one local summer

I just signed on to "one local summer," sponsored by Farm to Philly. I pledge to make at least one meal a week from all local ingredients (excluding olive oil, salt, pepper, spices)and share the results with you. Sign-up for this project ends on Sunday, May 25. We have a couple of marvelous farmers markets in Memphis- I hope that this will prompt me to visit them more often. I LOVE them, especially the downtown Memphis Farmers Market, but there is another one way out east at the Agricenter, and a mid-week market at the Botanic Gardens. Between those and my own little garden, this should be a snap. Summer begins for us this evening- today is little boy's last day of school- so I'm excited to begin the summer with a plan for our table.

In my own garden, the swiss chard is ready to pick, arugula has reseeded everywhere. The kale and cabbage are on their way out, but my potatoes and tomatoes, herbs, and beans are starting to fill in. A customer on etsy special-ordered some vegetable markers, so I bought some zucchini plants (just two!) for their leaves and to try in the garden. Despite zucchini's reputation, I've never had luck growing it, but we'll see how it goes this year. Potatoes were a bust in 2007-I had a sum total of five marble-sized potatoes, but I'm hopeful that this year's crop will be more substantial.

Whether growing the veggies and baking the bread myself, or finding them at the farmers markets, I'm looking forward to a delicious summer!