Summer is Over

I don't know how it happens, but the summer months always seem to fly by. Today, I saw pumpkins at the grocery store and felt a chill as I walked outside. I recently realized that most of my goals for the season haven't been fully accomplished... I have a limited number of weeks to get the garden prepped for winter (WINTER?!?).

Yesterday, I received a box of garlic bulbs for planting. This will be my first attempt growing garlic, so I'm not sure how it will go. Now, I just have to wait for the first frost before I can plop them into the ground and wait. That will be the same time I'm pulling up all the remaining tomato plants... The plants I started from seed, re-potted several times, staked, watched grow and then... watched the fruits disappear overnight as the deer traversed through my yard (or, maybe the wild turkey... I'll never know).

Tonight, I got another box, this one full of spices ordered from Seattle. I was inspired to cook something new with one of the ingredients: Black Lemon. Definitely an interesting find.

Tilapia w/ Potatoes

- wash and chop some potatoes, stick in a pot of water, boil till just about done
- bake tilapia (or other white fish) w/ a bit of EVOO
- in a pan, heat up some EVOO, throw in some diced onions, add some salt & pepper, once transparent, add some minced garlic, after another minute, sprinkle in some cumin and ground black lemon, after another minute, stir in a few diced plum tomatoes
- drain the potatoes and finish cooking with the onion/tomato mix, add some water if the mixture looks too dry
- put some of the potato mix on a plate and set a piece of the tilapia on top.

This meal was extremely easy and fast to make. I love the light lemon flavor mixed with the smoky cumin. As a note, I had a very hard time trying to grate the black lemon, I ended up grinding it with a mortar & pestle instead.