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!
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
What's we're eating, Spring/Summer 2015
I started out blogging as food blogging and now...nothing! I'd like to try to get back to blogging about what we're eating. So what are we eating right now?
For one, it's getting crazy hot. That means popsicles and ice cream!
Cherry Almond Chocolate Frozen Custard - this was incredible and better yet, we were able to share it with dear friends who stayed with us Saturday night. Also for our friends I made these Strawberry Basil Margaritas. They were fantastic and they'll be my contribution to Beach Trip Drinking next week.
Strawberry - Coconut Yogurt popsicles - I worked off of these two recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Joy the Baker.
Strawberry Ice Cream, which tends to be my favorite.
It's my goal to make a new and interesting ice cream most weeks this summer. I mean, it's 90+ degrees everyday with 100% humidity and I work in the garden after Caleb goes to bed. I deserve a bowl of homemade ice cream. Next up on my list: Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, also from Joy the Baker.
Dinners are the usual rotation of new items. I'm notoriously bad at repeating recipes, not when there are constantly new, delicious ones popping up on the many blogs I read! Last week we had savory breakfast for dinner, with these Bacon-Cheddar Corn Pancakes, from my favorite recipe developer at Serious Eats. Staples I fall back on fairly often are spaghetti with meatballs, a basic vegetable soup, and hamburgers on the grill. We're eating lots of grilled corn, squash and zucchini, from the farmers market. I also recently made these taquitos again- I first made them about 3 years ago, when our dear friends had their first baby. They are a baked chicken taquito, and Brian was thrilled when I pulled out a hidden pan of frozen ones this past weekend for Saturday lunch. If you're going to do all the chopping and rolling required for this recipe, double it and freeze some. I promise, you'll be sad if you don't. I also made a recipe out of the new Southern Living, Brown Sugar-Brined chicken breasts on the grill. They were fantastic.
A total fail, recently? Homemade english muffins. I won't link to the recipe, because I think it was user error. We continue to stick to the same dinner plan that I've been using for a couple years now. I plan 3 meals a week and stretch them for as long as possible. And Caleb? He eats toddler food. Blueberries, oranges, graham crackers, shredded cheese. The other night he ate 2 chicken nuggets and I was thrilled!
For one, it's getting crazy hot. That means popsicles and ice cream!
Cherry Almond Chocolate Frozen Custard - this was incredible and better yet, we were able to share it with dear friends who stayed with us Saturday night. Also for our friends I made these Strawberry Basil Margaritas. They were fantastic and they'll be my contribution to Beach Trip Drinking next week.
Strawberry - Coconut Yogurt popsicles - I worked off of these two recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Joy the Baker.
Strawberry Ice Cream, which tends to be my favorite.
It's my goal to make a new and interesting ice cream most weeks this summer. I mean, it's 90+ degrees everyday with 100% humidity and I work in the garden after Caleb goes to bed. I deserve a bowl of homemade ice cream. Next up on my list: Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, also from Joy the Baker.
Dinners are the usual rotation of new items. I'm notoriously bad at repeating recipes, not when there are constantly new, delicious ones popping up on the many blogs I read! Last week we had savory breakfast for dinner, with these Bacon-Cheddar Corn Pancakes, from my favorite recipe developer at Serious Eats. Staples I fall back on fairly often are spaghetti with meatballs, a basic vegetable soup, and hamburgers on the grill. We're eating lots of grilled corn, squash and zucchini, from the farmers market. I also recently made these taquitos again- I first made them about 3 years ago, when our dear friends had their first baby. They are a baked chicken taquito, and Brian was thrilled when I pulled out a hidden pan of frozen ones this past weekend for Saturday lunch. If you're going to do all the chopping and rolling required for this recipe, double it and freeze some. I promise, you'll be sad if you don't. I also made a recipe out of the new Southern Living, Brown Sugar-Brined chicken breasts on the grill. They were fantastic.
A total fail, recently? Homemade english muffins. I won't link to the recipe, because I think it was user error. We continue to stick to the same dinner plan that I've been using for a couple years now. I plan 3 meals a week and stretch them for as long as possible. And Caleb? He eats toddler food. Blueberries, oranges, graham crackers, shredded cheese. The other night he ate 2 chicken nuggets and I was thrilled!
Monday, June 15, 2015
Mid June Garden Update
Update from the garden in June:
Voles! They're eating up the roots of my sugar snap and snow pea vines! I have to do some research on how to deal with them, but it's making me very sad. Despite the vole problem I'm getting a bumper crop of sugar snap and snow peas. I'm already thinking about how I'll plant peas next year in order to make the best use of my space. I love the branch teepees but letting them climb the side of chicken wire fence might take less space and work for the same reward. At the time, seeing them go sky high is beautiful...
I've finally put in stakes for my tomatoes. I'm going to try this trellising option...mostly because it's free. Brian made me the stakes from scrap wood in his shop. So now the tomatoes have some support. My three in the front container on our walkway already have blossoms open and tomatoes growing. I think those are sungolds, which makes sense- that variety has usually been early for me.
My cucumber has discovered the fence and is using that as support.
My herb garden is finally up and running. I've learned the hard way that herbs grow VERY slowly. It's worth it for me to buy a handful of starts in the spring. I found the sage plant this morning at the farmers market for $2. I also got a nice size bag of worm casings for $3, so most of my plants, especially the tomatoes, got a nice dressing of fertilizer tonight, with hay on top to help conserve water. It was 90 degrees today and it'll be warmer tomorrow so I expect to have to water tomorrow night.
Voles! They're eating up the roots of my sugar snap and snow pea vines! I have to do some research on how to deal with them, but it's making me very sad. Despite the vole problem I'm getting a bumper crop of sugar snap and snow peas. I'm already thinking about how I'll plant peas next year in order to make the best use of my space. I love the branch teepees but letting them climb the side of chicken wire fence might take less space and work for the same reward. At the time, seeing them go sky high is beautiful...
I've finally put in stakes for my tomatoes. I'm going to try this trellising option...mostly because it's free. Brian made me the stakes from scrap wood in his shop. So now the tomatoes have some support. My three in the front container on our walkway already have blossoms open and tomatoes growing. I think those are sungolds, which makes sense- that variety has usually been early for me.
My cucumber has discovered the fence and is using that as support.
My herb garden is finally up and running. I've learned the hard way that herbs grow VERY slowly. It's worth it for me to buy a handful of starts in the spring. I found the sage plant this morning at the farmers market for $2. I also got a nice size bag of worm casings for $3, so most of my plants, especially the tomatoes, got a nice dressing of fertilizer tonight, with hay on top to help conserve water. It was 90 degrees today and it'll be warmer tomorrow so I expect to have to water tomorrow night.
All in all, I'm really happy with the state of my garden. I've put in a lot of work, starting all the way back in January when I was hacking out a huge grass plant. I hand tilled the soil and amended it. I started all these plants from seed either inside under the grow light or outside in the ground.
What's not working right now? Okra. I think it's shaded between the tall tomato plants and beans on either side.
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