Summer veggie garden in the front of our house complete with basil, soybeans, chard, tomatoes, spinach, strawberries, lettuce and carrots. I also planted marigolds because they are an excellent natural, organic pest deterrent.

We are taking off for a weeklong backpacking trip tomorrow so I harvested what was ripe in the garden for our last meal: spinach and chard (turned into a vegetable custard), lettuce and tomatoes (green salad) and our very first batch of soybeans! I have never grown them before, but this year I decided to plant a few. I was a little unsure when to pick the soybeans, so I picked a small handful to test.

Hands down the BEST edamame ever!!! The freshly picked beans are so sweet they taste like candy!

I went immediately back into the garden and picked every last ripe-ish looking bean and cooked a second batch. So good! The trick is to pick the beans when they are young, sweet and tender. The plants have been easy to grow and produce quickly. Recommended addition to any garden!

Cooking Instructions:

• Pick and wash soybeans
• Coat in salt and let sit for 15 minutes
• Cook for 5 minutes in boiling water
• Eat!