New potato, Swiss chard, fresh green pea and cherry tomato frittata

One of my favorite weeknight meals is a frittata. I don't think there's an easier, healthier, more delicious dinner out there. The formula is simple: eggs, cheese, a starchy vegetable, and then whatever other vegetables you've got languishing in the fridge. Or, better yet, in the garden.

Our bounty is upon us. Well, a mini-bounty, anyway. Over the last week our giant potato plants began to weaken and droop, indicating they were ripe for the pickin'. So pick them we did - how cute are those little baby new potatoes! Allan ate them raw right from the dirt, after shaking the roly-polys off. He's hardcore. The Swiss chard is incredible, I picked them way back to make a lasagna last weekend (that was awesome) and they are back to full again. Also, our little English peas are finally ready for some eating.

Hot smoked salmon with accoutrements, goat cheeses and toasted baguette

Please excuse the brief hiatus. My quiet life of mealplanning and forging the frontiers of science was briefly interrupted to attend to my Pop's heart, which it turns out is pretty darn tough. Speaking of things I love more than all the stars in the sky:

Hurray, a celebratory excuse to use my new stovetop smoker! And when I think of smoking something (food, people, food), I think of salmon. To be fair, I also did a trout fillet, which turned out great too but was not nearly as gorgeous to photograph.

Grilled shrimp, zucchini, and leeks over Israeli couscous

Mmm. Feta. Salty, crumbly yet creamy, distinctively tangy, I love a good feta. This particular variety is a sheep's milk feta called "Valbreso". It was good but not great, perhaps because it's subtle for me - I like to be punched in the face by my cheese. I'll try another variety next time.

This is Allan's Favorite Meal. And I agree, it's very very good, simple, and healthy. It's a glorified pasta salad, really. I use my grill pan, but you could certainly use your grill or just a heavy skillet. The recipe calls for fresh herbs, but I've made this many times using dried and it turns out just fine so don't run out and buy fresh oregano and thyme at $1.99 a pop (and have no idea what to do with the other 90% of the package). Do go plant some in your garden, though.

Stew chicken and pigeon peas over brown rice with green salads

Stew chicken is, I believe, my death row meal. Lobster? I mean, it's good, but I don't yearn for it... Steak? I can take or leave it, honestly. Stew chicken, particularly if made by a Trini like my Mom? Hell. Yes. This is just my very easy version, no hard-to-find island ingredients like "green seasoning". Speaking of hard to find ingredients, these are pigeon peas.

And they are awesome. Uniquely soft and creamy and savory. You can often find them in the Hispanic section of your grocery store, but I've made this with regular old black beans in a pinch when I couldn't find them. I'll definitely try it with my own fresh blackeyed peas, too, although I suspect I'll always like the pigeon peas best.

Herbed salmon with tomato and swiss chard spaghetti

Friends, it's that time. The garden is maturing at approximately the speed of light and Swiss chard season is in full effect (see also: lettuce). So yes, the beauties in this meal were birthed right here in my garden. I didn't even know Swiss chard existed until a couple of years ago when I received some in my farm share and stumbled upon this Giada De Laurentiis recipe. It's got olives! And pine nuts! It's perfect!!

The salmon is very simple, just lightly herbed with fresh dill from the garden. Chervil would be good, marjoram, parsley, whatever you have. Even just lemon. Mmm. Or orange. Mmm.