Your front yard "gourmet grocery store"

Listen, anyone can grow fresh gourmet veggies. And there is very good reason to do so. Have you looked at the price of snow peas and sugar peas in the grocery store? $4-$6 dollars a pound!!

Here is another compelling reason to 'grow your own': Convenience. It's no secret that I love to cook. And it's frustrating to continually run to the store for every little thing. Especially fresh herbs. You pay $2 for half wilted basil that you only use a portion of . The rest turns black before you find another recipe.

Meal planning also becomes easier. I can stroll out to garden and see what is currently ready to pick and plan accordingly. In early spring it is usually just a green salad with a few fresh herbs tossed in. As the season continues, I can add spinach, radishes, and peas. Soon I'm planning meals around broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, new potatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash.

The sad truth is our economy sucks right now. And our pantry is showing the sign-of-the-times. The end of each month is often quite lean for us.

Yesterday I opened our fridge to look for a veggie for dinner. There was only a sad, old bunch of celery in the crisper. "Not salad again", I thought to myself.

Out to garden I went. And guess what? After 10 minutes of careful fussing and picking, I was able to get enough sugar snap peas to saute' for dinner for a family of six. No driving, no shopping, no money spent.

Tomorrow I'm going to address stumbling blocks to starting your own garden. Most gardening challenges are easily overcome. So do not fear!

Then we'll talk about some simple easy preparations of garden veggies. As side-dishes, soups, and even main meals.

Many friends have commented that we eat well at my house. You can do the same at yours! Stay tuned..........