Veggies are coming. So are deer.

Plus: pickled green strawberries and a cider vinaigrette that goes on everything.

Sometimes in the mornings before school and work, we’ll amble out to see the latest developments in the garden. The elation that comes from the sight of a single strawberry that’s turned perfectly red and ripe overnight! The jolt of pride in noticing that a soon-to-be orange bell pepper is visibly plumper than the last time you looked. The anticipation of knowing that those mini green tomato globes are just weeks from being big, soft, and juicy.

You got this, bell pepper!

And then: frustration from realizing *something* helped itself to three rows of pea tendrils. Fist-shaking at the deep tracks of deer hooves by the beets. Kicking myself for buying that one ornamental that wasn’t labeled deer-resistant and is now a stump.

The highs and lows of gardening — we’ve gotten to know them well. Thankfully, we have more things to celebrate at the moment than problems to address. Besides the bell peppers and baby tomatoes and strawberry (literally one strawberry), we also have hot cherry peppers beginning to fruit, and our eggplant, squash, cucumbers, and beans all appear to be in very good shape.

1 > 0.

I stopped by a garden shop we like that was having a big sale the other day, so I picked up some several new starter plants, like bronze fennel and pumpkin. I also got a few “Cherry Sunrise” lantana plants, which are beautiful and smell like fresh guava. I love them.

Can you smell it?

While waiting for the garden to do its thing — and to compensate for our … slow-production strawberry plant — I took Jagger strawberry-picking at a local pick-your-own farm. We plucked two quarts of ripe red strawberries and one of green strawberries, which I told him we’d pickle to make them sweet and sour and delicious. On the shuttle ride back from the field, another picker saw our haul and asked what we were going to do with the green ones. Before I could reply, Jagger said: “We’re going to pickle them!” Pride like a plumping bell pepper.

Two thumbs up for a mouthful of strawberries.

Recipe: Best-Ever Cider Vinaigrette

In the previous Tiny Seeds, I shared a watermelon salad that we tried at a cooking class in Middleburg, Va., and loved. We also had another salad down there that was so good, we ordered it on consecutive days at the Salamander Resort: a hyper-local mix of fresh greens, candied Virginia peanuts, garden herbs, aged cheddar, and a vinaigrette starring Mt. Defiance hard cider that pulls everything together and makes you come back for more. Salamander Executive Chef Bill Welch graciously shared the recipe with me, and we’ve been putting it on everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to roasted Brussels sprouts. A keeper for sure.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

1/2 cup dry hard cider from Mt. Defiance or your favorite cidery

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

3 shallots, peeled and sliced

1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

2 cups neutral oil like grapeseed or vegetable

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Add cider, vinegar, shallots, garlic, mustard, and honey to a blender and puree on high until everything is homogenous, about 2 minutes.

2. Turn blender to medium-low and slowly add oils in a light stream until fully emulsified, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add a touch more honey if you like. Refrigerate in a covered container up to two weeks.

Enjoy, and thanks for reading! EB