Hyperlocal

Eating local conjures up images of farmers' markets and $12 quarts of strawberries. But for the last week or two, we've been eating hyperlocal. 

Our chief suppliers are the basil growing in a pot on the deck, which just yielded enough leaves for a delicious pesto sauce — and mostly the next-door neighbors, with their well-tended garden of beans, squash, cucumbers and tomatoes. 

The beans have been lightly boiled, salted and buttered. (I usually steam vegetables, but these thrive with a more old-school treatment.) 

The cucumbers have been sliced thin and served in a peppercorn ranch marinade (this dish courtesy of yet another neighbor) or simmered in broth then whipped with yogurt and dill into a cold soup.

The squash have been mixed with onions and breadcrumbs and turned into a casserole. And the tomatoes ... well, they're yet to come.