I continue to really enjoy cooking from the garden. There is nothing more rewarding than picking your supplies from your yard. Tzatziki? No problem, just grab some cucumbers, and dill and mint from the herb spiral. Pesto? Great, time to harvest basil anyway. Salsa? Sure, pick some tomatoes and jalepenos. Need a side dish? Some pole beans will do nicely.
The corn will be ready soon, potatoes are not far from harvest, and the pumpkins are getting larger and starting to change color. The winter squash is growing like mad, and the apple tree is providing all we can eat. I'm noticing tiny tomatillos beginning to form.
Today was a pesto day, and the basil was starting to flower, so I harvested the last of it. Basil is so brightly and beautifully green.
I make it very simply, with pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. I usually make more than we need, and freeze it in mason jars, which works as long as you cover the surface of the pesto with olive oil before freezing.
I'm also grilling some chicken, so for a marinade, I went out to the spiral and picked oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, and chives.
To this I added lemon juice from lemons grown in Mom's garden. Lemons in summer! Weird, but welcome.
All you need to add to this is olive oil, and the longer it sits marinating in the fridge, the better. Delicious.
I sent Kate out to pick tomatoes for a garnish, what a wonderful dinner this will be.
I have sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, and sages blooming in the garden. The bees have been all over the Russian Sage, but I'm not sure what else they could possibly be foraging.
Today while walking Joe in a local park (sort of an open space kind of park), I came across two dogs, both collared and tagged, but they wouldn't let me come near. No owner in sight. After a bit, I heard a growling and yipping and commotion. The two dogs had cornered a coyote and were fighting it. It was a horrible noise and horrible to watch. The poor coyote finally got away, and snuck under fence into a neighboring yard, limping. I called animal control, but I never heard what happened. I feel bad for coyotes, I'm not sure why, they seem so shy and yet curious, they never bother me while I'm hiking, and they never bother Joe, though they seem lonely. Also so skinny and scruffy, and they aren't ever very large.
We've had hot hot hot weather with significant humidity, which just makes me wilt - I'm such a wimp. The shorter days make me long for Autumn and braised meats. And yet I don't want summer to ever end. All our camps and planned activities are done for the summer, and the kids and I are just starfishing all over the place, quite lazy, but we do manage to get out for a bit of every day and go exploring. It won't be long before we are shopping for school supplies.
The corn will be ready soon, potatoes are not far from harvest, and the pumpkins are getting larger and starting to change color. The winter squash is growing like mad, and the apple tree is providing all we can eat. I'm noticing tiny tomatillos beginning to form.
Today was a pesto day, and the basil was starting to flower, so I harvested the last of it. Basil is so brightly and beautifully green.
I make it very simply, with pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. I usually make more than we need, and freeze it in mason jars, which works as long as you cover the surface of the pesto with olive oil before freezing.
I'm also grilling some chicken, so for a marinade, I went out to the spiral and picked oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, and chives.
To this I added lemon juice from lemons grown in Mom's garden. Lemons in summer! Weird, but welcome.
All you need to add to this is olive oil, and the longer it sits marinating in the fridge, the better. Delicious.
I sent Kate out to pick tomatoes for a garnish, what a wonderful dinner this will be.
I have sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, and sages blooming in the garden. The bees have been all over the Russian Sage, but I'm not sure what else they could possibly be foraging.
Today while walking Joe in a local park (sort of an open space kind of park), I came across two dogs, both collared and tagged, but they wouldn't let me come near. No owner in sight. After a bit, I heard a growling and yipping and commotion. The two dogs had cornered a coyote and were fighting it. It was a horrible noise and horrible to watch. The poor coyote finally got away, and snuck under fence into a neighboring yard, limping. I called animal control, but I never heard what happened. I feel bad for coyotes, I'm not sure why, they seem so shy and yet curious, they never bother me while I'm hiking, and they never bother Joe, though they seem lonely. Also so skinny and scruffy, and they aren't ever very large.
We've had hot hot hot weather with significant humidity, which just makes me wilt - I'm such a wimp. The shorter days make me long for Autumn and braised meats. And yet I don't want summer to ever end. All our camps and planned activities are done for the summer, and the kids and I are just starfishing all over the place, quite lazy, but we do manage to get out for a bit of every day and go exploring. It won't be long before we are shopping for school supplies.