I thought you might enjoy a sneak peak into a typical dinner at our house. I have several more sneak peaks lined up for the fall, but here is what dinner looks like at our house.

We live on 50 acres in Nevada City, it is very private and quiet, and in the evenings, we like to walk over to the garden and pick fresh vegetables for dinner. Whatever is ripe and looks good informs our menu.

Recently it has been tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and fresh herbs.

Combining what is in the garden with pantry and fridge staples we always have on hand, make for easy and fuss-free meals that appeal to us parents as well as child, Felix. Some of these staples include pasta, rice, quinoa, cans of organic beans, capers, olives, hard cheeses, oils, vinegars, dried fruits and nuts etc.

You can see Felix enjoys helping make dinner with us. By choosing to make dinner preparation an important and yet routine part of our day, Felix knows that when we begin the process, it will take some time, usually 30 minutes an hour including our trip to the garden.

Tonight I made a simple, rustic tomato sauce with lot of red peppers, capers, olives and fresh herbs, including basil, oregano, thyme and marjoram with plenty of olive oil and salt and pepper. I cooked the sauce for about 15-20 minutes as the pasta was cooking. I like making a fresh sauce like this because it takes about the same time to cook as the pasta.

I made a small salad out of endives left over from a recent catering event with blue cheese, dill from our CSA and some golden raisins that were in the pantry. Our meal was simple, light and fresh. We always have a few condiments at the table to round out the meal; sauerkraut, extra olive oil and cottage cheese to add some extra protein.

Stay tuned for more “Dinners with……..!”

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blog, edible garden, IN THE KITCHEN, nevada city food by Wendy Van Wagner