November 2018

This will be the last blogpost for this season.  Amazing to me that just Nov 3, I cooked the last of the big zucchini. I'd wanted to make zuke boats but this one was getting old. I put half of it in a soup on Thursday Nov 1 (barley, zucchini, onions, garlic, chicken stock, ground turkey,some tomato sauce-inspired by Lidia B on TV).  I still have half of a small one to put in my egg in the morning.

We are still eating tomatoes that have been in a bag. I picked them right before a big cold spell. Rob Polete just covered his and they did not survive.

I still have my parsley plant and might ask Debbie R. to watch it while we are gone.

This was a mystery until Joan told me. I was clearing out the flower garden and found these. I was so confused. They were very hard in the dirt.  Potatoes?  Well, they are from the Sweet Potato vines that were so prolific this summer. They are not edible.

Tom put manure on the garden Nov 1.

When I think about it, amazing that the garden process starts the end of April and really is finished now the end of October.  6 months of the year.

We've had some nice days although that freeze was Oct 14.

October 2, 2018 Still coming!

I got back from Peru and flowers are still blooming although sadly the really nice petunia fell on the dahlia and killed it. It was the day Linda Chan arrived.

I got home Oct 1. Tom had on the table two butternut squash, 4 zucchini and 4 cucumbers.  Tomatoes keep coming and I noticed today that I have some carrots and kale out there!

Taking veggies to Heather and Kelly tomorrow. Also to Claudette who had surgery.

I am going to Utah (hooray!) and taking veggies for Ellen and her mom

Made more yellow squash lemon chia bread today for Alex and Beau!

Sept 16, 2018 Almost time to leave for my trip

I guess I'll never forget the "incident."  But it is cool how God is using this incident even at the Navigators Regional Rep meetings.

Well, zucchini chips are another addition to the summer harvest.  Using the mandolin REALLY makes a difference because the zucchini chips are uniform. Planning to make more today. Finished what I had yesterday.

Tom picked a lovely zucchini this morning.  There is another butternut squash and lots of cucumbers hiding.  We had zucchini boats last night and I have 2 meals of those in the freezer.  When I get back from Peru, I will need to eat things in the freezer or put Tom on a no-buy-for-freezer mode as near the beginning of Nov, must start making biscotti.  

Oh, found a recipe for zucchini bread using yogurt, olive oil and lemon zest. Really nice.

It has been VERY HOT here. In the 90s so still getting tomatoes and banana peppers galore.

Today I'll make zucchini relish as I want to give some to Linda for her birthday, very early birthday gift in late October.

I wanted to mention that the carrots were bad this year but no problem, I made green apple and carrot juice with them and apples falling all over the neighborhood. They are not good apples for eating but good for juice and baking. I don't make pies, though.  Yali brought over a watermelon that did not last so I made watermelon cucumber juice. Just finished that today.  very good.

 It is rooting. I just did that to have a nice smell in the kitchen.

 My basement refrigerator!

 Garden dying

Makes great juice

Love those Italian cucumbers.  I still have some seeds for those.

owls! Sept 7, 2018

Morning entertainment: At 6:45 this morning I heard the hooting of an owl and could see out my window that something was going on in the ash tree right outside our window. I looked out and I could see the back of an owl and it was a big owl. I called Tom over and as we were looking out the window, the owl turned its head in the funny way that only owls can do and looked right at us. Then the owl took off and another owl went with him. I actually think that one of the owls had captured a squirrel because we could hear a squirrel squealing before that. Between the hawk and the owl, it's no wonder we haven't seen a lot of rabbits and we have fewer squirrels.  I must say that it was very exciting and I really love owls.  this is the first time that I've seen an owl around our house!

It was so fun!  I think that God provided the owls and hawk to rid the neighborhood of squirrels. It was odd that I had had a dream this morning that I had captured a small wild rabbit with my right hand. I held it down until I could figure out how to get rid of it. Somehow got it in a bag and threw it in the freezer. I woke up with a sore hand. 

So the garden is looking older.  But flowers are still pretty and look at those butternut squash. I made a bacon, pear, butternut squash soup.  so good!

August 31, 2018-Butternut Squash and something ate a cucumber

 I put the butternut squash in the sun each day to see if they will turn brown

Not happy about this but have had so many....can't complain

Very happy about this dahlia

Those are spaghetti squash. For some reason, I cannot grow them.

August 26, 2018- the end is near

 Well, I ended up using some leftover dill pickle solution, found some dill in the garden and made one more dill pickle jar.  Then with the cucumbers that got away, I made more bread and butter pickles.

 The carrots are not good this year. I pulled them all out by Aug26. I probably should have done this a month ago.

Another blueberry, yogurt, zucchini bread.

 Yep, it's all zucchinibread

 Pulled out the kale and lettuce that had gone to seed

 Planted a few mums or fun

 The tomatoes and some zucchini in the back need some heat. Some of the zucchini are skinny.  I pulled up the butternut squash and putting them in the sun, hoping they get brown.

I was thinking about how much I gave away this time.  Polete, Coulson, Siekmeier, Goerzen, Nesbit, took two to my family, Korsick (a whole bag of stuff), Rowe, Bailey, Heather B., lots to Alma, she really seems to appreciate them, Hendren, Wood

And breads too: Hendren, Stanley,Goerzen, Heather, Korsick, two to my family, two to SLC, Coulson

A Hawk and more! August 23, 2018

 I am not sure what to do with the butternut squash. I made one soup but they are supposed to turn brown.  I read online that they need to be in sunlight. So they are sitting on the air conditioner.

Yes, a hawk. This may explain the decreased numbers of rabbits and squirrels.

Paula had a visit from a Centennial inspector saying there had been an anonymous tip that she was feeding squirrels. I wonder who did that. It wasn't us.

Green apple and carrot juice!

I started digging up the carrots and used some apples from various trees in my yard and the neighborhood and made a wonderful green apple and carrot juice lunch.

August 20, 2018- cooler and garden is slowing down

We will end up with two green bean meals.  Not so many summer squash but enough for the yummy lemon, summer squash, chia seed bread

Now a pink gladiola!!

I gave Alma two of the butternut squash.  More are in there. Love the Italian cucumbers and banana peppers.  I heard about a really weird Italian squash.  My grandmother never had it.  It hangs vertically. I wonder if I can grow it. Apparently, it grows well in the southern US. Maybe my "Italian cucumber is actually cucuzza?? I don't think the seeds said that.