Leafy greens gave way to potatoes,tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and squash this week. I roasted the potatoes with some of the onions and a little garlic, made a salad from foreign (California) lettuce, cool Kirby cucumbers and some early mangoes from South Florida. It was light and refreshing - a celebration of the last of spring. Soon it will be peppers and okra and eggplant - and more eggplant. 

Roasting potatoes:

Turn on the exhaust fan to help with the heat in the kitchen and preheat oven to 400. Chop potatoes and onions and peel garlic clove. Line baking sheet with olive oil and throw on the veggies. Sprinkle with rosemary and/or thyme. Cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are a little crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.  

Salad: Romaine lettuce, chopped mango, cucumber and this light dressing. 

Bright red side dish of tomatoes: Just slice a fresh, homegrown, room-temperature  tomato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spice up a little with chopped chives, slivered basil leaves, or slivered mint.  Every summer meal I remember at my grandparents house included fresh, sliced tomatoes. Every adult seemed to ooh and ahh over them. Their slightly salted juice would flow into leftover rice with black-eyed peas, or soak into cornbread. They were a wonder.

Those fresh, seasonal meals were a wonder that brightened my childhood and inspire me as an adult. I caught that wonder from my parents and grandparents and hope my children and grandchildren might catch some of it from me.