Our wi-fi reaches out to the garden and I often listen to podcasts out there, although right now I get in and out as fast as possible, before I'm eaten alive by mosquitoes. I mention this because my green beans must have access to the internet. No sooner than did I post their imminent destruction than lo and behold! Fully grown green beans! On the vine! Let's go, beans!
We are in the dog days of summer here. Temps reach well into the 90's every day and it doesn't get below 75. Our play is mostly inside after dinner, and Caleb's school is mindful of that as well. So what am I loving during this hot, humid weather?
Listening: Gravy Podcast. Episode 17, A Charleston Feast for Reconciliation, is the one that struck an emotional chord in me. A dinner party mirroring a post-Civil War dinner party took place in Charleston between the murder of Walter Scott and the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. To hear the host and dinner party guests speak about the need for racial reconciliation, knowing what takes places only a few weeks later, is heartbreaking. It is excellently done and I highly recommend it.
Reading: Hungry Monkey, by Matthew Amster-Burton. It's part cookbook, part memoir, which is one of my favorite types of books. Matthew writes about feeding his daughter, from the time she is born through her toddler years. It reaffirms that my kid doesn't need to eat everything (vegetables are just about gone from his plate). Caleb very well might order chicken strips for more than a few years, much like I did, and still grow up and discover condiments and Brussels sprouts in his 20's, much like I did.
Also? Don't judge, but Amish Christian fiction. I can't fully explain the appeal, except that it's a total escape from real life. There's love! And love of God, which comes so easily without any reservations or denominational infighting or theological wrestling! And lots of amazing food! I mostly read it on my Kindle so no one can see.
Cooking: On the grill. Everything, on the grill. Yes, it's hot, but it doesn't seem so bad when there are burgers and strips of squash on the grill and a sweating cocktail in your left hand. Monday night we had pimento cheeseburgers with grilled onions and peppers. I bake frozen french fries in the oven and it's a meal. Last night I tried a foil packet, stuffed with sliced potatoes, onions, bell peppers and crumbled hamburger. Half an hour of unattended time later, everything was tender and ready to eat. I might make everything in foil packets ever. Next week will include hot dogs, in an effort to use some frozen hot dog buns. I might wrap them in bacon. We'll see. I bet the Amish could use grills if they wanted.
My attempt to make ice cream every week has not been successful, but last night I finally made the Spicy Mexican Brownie Chocolate Ice Cream I've had on the brain for weeks. It was crazy good.
And that's about it as we roll into August!
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Friday, July 24, 2015
Round Robin Catchup
I did not mean to be away this long. Let's go through all the things:
Caleb: He's 18 months old! He got tubes! It went great! Truly, while I understood the risks around even minor surgery, getting tubes was very easy for us and him. Two weeks later he's been seen by his pediatrician and his ENT specialist, with pronouncements of "ears look great!" That's something I haven't heard in over a year now, and I'm crossing my fingers that this continues.
Caleb is so much fun at 18 months old. He runs, he climbs, he sleeps, he eats, he's learning a new word every other day. Earlier in the week I had to guess how many words he can say and my mind blanked. I guessed 10. Thinking about it later though, I think it's between 25 and 30, between family names, animal names and noises, please, thank you, etc. As for what he can understand?? Everything. I'm convinced he can understand 90% of what we say clearly to him. Probably not Brian and my's dinner table conversation when we talk church and theology, but he'll follow commands like "Go find Daddy" or "Go put your shoes in their basket" or "Stop whining, what do we say?" "Please." He whines, a lot. That's my least favorite part of this stage. He doesn't use words for whining, just a whiny noise that he makes every time he wants something. It's rough and I find myself correcting him, a lot, along the lines of "Is that how we ask for something?" Then I make him sign please, sans whiny noise. It's probably a little much to ask an 18 month old, but I don't really care. I'm probably going to be a really strict mom. Oh well. In general he's a really great kid- he plays independently while I'm making dinner, with his blocks or trucks, or flipping through his books. He loves to roughhouse with Brian or on our bed. Flipping himself onto a pile of pillows and rolling around is his favorite activity. Watching him grow and learn is constantly entertaining!
The Garden: Oh my, the garden. I really, truly thought I'd be drowning in homegrown vegetables right now, late July. Instead, no. A trickle of tomatoes and cucumbers. Here's what happened:
First zucchini plant: Voles. Planted another, still small.
Yellow Squash: Squash vine borers. Gonna pull it this weekend.
Kale/Broccoli: Bugs. Heat. Gonna pull them this weekend.
Cucumber: Was great, now wilting, and not just from the heat. We'll see what happens.
Pole Beans: Jungle-esque vines, 0 beans. I don't know if they aren't being pollinated or what, but I'm about ready to take them down.
Purple cabbage: Hopefully still forming heads...
Bush beans: Produced a few beans, but are overshadowed by tomatoes and didn't get big.
Okra: Took forever, now overshadowed and crowded by other plants. Think I'm going to transplant them into the squash spot.
