Saturday, June 30, 2007

Strawberry Iced Tea

Well, I still cannot provide pics of the garden. We have yet to replace the cord eaten by Cappuccino. This week dh gave our son a lesson in "How to wrap the cords the bunny ate in electrical tape so we don't die when we turn on the fan". Something every boy should know.
We did not make it to the farmers market, again. This time it was because we volunteered at the Angel Food distribution in our area. www.angelfoodministries.com
My rapini is ready for picking, but I'm not really a fan of it. Cappuccino, on the other hand, really likes it. Maybe if I give her plenty of greens she'll stop eating cords. :)
I finally used up all the strawberries!! The last bit was mushed for strawberry iced tea. It's so good, you have to try it.
32 oz strong tea
1/4-1/2 c sugar (to taste)
2 c strawberries (frozen are ok, but thaw a bit)
Juice of a lemon (optional)
Add the sugar to the tea while it's still hot.(it really doesn't need much) Mash, process or blend strawberries. Strain. Mix the juice into the tea. Stir and drink with plenty of ice.
This is so yummy I may have to pick more berries so I can make it again. It was nice that I was able to use up the almost yucky berries. You know, the ones that don't look that appealing, but aren't really bad.
We had some scorching heat this week. It was in the lower 90's. I gave in and turned on the air conditioning. Only for 1 day, then it rained and cooled back down. I should have baked a batch of bread while it was cool, but I didn't. DH ordered a huge bowl for me to make my dough in. I can't wait until it's here.
DH and I watched "Inconvenient Truth" this week. It's the Al Gore, global warming warning. I watched it to see what all the buzz was. I fully intended to hate it. Unfortunately, I really liked it!! It was so interesting!! I'm really trying to step up my effort to be a better steward of the earth. It really isn't that hard. A little less driving, more efficient electricity usage...http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/default.asp
My wonderful DH built me a second raised garden bed yesterday. It's a little smaller than the first, but should fit next years squash quite nicely. I'm planning to layer it this year with newspaper, compost and hay etc... I've read that this way I can avoid digging out the sod. I'll add soil in eventually. My worms are due to arrive this week. They are being shipped out on Monday. I'm a little concerned that with the holiday, they are going to be stuck in the post office until Thursday. Hopefully, they will be ok. The food that I've been putting aside for them is now a disgusting, smelly, moldy mass. So, I'll have to start fresh this week.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Strawberries!!

Yesterday the kids and I went to Rittman's Farm and picked strawberries. Initially we picked 2 buckets full, but that didn't seem like enough. So, I sent DD back to get a few more buckets. We ended up with 5 buckets full!! This totalled around 30 pounds of berries!!! Yep, that's right 30 pounds. An insane amount.
I took a picture of it, however I can't download it. Why, you ask? Well, because my darling bunny, Cappuccino, ate the cable that connects the camera to the computer. She bit clear through the wire. So, until I replace the cable, my pics are being held hostage in the camera.
I have already made 14 small jars of jam, strawberry shortcake, strawberry pancakes and we've eaten a ton. However, that was only one bucketful. Today I'm planning to make more jam, but I'm out of small jars. I guess I'll make a few big jars. I'd like to try a cooked jam. The ones I've made so far are freezer jam. One batch is regular and the other is lower sugar. I'm also looking for a "no sugar", but not artificially sweetened recipe. I'll be checking out recipezaar for that today. I will also be freezing some sliced and sweetened for topping. I love strawberries on my waffles and french toast.
I have a strawberry scone recipe that my sister loves. I'm going to give it a try. I refused to make it earlier because it takes several cups of berries. That's too expensive when they aren't in season. Oh, BTW~ these were $1.15 a pound. I don't know if that's a good price or not. They are really good though.
In the garden... I have several little tomatoes now. Ironically, my "Early Girl" doesn't have any. Either does my Brandywine. That makes me sad, because I love those. The peppers are getting big and there are lots of little ones now. These are the best looking peppers I've ever grown. Yeah!! Oh, and I have a teeny tiny head of broccoli. It's so cute!! All in all, a good food week here at my house.

Saturday, June 16, 2007


my grape tomatoes in a barrel

As you can see, the garden is growing well!! As you can also see, photography is not my gift. I'll work on this.

Today my DD and I went to a new Farmer's Market. It is much closer than the one we usually go to and had a nice selection. We purchased some yummy strawberries, and vowed to go picking this week!! We also got some red leaf lettuce for Cappuccino and some grass fed beef for our Father's Day dinner.

DH got a beautiful looking steak. I got some burgers for the kids and me. The key to cooking grass fed beef is to not overcook it. It turns to leather very easily. I usually grill it to 140 degrees and then take it off and let it sit a while. The temp will continue to rise and it'll stay juicy and tender.

