Back to the Garden

Back to the garden that, thanks to John's efforts at keeping the wildlife out and spraying the greens with Bt, is now demanding that I come harvest some stuff. 

Since we've had a lot of rain (till recently,) the cucumbers are a great success, running up their trellis and out all over the area (and shading out the eggplant but that's my fault for planting it in the same bed.)

My baby sitting duties are mostly in the mornings and the afternoons are WAY too hot recently to tempt me out. 

When Nancy (my co-grandmother) and I switched shifts on Thursday, I made my slow and careful way down to the garden to see what was to be seen -- lots of cucumbers and greens, radishes and some jalapeno peppers. Also basil in sufficient quantity to think about making some pesto to freeze.

Above is a bronze fennel flower -- when it goes to seed, I'll save some for Italian sausage. 

Below is Tuscan Kale -- my favorite green. I sauteed some with colored peppers (from the store,) onions, and garlic and used the whole colorful mess as a topping for some store-bought fresh ravioli. And topped that with a lightly fried egg.

It looked spectacular and tasted great -- I only wish I'd taken  a picture.

I'll try to use Saturday and Sunday morning (when I'm not on Josie duty) to harvest more greens and basil and then to make pesto.

As always, the second half of July has brought our hottest weather. Our house, thanks to electric fans everywhere, is comfortable -- unless one attempts something foolish like vacuuming.

Afternoons are a good time to summon my untapped Tennessee Williams character and collapse on the sofa with iced tea (or, later in the day, gin and tonic) and fan myself with a magazine.