Food, Glorious Food

Cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, fresh picked herbs, blueberries, sweet corn, beets, summer squash, little heads of cabbage--these are the things I can pick from my own garden or find at the local Farmers' Markets.  This is when food tastes so good--one of my favorite things about summer.  As a kid, summer eating was about hot dogs, watermelon, and ice cream.  I haven't had ice cream this summer.  I still go for an occasional hot dog grilled til the skin pops and covered with pickle relish--true junk food.  Watermelon...I'm getting a craving...may have to make a trip to the store.
After considerable experimentation, I have decided that drying herbs in the microwave works best for me.  Also, I tried freezing vegetarian dishes so that on those days when I just am not up for slicing, dicing, chopping, etc., I'd have something on hand.  I find that I prefer to make something with the idea that I will have it in the fridge and have four or five meals of it in a week.  It's really not as boring as it sounds.  Last week I made vegetarian chili.  I had a bowl for lunch one day, used it as a side dish another, heated it with cheese for supper one night, stuffed it in a pita bread, topped polenta with it, and then added some broth and ate some as a soup.  This works fine for me.  We don't have a big freezer and I hate it when I open the door and things, frozen hard things, tumble out of the freezer and land on my poor mashed up toes.  Also, my original plan was to have one or two meatless meals per week.  I find I'm doing more vegetable fare and meat once or twice per week instead.
This week, I made cabbage rolls stuffed with a mixture of cooked wheat berries, brown rice, flax seeds, ground walnuts, grated carrot, and a bit of tomato juice, some cumin and some curry--baked in the oven with diced tomatoes and some extra chopped cabbage and onion.  Mike won't touch it, but I love it.  No problem to have that lunch and supper for three days straight.
My Ukrainian mother used to make cabbage rolls with ground meat and rice.  She cooked them in a Dutch oven with a white gravy that maybe was made from bacon.  I wish I'd paid attention.  I really liked it, but I don't have the recipe and I have never seen one that doesn't use tomato sauce or tomato soup.  If anybody out there knows what I'm talking about and can send me the recipe...well, I'll just love you forever.
I was going to harvest the basil and make some pesto.  I haven't bought pine nuts in some time.  The price nearly knocked me over.  I guess I will use walnuts instead.