From the garden, we have continued to enjoy peas, radishes and lettuce. The tomatoes and peppers are looking good. I'm not sure whats up with the members of the cabbage family. I may have planted them too late. Since I haven't planted any of these varieties before, I've taken a wait and see attitude.

The kids and I went sugar snap pea picking this week. We couldn't stop ourselves and ended up with about 6 pounds of peas!!!! Amazingly, they are all gone. I did give a pound to a neighbor, but the rest we 'et. They were so sweet. We wanted to go back, but didn't make it. We picked about a pound of strawberries also, but they were unimpressive and are still sitting in the fridge. They will probably end up as worm food.

Speaking of worms, no word yet on when they will arrive.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Another week has gone by...

This has been an uneventful week in the garden. I think June is like that. Everything is planted and now it's just a matter of time. I don't like waiting, so it's a little frustrating. DH has caught the tomato bug, and bought me another plant!! This one is a Roma. For those that are keeping count, this makes 8.
Everything looks good. My neighbor commented the other day on how pretty my garden is. He is absolutely right. It is the nicest looking veggie garden I've seen in years. It is certainly my best. I never would have thought that the addition of a few flowers would make such a big difference. The added spots of color are really a nice touch. I think it's also aesthetically pleasing because it's so packed with plants. Anyway, I'm really enjoying it.
We picked some peas this week. Not too many, but enough for everyone to have a few pods. They are so sweet!! Next year I'm going to plant a ton more. It's impossible to have enough peas.
DH and I have already decided to add another bed next year. The squash and peas that I planted behind the house aren't doing nearly as well as the plants in the bed. It was a lot of work, but I think it'll be worth it.
My worms are on back order. I'm kind of disappointed. I have a bucket of food waiting for them. The company said it'll be another couple of weeks. Oh, well, it's not like I have nothing else to do.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Vermicomposting!!



Well, I have entered a new stage of garden obsessed. Yesterday, after several days of research, I ordered a pound(approx. 1000) of red worms. These worms will be used exclusively in a composting bin which I will be preparing this week. Ya see, these worms can turn several pounds of organic waste(food, paper, cardboard) into compost in a few weeks. Usually this process takes months. In the past, I've done this with an ordinary compost pile. I never had enough stuff to really get it going, so I didn't see the great benefits. Now that we are in the city, I don't have room for a compost pile of any size. After reading a book titled "Eat More Dirt", I thought I'd give this way a try.

Although I personally am not a big fan of worms, my DS thinks they are cool. So, not only will this project be good for the environment and my garden, it will also be an educational experience for the kids. I will post pics once the worms arrive. Initially, I'm going to try using a converted extra large "tote". I'd like to have DH make a wooden bin, but that'll have to wait.

As promised, here are some pics of my Cappuccino. As I type, she is doing a "happy dance" around my living room. If you've never experienced this particular dance you don't know what you're missing. It is hysterical!!! She runs around, then hops, throwing in a few pirouettes while she's at it. I wish I could get it on video. I may borrow a camera just for that some day.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Saturday, June 2nd



Well, as you might be able to tell from the pics, things are growing well. You may also notice that I have more tomatoes. This time I bought an "early girl", "sweet pear" and "yellow sunshine". The last 2 are cherry tomatoes. I ran out of room in the garden, so I put them in a barrel along with the lavender that I got last week that I didn't have room for. I also planted a basil, but my DS was "helping" and weeded it out. :)
I was concerned about the quality of the soil I was using, so I added in some composted manure and a "top dressing". I noticed today that the Brandywine that I thought was near death has a teeny tiny tomato on it. The pepper plants have quite a few too. (peppers, not tomatoes)
I have picked nearly all the spinach. It's yummy. I may try another planting. I know it's getting kind of hot, but it's worth a try. We have enjoyed several small radishes. I also have a few peas. I'm very excited about those. Still, the ones that I replanted aren't catching up. Squashes and cucs are doing well.
Today was the opening day of the Peninsula farmers market. The kids and I made our way down there. It was packed!! I was able to purchase the last quart of strawberries!!! I had to threaten to arm wrestle an old man for them. His friend assured me I'd win. :) We also got a selection of apples. I managed to leave without any new plants.
There was some really cool stained glass there that I'd love. I could have spent a fortune, but I didn't. We did splurge and get some croissants, too. I don't usually buy bakery there, but it was opening day. Oh, and DS bought some cheese. An organic, locally made pepper jack. He loves his cheese. He tried them all, even the habenero, before making his decision. Next week he wants the habenero.I think it's too hot.
The weather is cooling down a bit, so I'm going to try and pick some berries this week.