Too Hot to Cook and so Much to Eat

It has been too long.  Life gets away and before you know it months have passed.  All is good and everyone is still eating and after 6 hours of soccer and 2 hours of swimming everyday, the kids are hungrier than ever.  The adults don’t burn the same amount of calories driving them to sports or working, but we still eat as much as they do.

So this time of year is so exciting minus the stiffening heat, humidity and mosquitoes.  Twin Springs is starting to get the all the good stuff and we have already passed asparagus season, which is one of my personal favorites.  The pain of loosing them is only lessened by the excitement of what is next.  English Peas, Snap Peas, tomatoes and the tree fruit is on the way.

I have a new favorite quick dish that is great when you don’t want to cook inside.  The market has had some of the best beets in memory and we are all fans.  The greens on top are delicious as well, but somehow they got a little too slimy to use by the time I was ready to use.  I like to leave as much of the tops on without the greens when I cook this dish.  I will cook the beet greens separately when they are good.  Cleaning is the hard part since they grow in dirt, but ample rinsing and pealing of the skin with a little knife does the trick.  I use my grandmother’s cast iron pan and put in olive oil, beets, fresh spring onions, garlic scapes, Moroccan oil cured olives, Garbanzo beans, paprika, turmeric, fresh thyme, salt and pepper.  I don’t even mix it until it cooks a little but I throw it on the grill at the highest temp and walk away to prep the other veggies.

It takes about 15 minutes and in that time I clean the last asparagus of the season and dice tomatoes with whatever fresh herbs we have and mix with salt, pepper and olive oil that will accompany a little brown rice pasta.  The whole meal took about 20 minutes from beginning to end and with a crisp French Muscadet and air-conditioning, you almost forget the heat of the day.