…OF OUR LABOR, in the garden of course, is a lovely act indeed. Although outside it’s Augtober, crazy days of sun and rain,  the produce is ripening and the offerings are abundant and everyone seems to be sharing. Friends of mine run a wonderful nursery tucked within the area of commercial design shops around the old Norm Thompson building in Northwest Portland. Peter has a natural, graceful hand at growing plants and nurturing them to their full beauty.   His nursery is filled with clever choices of unique and handsome plants. With a handful of admirers popping in daily to talk shop and lend a hand, Peter has created quite a following. So in perfect style, he and Karen have been cooking and sharing a midday meal in the garden weekly, using some of the seasonal produce grown just for that purpose. read more »

THE KITCHEN HAS BEEN QUIET in my house. The oven has kept cool, while the garden heats up. There has been no blog writing and not much time for creating due to a wonderful, but long, run of studio production. Dinners are fast and fresh from the garden. I have been able to pick a random cherry tomato or two so far, but the crop is still on the shy side of ripe. Give it a couple more weeks of sun and I’ll be tomato crazed and wondering why I planted so many plants yet again. The green beans have given the most with a large handful collected almost every day. They are so easy to use well in a cool kitchen. On the shadier side of the garden, the arugula, spinach and bok choy are in full swing. We will be eating well tonight.