In my human frailty, I have
done quite a bit of complaining this season. And granted, I’m still beyond
ready for the onset of autumn, but I thought it time to readdress and assess
some of the bountiful goodness.
For one, I’ve (most weeks)
achieved a good deal of rewrites. Today I’m having fun reworking “The Wolf at
Your Door”. I plan to contribute toward the incomplete ending before closing
down for the evening .
The new deck, finished within
a single week (!), turned out very nice. For the first time we can remember,
it’s a safe and attractive structure. We’ll just have to get some of the lumber
painted or stained to protect it from the elements once the green has bleached
away.
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| Composite Floorboards Should Hold Up Better |
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| At Last We Have Safe, Comfortable Stairs! |
I’ve mentioned gardening
numerous times. Stashed in our freezer are bags and bags of processed tomatoes
ready for stews and casseroles or chili alongside others loaded with roasted
jalapenos and parboiled chard. We also have leftover West African peanut stew
and, as of yesterday, several servings of homemade tomato basil bisque ready to
defrost. My next task is to cook up Buffalo
chicken chili with some refrigerated fresh tomatoes and freeze half of that. I like having plenty of meals on hand.
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| Yum |
If you think the above looks like fortune cookies, check out how I managed to
freeze individual packets of the thin bisque without inconvenience or mess.
Ice cube trays are so useful, even though my experiment in freezing cubes of
fresh herbs didn’t work out so well. The soup bagged up quite nicely. I’m
pleased with having thought to try this.
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| Three Bowls Full Ready to Go |
Yesterday we shut down two of
three Earthbox gardening containers for winter (tomatoes and rainbow chard). We’ll
harvest the hot pepper plants in the next day or so. Once dehydrated, the spicy
Thai dragon pods will fulfill our recipe needs for a couple of years.
There may still be some
marglobe tomatoes to harvest ripe from the corner patch. We’ll see what the
weather does. Those plants grew taller than my five foot two inch self and just
look at my colander full! How beautiful are these tasty globes?
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| Prettiest Tomatoes We Have Ever Grown |
Also, potatoes! We shall see how these little purple guys cook up. They will be part of dinner tonight.
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| A New Experiment Using Potato Growing Bags - ! |
And while my heart goes out
to all those who have or will face hurricanes this season, I’m thrilled to know
my favorite vacation destination (more home away from home, really) has
weathered quite well. We look forward to returning to the Kill Devil Hills
region of North Carolina’s
Outer Banks yet this year.
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Our Beets (Upper Right) Were Disappointing
But Who Wants Fried Green Tomatoes? |
Last but not least, Palaye
Royale is about to drop their sophomore release “Boom Boom Room: Side B”. I’ll
be seeing them live in November, too. That should be fun.
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| PR's Underwater Album Cover Shot |
Now the question remains,
what should we plant in place of Thai dragon peppers next spring?
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Your new deck looks wonderful and so does the yummy stuff!
ReplyDeleteThank you! We are pleased.
DeleteYour deck is awesome. What a great place to catch some fresh air before the heat sets in for the day. Love it.
ReplyDeleteYour garden has been so wonderful. You'll enjoy many goodies all winter long.
Have a fabulous day and week, Darla. Big hug. ♥
Thanks for all the kind words! Be well, my dear.
DeleteBeautiful tomatoes! What kind of soil to you put in the boxes? Do you amend it with anything particular before using it again?
ReplyDeleteJust curious, I'm trying to find the "best" recipe!
I'm glad you approve. ~grin~ Your gardens are an inspiration.
DeleteWe use soil-less potting mix in those boxes according to the Earthbox maker's instructions. In fact, let me send you a link which I hope will be helpful. Be well!
The deck looks wonderful. Some of my more pleasant memories of recent decades was sitting on the deck at my late mother's house in the evenings and listening to the chorus of insects and frogs.
ReplyDeleteI've never been very successful at growing a garden, but my yard here in Los Angeles has very bad soil that might possibly be toxic in some way. My food supply here at home is pretty dismal compared to yours.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Thanks. That's sad about your yard and food pantry. Be well!
DeleteYou sure had a bountiful garden. We grow blue potatoes too :) Your deck came out great.
ReplyDeleteWe are blessed. The potatoes didn't turn out as edible. Oh, well. They are going back into the soil.
DeleteYou new deck looks wonderful! What a brilliant haul of veg. You really don't want my advice on anything to do with gardening. I have the opposite of green fingers; they are more like death rays.
ReplyDeleteOh, your sense of humor is a treasure, my dear. ~grin~ Be well!
DeleteWow, you have lots of food frozen and ready! Good for you. That deck looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, my dear. We're very blessed.
DeleteAre those peppers hot or mild? I don’t think I have ever those. I did not realize that you grew taters too! Awesome! I had mater plants, two, got a few off them. Did not get to enjoy my Cherokee tomatoes thanks to some unknown critter in the yard! BRATS! And my peppers I planted did not fare well. Going to haul horse crap from the barn to the garden this fall and work it into my soil...flowers did not do so well either and I am pretty sure it was due to top soil I purchased in bags....not near as good as that stuff used to be. But horsey poo should help with the garden.....can’t wait to see how the plants do next yr! Deck looks awesome! Fall coming on you should be able to really enjoy it! So you told me you are planning vacation....where to?
ReplyDeleteThese are very hot, but tasty and not bitter like habanero (Scotch bonnet) peppers. Well, the potatoes didn't end up being eaten. They took forever to steam and smelled like dirt. ~sigh~ They are going to go back into the soil. Horse poop is excellent fertilizer, though we don't go out of our way to get it. The trip is to North Carolina's Outer Banks. We're so glad the region survived the hurricane. Thanks for all the fun commentary and interest, my dear.
DeleteHaha since I have to be at the barn three times a week if not more then getting horse crap 💩 will not a an issue. Waiting a tad longer, more into fall when I clean out the beds, I will add some then. Even if I get it a little hot then by spring it should obe okay and not burn up my plants. Going to haul over enough to work into the dirt around my hydrangeas to see if that helps in helping them to produce some more blooms next yr. I like hot peppers...not the ones that will burn later when they leave my body but just enough to give off some heat! Yuck on the nasty taters! Yep my brother and sis in law are heading to NC ain’t a couple weeks on the beach for a college friend bday get together....guessing you know where me and the furbabes will be!
DeleteYou had a busy summer.
ReplyDeleteI have, in my quiet retired way. ~grin~ Thanks for the faithful visit!
DeleteGreat porch - lots of room for potted plants! And wow, what a bounty! We have a garden but we also have Beth's up the street, a huge vegetable center that grows and sells veggies, farm raised meats, berries, apples, etc. I'm a little spoiled having them so close tho I will suffer when they close after Christmas. Enjoy those tomatoes; they look dilish!
ReplyDeleteOh, I envy you. ~grin~ You've reminded me I need to process my latest tomato harvest. I think I'll freeze these. Be well! And thank you for the kind word.
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