As if often the case, you come back from vacation and find the garden has gone wild in your absence. Dill, basil and cilantro in need of pinching back, and weeds everywhere. In just two weeks, all the radishes have gone to seed and the snap peas are almost gone. We had to do a huge emergency stir fry to make use of the overly mature sugar snaps, which were a little too full for eating raw, but were quite acceptable tossed in an oiled hot pan with a bit of thin sliced chicken breast, chives, basil and soy sauce.

The good new is, the summer garden is here. This is the time of year gardener cooks live for, with a full range of herbs and vegetables just waiting to be picked and consumed. The first tender little bush beans, cukes and zukes, peppers and lettuce and greens, oh my. Raw in a salad or creatively joined with herbs and heat, it’s all a delight to the pallet.

This weekend, with relatives arriving for a “whenever they get here” dinner, we turned to that old standby, pot roast in the crock pot. A layer of root vegetables, the roast and lots of herbs went in the pot with some stock, salt and pepper. I stripped the leaves from a dozen stems each of oregano, tarragon and lemon thyme, and after a day of low heat, the end result (a bit of corn starch to thicken the gravy) was well received by our weary travelers. Some just picked green beans (in a pan with olive oil, basil and seasoned salt, toss over high heat and then cover and let sit a bit) and a salad with a little of everything from the garden made for a memorable family gathering.