Salad days
Am I a gardener? no but I'm not letting that stop me! It's never too late, you're never too old.
The heatwave is upon us! Sadly, I’ve had to pack away my beloved winter duvet. I do love a cosy bed with my big fluffy duvet, reminds me of my childhood visits to my Omi and her crisp white linens with their lace tops buttoned onto her feather duvet. Anyway, it’s packed away and a lighter summer quilt is now in its place.
The bedding isn’t the only thing the winds of summer have brought with them. Our diet too is changing. Mealtimes have been pushed back and the fare is much lighter. No more heavy stews or pastas with rich tomato ragus! Now it’s all pasta with zucchini or bottarga, fish, rice, cous cous, grilled meat, and, of course, salads. Salad days are here! yay
So, first, fish… On Tuesdays Nicola, our fish guy, parks his van in the village square so I popped by this week and got some mackerel (‘sgombro’ here) and a local tuna steak. I made a ceviche with the tuna because, well, summer here reminds me of Mexico a bit and I get nostalgic. I had to use lemon instead of lime and my last avocado had gone off so it wasn’t what I was hoping for but tasty nonetheless. The Poet-Farmer got his invisible apron on and tackled the mackerel. In summer, people here usually grill it so that it’s not so heavy with oil but we like it in the pan with a wine, citrus, and ginger sauce. We happened to have a pineapple on hand so we chucked a few chunks into the pan as well. Soooo good! Just served with a bit of bread to mop up the sauce - la scarpetta (‘the little shoe’) they call it here. And some fresh pineapple for dessert.
There was some pineapple left over so the next day I used it in a salad. Honestly, I think this is now my favourite salad! I love salads but this one was gorgeous - crunchy, tangy, sweet, spicy! So refreshing on a hot day. I’ll be eating it all summer. I smashed a cucumber and added it to the pineapple which was chopped into smaller pieces and then prepared a dressing with oil, lemon, salt and pepper, some peperoncino flakes, and a splash of this rather delicious sweet and sour (‘DolceAgro’) white wine vinegar which I found at the shop the other day. And, then a handful of chopped fresh mint from the garden and a sprinkling of shredded coconut. What a burst of flavour with every forkful! I’m trying to grow most of the ingredients so maybe one day it’ll be made with our own produce!
I’ve had a few gardens over the years but mostly just grew herbs and flowers. For the first time, I am making an ‘orto’ - a vegetable garden. Flying by the seat of my pants and watching a lot of YouTube videos, it’s all just one giant experiment really. Trial and error.
The soil is better this year and I’ve been mulching as well since we bought 3 enormous wheels of hay last winter so that’s a good start. Then there’s the companion planting to think about so carrots and tomatoes and lettuce together, potatoes with dill, and corn, zucchini and beans (the classic ‘three sisters’) together. Plus lots of calendula, borage, nasturtium seeds got thrown about and herbaceous borders are taking shape with basil, oregano, rosemary, lavender, and parsley. I’m even having a go at cantaloupes and watermelon this year! And, I’ve got little collections of sunflowers winding their way up the hill. So far it’s all looking good!
I’m planting all the things I like to eat and probably wasting a lot of seeds but I don’t care, it’s so much fun. One day, we might even be able to feed ourselves entirely from our garden. The dream. Every year, I’m learning more. Learning which locations are better for which plants. We’ll see how it all survives the July - August heat here.
What I’m realising living here, returning to slow and seasonal living is
time and patience are key - sometimes you just have to breathe and let life unfold; everything manifests in its own time, even you
salad days are not just for the youth - as you go through the seasons of life, it’s important to remain curious, to remain playful; it’s never too late and you’re never too old to try new things, forge new paths.
I never thought that at 60, I, a gal from the blueberry laden shores of Atlantic Canada, would be living in the Sardinian countryside, in a caravan, spending my days gardening, painting, and writing but there you go. Life is full of wonderful surprises.
Keep things fresh… stay playful, my friends.
Thanks so much for joining me, for reading!
Take care of you!
F ox
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Unless external credit given, all images copyright Fiona Pape.