There is something incredibly satisfying about making a meal where almost everything comes straight from your own garden.
Today’s dinner is a simple vegetable roast with chicken. The only thing I had to buy was the chicken. Everything else was grown here at home.
The tray is filled with freshly dug potatoes, sweet carrots, beetroot, turnip, and herbs picked just minutes before cooking. After months of planting, watering (only twice), weeding, and waiting, this is the reward—fresh, seasonal vegetables full of flavour. And I couldn’t resist the salad leaves with dill and spring onions as well.
Also, I pick sweet pea – they are so fragrant!
People often ask if growing your own food is worth the effort. Days like this make the answer easy. There is something special about looking at your plate and knowing exactly where your food came from. No long transport, no plastic packaging, just fresh vegetables from the garden to the oven.
It doesn’t have to be a complicated recipe either. Toss the vegetables with a little olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and your favourite herbs, then roast them alongside the chicken until everything is golden and tender.
Simple food. Homegrown ingredients. The best kind of dinner.
What vegetables are you harvesting from your garden right now?
Ilze
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That looks delicious! The only things i planted this year were tomatoes and romaine lettuce. My tomato plants are flowering but i dont see a single little tomato there yet. 😩
Because we’re so far north we’re not safe from frost until the middle of June so it’ll be another month or so until I see tomatoes i think.
Thank you! 😊 Your tomatoes will get there. Once they finally start setting fruit, they always seem to surprise you with how quickly they grow. Our season is short too, so I know the feeling of waiting. 😊 Are we at about the same latitude? I always imagine everyone north of us is basically on the way to the North Pole! 😄
Check Latvians North – and your location 🙂
What variety of tomatoes are you growing this year?
Oh yes I’ll check out where you are! We are north of 55.
I’m not even sure which kind of tomato plants I bought this year! And I think also part of the problem is I crowded them in their pots. (Container gardening).
I also like to crowd everything 🙂 Ever heard of companion planting? That is the way to grow a few things in one container 🙂
No i haven’t heard of that.
I took a good look yesterday and have two tiny tomatoes just starting to grow 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I was so happy!
Yes! Congratulations!!! That is always exciting 🙂
Yesss!
I don’t think there is something as simple and elegant as a roast chicken. I love the smell of the house when I cook one…. have a wonderful summer and enjoy the weekend ahead. Peace.
Thank you so much! 😊 I completely agree—there’s something so comforting about the aroma of a roast chicken filling the house. It instantly makes everything feel cozy. I hope you have a wonderful summer and a relaxing weekend as well. Do you have a favourite herb or seasoning you always use with roast chicken?
It is indeed so very satisfying!!! Right now we are eating our kale, peas, carrots, beets, onions, chive, garlic, broccoli, squash, celery, red currants, black currants, gooseberries, strawberries, rhubarb, and raspberries.
Actually, you inspired me to go and dig out potatoes and carrots 🙂
What an amazing harvest! 😍 Your garden is certainly keeping you well fed. Fresh currants and gooseberries are such a summer treat. I still have to wait a little longer for my squash, but they’re growing nicely.
What has been your biggest success in the garden this year?
Oh, my!! What beautiful food. That meal looks delicious and I am quite sure it is. Nothing better than straight out of the garden.
Thank you so much! 😊 I think vegetables really do taste better when they’ve been picked just before cooking. It’s one of the best rewards for all the work in the garden. Is there a favourite vegetable you always look forward to harvesting each summer?
I don’t have a garden but I look forward to be able to get squash in season.
It is only 8am, but I am now hungry for chicken.
😂 Sorry about that! I hope breakfast was good anyway. Maybe roast chicken will have to make it onto your dinner menu tonight. Do you usually cook it with lots of vegetables too, or do you have a favourite side dish?
And I can’t wait for my parsnip to be ready 🙂
May I copy the New Zealand comment to a ‘t’ – It is 8am here in Oz and I am now hungry for roast chicken – well, your roast vegetables . . . oh, yes, it IS worth all the trouble . . , just look at your platter!
Thank you! 😊 I have to admit, the vegetables were the stars of the meal this time. Freshly picked and roasted, they hardly need anything except a little olive oil and seasoning. Is there a vegetable you especially love roasting? Estonian roots should say “potatoes” 🙂
That’s a lovely and delicious harvest, Ilze 🙂
Thank you!
Your harvest dinner looks yummy. From my garden I’m taking plums and lemons, tomatoes, basil, tarragon and parsley. And I’m thinking of freezing borage blossoms into ice cubes so they’ll be on hand to drop into a pitcher of lemonade 🙂
That looks like a true feast! It is so wonderful getting to eat your own homegrown vegetables 🙂
Oh, yes! We had carrot salad yesterday with salmon (from shop) 🙂