Delicata: Vine still looks good
Bell Peppers: Zero peppers.
Onions: Teensy-weensy
Tomatoes: The only thing thriving. Everything's starting to ripen.
I'm seriously considering just planting early peas and tomatoes next year. There are so many kinds of beautiful tomatoes, maybe I'll just focus on them. This year I've got a yellow pear (so pretty!), sungolds, red cherry tomatoes, some kind of medium red tomato and the heirloom brandywines. My only tomato issue is that my stakes aren't tall enough- the tomato vines are taller than I am. Next year I would consider planting some bush tomatoes, maybe a canning variety since bush tomatoes come in all at once.
This has been a rainy year, so I'm told. It seems rainy to me, I hardly ever water my garden. The heavy mulching I did with straw a couple months ago seems to hold in the moisture well. My front garden has a couple things too, my azaleas are blooming again.
In the Kitchen: Canning! I've been bit by the canning bug again, and I've put up blueberries, strawberries and peaches. We've been grilling a lot and I'm trying to keep our meals easy and simple, at least what I consider simple.
Weekend: We've got a fun weekend ahead of us. Family is coming in town for a Bachelor weekend my husband is hosting. Thankfully my sister-in-law is coming as well, to play with Caleb and I. We're going to break out the new baby pool I bought last weekend!
Caleb: He's 18 months old! He got tubes! It went great! Truly, while I understood the risks around even minor surgery, getting tubes was very easy for us and him. Two weeks later he's been seen by his pediatrician and his ENT specialist, with pronouncements of "ears look great!" That's something I haven't heard in over a year now, and I'm crossing my fingers that this continues.
Caleb is so much fun at 18 months old. He runs, he climbs, he sleeps, he eats, he's learning a new word every other day. Earlier in the week I had to guess how many words he can say and my mind blanked. I guessed 10. Thinking about it later though, I think it's between 25 and 30, between family names, animal names and noises, please, thank you, etc. As for what he can understand?? Everything. I'm convinced he can understand 90% of what we say clearly to him. Probably not Brian and my's dinner table conversation when we talk church and theology, but he'll follow commands like "Go find Daddy" or "Go put your shoes in their basket" or "Stop whining, what do we say?" "Please." He whines, a lot. That's my least favorite part of this stage. He doesn't use words for whining, just a whiny noise that he makes every time he wants something. It's rough and I find myself correcting him, a lot, along the lines of "Is that how we ask for something?" Then I make him sign please, sans whiny noise. It's probably a little much to ask an 18 month old, but I don't really care. I'm probably going to be a really strict mom. Oh well. In general he's a really great kid- he plays independently while I'm making dinner, with his blocks or trucks, or flipping through his books. He loves to roughhouse with Brian or on our bed. Flipping himself onto a pile of pillows and rolling around is his favorite activity. Watching him grow and learn is constantly entertaining!
The Garden: Oh my, the garden. I really, truly thought I'd be drowning in homegrown vegetables right now, late July. Instead, no. A trickle of tomatoes and cucumbers. Here's what happened:
First zucchini plant: Voles. Planted another, still small.
Yellow Squash: Squash vine borers. Gonna pull it this weekend.
Kale/Broccoli: Bugs. Heat. Gonna pull them this weekend.
Cucumber: Was great, now wilting, and not just from the heat. We'll see what happens.
Pole Beans: Jungle-esque vines, 0 beans. I don't know if they aren't being pollinated or what, but I'm about ready to take them down.
Purple cabbage: Hopefully still forming heads...
Bush beans: Produced a few beans, but are overshadowed by tomatoes and didn't get big.
Okra: Took forever, now overshadowed and crowded by other plants. Think I'm going to transplant them into the squash spot.
Delicata: Vine still looks good
Bell Peppers: Zero peppers.
Onions: Teensy-weensy
Tomatoes: The only thing thriving. Everything's starting to ripen.
I'm seriously considering just planting early peas and tomatoes next year. There are so many kinds of beautiful tomatoes, maybe I'll just focus on them. This year I've got a yellow pear (so pretty!), sungolds, red cherry tomatoes, some kind of medium red tomato and the heirloom brandywines. My only tomato issue is that my stakes aren't tall enough- the tomato vines are taller than I am. Next year I would consider planting some bush tomatoes, maybe a canning variety since bush tomatoes come in all at once.
This has been a rainy year, so I'm told. It seems rainy to me, I hardly ever water my garden. The heavy mulching I did with straw a couple months ago seems to hold in the moisture well. My front garden has a couple things too, my azaleas are blooming again.
In the Kitchen: Canning! I've been bit by the canning bug again, and I've put up blueberries, strawberries and peaches. We've been grilling a lot and I'm trying to keep our meals easy and simple, at least what I consider simple.
Weekend: We've got a fun weekend ahead of us. Family is coming in town for a Bachelor weekend my husband is hosting. Thankfully my sister-in-law is coming as well, to play with Caleb and I. We're going to break out the new baby pool I bought last weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)