pasta water and reserve if needed. Drain pasta and stir in pesto and Asiago cheese. Toss and add pasta water if too thick. Top with grilled scallops and garnish with additional pistachios and chopped green onion. (4 servings)

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GRILLED LEMON SCALLOPS

24 large sea scallops

2 cloves minced garlic

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

juice and zest of 1 lemon

freshly ground black pepper

• Combine scallops, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, zest and cracked pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat grill. Remove scallops from marinade and grill on high for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Sedum, Henry Eilers Black Eyed Susan, Japanese Anenome, Echinacea, Hardy Hibiscus, Garden Phlox, Moonbeam Coreopsis

FAREWELL JUNE GARDEN (GARDEN STROLL)

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature,

he finds it attached to the rest of the world."

~ John Muir

Stokes' Aster

(Stokesia)

EARLY DAYLILY

(Hemerocallis)

ASIATIC LILY

SHASTA DAISY

(Leucanthemum)

Lilies, Daylilies, Rudbeckia, Coneflowers, Chocolate Cosmos

Hosta, Red Begonia, Gerbera Daisy, Coreopsis 'Moombeam'

RUDBECKIA

(Cherry Brandy)

'New Kid on the Block'

(Rudbeckia - 'Cherry Brandy')

CONEFLOWER

(Echinacea purpurea 'Doubledecker')

HYDRANGEA

MONKSHOOD

(Aconitum)

ASTILBE

'GOODBYE JULY' ~ GARDENER'S PRAYER

"Lord make us mindful of the little things that grow and bossom in these days to make the world beautiful for us."

~ W.E. Dubois

'AS THE GARDEN GROWS' ~ MID-JUNE STROLL

"Garden making is creative work, just as much as painting or writing a poem. It is a personal expression of self, and individual conception of beauty. I should as soon think of asking a secretary to write my book, or the cook to assist in a water color painting, as to permit a gardener to plant or dig among my flowers."

~ Hannah Rion

(The Greatest Gift of a Garden)

"Gardener's work with an ever-receding ideal of perfection: no sooner is something growing well than they see how to place it better or give it a better neighbour. To other's eyes, all may look as well as could be expected, but a good gardener's eye sees more to be improved."

~ Robin Lane Fox