Gardeners Who Entertain

Gathering fresh produce or flowers from your own garden source is always rewarding. If you live in your own home and have a selected patio or courtyard potted garden, one has fresh ingredients for sharing.

All your pickled veggies are ready for a quick appetizer, served with a cheese and meat board and crackers. Gather fresh flowers from your garden and create a quick display for your guests.

Growing pickling cucumbers, mini peppers, sweet 100 tomatoes or Japanese eggplant can all produce a summer harvest worthy of great flavor. Pickling your harvest for entertaining can be simple. My understanding of basic refrigerator pickles is simple. The fresh veggies are washed and sliced, put in a jar, and pour a hot brine of vinegar, kosher salt, sugar and spices over them. If you are growing small peppers then drop in the jar for a sweet-salty spicy crunch flavor.

Cool in refrigerator overnight, and they are ready for serving the next day. They will not keep nicely, so be prepared to eat within a couple of weeks. You can pickle anything you choose as a yielding crop in your patio pots and a trellis.

Grow yourself a kitchen herb bowl that will last your entire grilling season. When ready to grill or serve up a plate, add snippets of your fresh herbs to your plate.