The Garden

My garden is booming right now. The sunshine agrees with it. I have the happiest tomatoes, just set with fruit, and my chives are tall and fat. The basil, celery, parsley and lavender want constant pinches to stay healthy, but the zucchini and pumpkin could give a damn, as long as I water. Everyone's happy.
Now the pressure is on to cook up all this good greenness.
I can't wait for breaded, fried zucchini with tomato sauce and parmesan. It's so light, yet hearty. This year, for the first time, I plan to can tomatoes. Then there is tomato/ basil salad with chive tart. Otherwise I will just plain stuff them in my face. The invasive mint that some people complain about is a wonder to a lousy gardener like me. I randomly wrench it out in big masses, and there is always enough. Mint steamed carrots, hibiscus/mint tea. Chocolate mint. Lavender ice cream anyone?

Learning to Cook

It seems as if my entire life has been spent learning to cook. It's only in the past few years that I've consciously tried to become a better cuisinier. Along the way so many people have touched me. My mother, with her familiar refrain of "Come and watch me cook", her sauteed mushrooms and baked macaroni with 7 cheeses. My Italian grandmother, who I don't remember, but who taught my Irish mother how to cook. The owner of The Blue Heron in Reno, NV who taught me how to cut an onion CORRECTLY (turns out he was right on, Jacque Pepin uses the same technique). Steve at my first food job, soda jerk, who showed me the correct way to make espresso drinks.Lee Zucker of The LocoMotive Restaurant right here in Eugene, who taught me everything, but above all else, instilled a drive for perfection (damn you Lee!), a scientific approach, and an appreciation of flavor. Also, Julia, Jacques, and my other heroes at PBS, my favorite foodie friends, Robin, Jessica and Lisa, and countless others.
Some things I had to learn by myself, of course; how to get a good crust (higher heat than you'd think!), how to make the genoise rise and the cream puff puff, but without all the help, where would I be?