We’ve haven’t shared with you our non-edible garden photos in awhile, so here is a recent favorite:
Our summer garden in the morning sun, with stattice and Swiss chard.
This morning, we hit up the Irvine Farmers’ Market specifically to pick-up some hummus and pita from the guys at the Baba Foods stand for a Greek-themed dinner event tonight.
You mean we’re not making anything fancy for tonight’s dinner? Sadly, no. It’s been one heck of a week for both of us, and the lack of physically being at home any evening this week prevented us from planning anything decent. So we’re takin’ it easy and relying on Baba Foods… which we’re 100% confident in.
While at the market, we also picked up some squash blossoms, goat cheese with roasted pepper and shallots (because they were out of plain by the time we got there) and a couple of red bell peppers. Knowing we had lots of herbs at home I could rely on, I silently schemed a lunch experiment while Mr. RGBistro drove us home.
Since a bird pooped on the Volvo while we were at the market, Barry opted to get the car washed while I started lunch. Because my once-upon-a-time white Subaru was currently sporting a shade of charcoal, Barry also kindly offered to get mine washed. Yes, please! So while Spouse of the Year was gone making two separate trips to the carwash, I planned a concoction of tempura fried squash blossoms (6 for $1!), stuffed with the goat cheese from the market, then arranged on a platter drizzeled with chive-infused olive oil (chives from the garden), a roasted red bell pepper puree and a balsamic vinegar reduction.
While I take full credit for pulling this off with nothing more than my home-cook skills, I do offer complete inspiration to Haven Gastropub in Orange, CA.
A Sunday Shoutout (shh, it’s Saturday, we know) to Haven Gastropub: These guys have been open almost a year. To the extent that they can, they work with local purveyors, provide sustainable seafood and offer humanely raised meat and poultry. They also make ketchup from scratch. Can we say, “awesome?!” When the RGB grows up, we’d like to follow in their footsteps. 
) In the meantime, we LOVE that we live five streets away and can pop in for a great dinner (and beer) any night of the week.
) In the meantime, we LOVE that we live five streets away and can pop in for a great dinner (and beer) any night of the week.So back to our lunch today. Earlier this week, I treated a really good girlfriend to dinner and drinks at Haven Gastropub to help her celebrate a milestone event in her life. To start off, we split the squash blossoms with lobster and goat cheese, beer battered, red bell pepper rouille, parsley oil and balsamic reduction.
Disclaimer: this ain’t the real thing. It’s an RGB interpretation, based on what we found at the market today, what’s growing in our backyard and what’s in the pantry. If you’re local to Orange County, CA, please head down to Orange, check these guys out and order the squash blossoms. )
)Paired with another serving of our Moules Marinière and some Fat Tire beers, Mr. RGBistro thought it was quite awesome. Thanks for the inspiration, Haven Gastropub!!
Our Saturday afternoon experiment; fried zucchini blossoms.
RGB Moules Mariniere, with addition of heirloom garden tomatoes. We have Spanish chorizo too, but forgot to add it in. Whoops.
A perfect mid-summer weekend RGB lunch in the garden.
mmm... Fat Tire...
[Kim will provide a recipe write-up later this weekend. Promise!]
That’s a really great experiment! Can I come and test out your next meal?
I’m w/Gwen – I’m coming to your house to eat ‘experiments’! This right here? This right here is my idea of a perfect lunch, dinner, whenever – add the beautiful gardens outdoors and I’m in heaven. Mr. RGBistro does gets Spouse of the Year for 2 trips to the car wash, bu then again, he DID get to enjoy those Fat Tires – another of my personal favorites!
Wow! Those look gorgeous. I’ve made them once before (stuffed with ricotta, sausage and herbs) for a wine dinner and they were a lot of work, but delicious. Sadly, I have not ventured into that territory again.
Also, I’ve been telling myself I need to get to Haven since they opened. I used to live nearby and went to the circle (excuse me–”The Plaza”) every weekend. I’m so glad they are being thoughtful about the food they use. That makes me more motivated to go.
Great post!
This looks incredible! Next time I get squash blossoms, I’m going to tempura fry them! It looks amazing!
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog
Your squash blossoms and mussels look amazing. The Irvine farmer’s market is great…need to get over there more often.
Yes, your hubs is a champ to clean the icky’s out of your car.
One word – YUM!!!!! I’ve never done the squash blossoms with tempura batter but WOW…. what a perfect way to do them!!! Haven is great – only been there once but plan to go again soon ASAP!!! Beautiful garden BTW !!
This is my first time to your blog and I really like it. The squash blossoms look amazing. I keep meaning to try making them, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. We have a CSA farm share, and it has kept us pretty busy.
Well, I think you might actually deserve the title of spouse of the year. I wish I were so lucky to indulge in a weekend meal like this. Looks just wonderful! xoxoo
You’ve inspired me to finally give fried squash blossoms a try in our kitchen–we had them once in Italy and they were fantastic, but we never bothered to try them. That must change this year!
Beautiful dish. Great job!
I simply love how gorgeous those blossoms look.. funny, they are so hard to come by here.. I saw it only once so far at a farmer’s market and as luck would have it, I had no cash on me and they don’t take plastic.. SIGH.. nevertheless, I am keeping my eyes peeled!!
Love that the tempura batter isn’t covering all the squash, nice and light.
Your sauces and presentation are just beautiful. And your garden looks so peaceful.
I’m looking forward to your Bistro opening so I can come and visit.
That looks like one glorious experiment! Goat cheese and Tempura? Yes, please! I wish I was your neighbor…
Okay, wait we are practically neighbors. I will trade some desserts for some of whatever you make. This dish sounds awesome.
Thanks for the heads up about Haven Gastropub. I will definitely check it out next time we are in Orange.