There are a few activities in my life I love so much, things I need for my whole self to feel good: gardening, cooking, running and creating. There have been concentrated, more productive periods in my life with each of my four loves. And there have been fallow, less engaged periods as well. The most miraculous part? They are always there for me, waiting without annoyance or judgement. Just waiting for the white space to gain color, for their turn in my embrace.


Our daily harvests are small but abundant.
I will always have a tomato sill in my home. This window makes me so happy. Glass bluebirds were my grandma’s and I found that old hand-forged meat hook at a garage sale for $2! Perfect for my garlic braids.
‘Mom, is it ok if I eat all the tomatoes right now?’
broccoli flowers
bouquet of cosmos, flax and broccoli
I love making meals out of the day’s harvest. This year, we have been eating a lot of pizza and a lot of salad. I’ll do a post about our pizzas. Two of our current favorite salads:
Peachy Corny Salad
Peaches, corn (cut from cob) and basil; dressed with balsamic, olive oil and salt.
chicken food
Melon Cuc Salad
Cantaloupe, cucumbers; dressed in balsamic, olive oil and salt.
Happy weekend.
xo,
dig
20 Comments
Where in Georgia did you live? I’m a Georgia girl myself, so it’s always nice to find others around the country! We just moved into a new rental and I can’t wait to start our raised beds!
When we first moved to our house 2 years ago te 160ft long back garden was an overgrown jungle.. Last month we had it cleared and last week I started turning the dirt over in preparation for a vegetable patch (a rather large one!)
We also spent this week making a “kitchen garden” as we call it.. Right outside my Back door on the patio we have beans, tomatoes, peas, strawberries and herbs now growing!
I am so enjoying learning about planting and growing vegetables. Now I just need to finish turning over all the dirt! xx
Hey nici would you share your method for preserving beets? Do you pickle them?
We learned last summer that you can actually eat those broccoli flowers. They’re so good! They taste kind of like broccoli lettuce 🙂
Your tomato sill made my eyes well up, soft and wet. Beautiful.
Inspirational. I loved this post.
My kids and I dug a small vegetable patch this year. We planted beans, carrots, lettuce and cucumber. I was so hopeful. Unfortunately we were over run by slugs and snails this summer, we’re in the UK. We harvested nothing! How pathetic is that! How do you deal with pests?
We’ve had more luck with tomatoes thank goodness.
Looking forward to your pizza recipes. Those salads look delicious
Could we talk you into sharing the tomato chip recipe?! Sounds amazing…
Nici, it was great to get some insight & history into your love of gardening. This post has left me craving a fresh, cold salad 🙂 You provide so abundantly for your family. You really inspire me!
Those cucumbers & strawberries look so damn good.
xx
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Lauren, We lived in Alpharetta, north of Atlanta. I was there for 5 years and then in college at UGA in Athens for 2 years before I moved back to Montana. Where are you?
Nici,
I am so enjoying this post! You can tell from my IG that we have a similar garden to yours and similar successes/disappointments with our veggies. And this is coming from Nova Scotia!
I love seeing your dishes and it’s inspiring me to be far more creative than I have been in the past.
Xo jen
How fabulous! I could only dream…
Very encouraging to hear that you had to replant some seeds…even later in the summer…and still are getting a good harvest! Thanks for sharing your successes!
Thanks for the update–I’d been wondering…. As you may know, we were in a similar situation with a last-minute garden tossed in between home renovations. SO looking forward to *next* year. SO looking forward to improving our soil. SO looking forward to a greenhouse : ) and two bi-pedal kids (well, there’s give and take on that one).
xo to you too Dig!
Nici, we just moved over to Decatur, but I grew up in Marietta. I’m very familiar with Alpharetta! We are renting a little house that reminds me very much of the one you all just moved from. I actually went back to look at some of your photos to get inspiration for living with less in small spaces. 🙂
The day you decide to run to Canada, my door will be open and a cup of coffee waiting!
your garden posts make me want to grow more, teach my kids more and be more aware of the goodness that is growing in my own yard.
Instead of Blueberries for Sal you could write Tomatoes for Margot. I’m so envious of your garden and your weather. At our house it’s been too windy but we finally have water at our cabin about a mile away and we have BIG plans for next year. Nothing tastes better then a warm tomato right off the vine.
Here’s to some really good tomato soup…
Jaim
Most of my broccoli failed to make a decent head but bolted into flowers. I just picked some with the hope that as it cools, I will get some side shooting. I have never grown broccoli. Am I delusional in my thinking? I also tasted the flowers and they seemed fine so we ate them 🙂
We are also in Missoula and planted late.
I hope you write a cook book some day. I love the way you combine items.
Richard struggled with the garden this year. Our enemie: wind and unrelenting sun. The corn was good, the beets are awesome. The tomatoes all split (I googled this problem. It’s when the inside grows faster than the outside, so it’s watering game. Who knew?) The basil is decent.
I could go on and on about the struggles of the garden this year. Sigh. We began with dirt like concrete; it takes forever to correct that. Combine that with these harsh conditions and, well, you get what you get.
Rock on, sister. Love to your fam. xoxoxo Jean
Oh tomatoes! They always come threw dont they? We just planted 3 plants few weeks ago and they are already half a meter high! My older one (2 1/2) loves her watering duties..the 10 month old just digs and eats dirt. Beans, zuccini and yellow squash still havent even sprouted 😉