TGIF

Yum. The sun is shining and I have the day off, all to myself. Time to catch up on what I consider good living — being outside in the fresh air, moving my limbs, using my hands, thoughtfully preparing good food to eat. Today I'm going to attack the garden in a way it hasn't been attacked in years (insert sound of cracking whip here). Unruliness in the perennial beds is charming to a certain degree, but at a certain point it just becomes a mess, plain and simple. Time to divide and conquer, so to speak.

The horticultural chaos does remind me of a poem, however...

In Defense of Our Overgrown Garden
by Matthea Harvey

Last night the apple trees shook and gave each lettuce a heart

Six hard red apples broke through the greenhouse glass and

Landed in the middle of those ever-so-slightly green leaves

That seem no mix of seeds and soil but of pastels and light and

Chalk x’s mark our oaks that are supposed to be cut down

I’ve seen the neighbors frown when they look over the fence

And see our espalier pear trees bowing out of shape I did like that

They looked like candelabras against the wall but what’s the sense

In swooning over pruning I said as much to Mrs. Jones and I swear

She threw her cane at me and walked off down the street without

It has always puzzled me that people coo over bonsai trees when

You can squint your eyes and shrink anything without much of

A struggle ensued with some starlings and the strawberry nets

So after untangling the two I took the nets off and watched birds

With red beaks fly by all morning at the window I reread your letter

About how the castles you flew over made crenellated shadows on

The water in the rainbarrel has overflowed and made a small swamp

I think the potatoes might turn out slightly damp don’t worry

If there is no fog on the day you come home I will build a bonfire

So the smoke will make the cedars look the way you like them

To close I’m sorry there won’t be any salad and I love you

I'm also going to attempt making Spicy Banh Mi for the first time tonight, and maybe some of this on the side...

Shaved Asparagus and Potato Salad with Egg
Serves 8 as appetizer or 4 to 6 as an entrée

2 tablespoons garlic
½ onion, diced small
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, sliced very thinly on a diagonal
¼ pound smoked tofu, diced small
1 pound new potatoes, boiled, cooled, and diced medium
Salt and pepper
4-to-8 eggs
Truffle salt or truffle oil (optional)

Sauté the garlic and onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the sliced asparagus and tofu and sauté until the asparagus starts to wilt slightly. Add the potatoes and sauté until reheated. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. In a separate pan, fry the eggs sunny side up or over easy, according to your preference. To serve, place the asparagus and potato mixture on individual plates and top each with an egg. Drizzle lightly with truffle salt or truffle oil for extra flavor.

To serve this dish cold, omit the onion and garlic, blanch the asparagus (immerse briefly in boiling water then move it directly into cold water) and cut very thinly on a diagonal when cool. Toss the asparagus with the olive oil, tofu, and potatoes, and add a splash of sherry vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Hard boil the eggs. When the eggs are cool, peel them and cut them in half longwise. To serve, put the asparagus and potato mixture on individual plates and top each with a hard boiled egg. Drizzle lightly with truffle salt or truffle oil for extra flavor.

And who knows, if I'm motivated enough this weekend I may harvest more rhubarb stalks and make Rhubarb and Ginger Brioche Bread Pudding, a recipe I drooled over while in the waiting room at the dentist's office last Friday morning. You're allowed to drool all you want in the dentist's office, right?

What are you planning for the weekend?