BUSY CANNING!

So far, I've canned about 20 pints of tomatoes, 20 quarts of hot cucumber pickles, and 15 pints of Fireballs (pickled hot green tomatoes!), and just two pints of apple sauce (just a few apples left on the early ripening tree.) I've also put up about 4 quarts of pesto in the freezer in little jars. I love bringing some of the taste of summer out in December through March. Next year, we expand the garden by another 4 raised beds and we WON'T plant zucchini! (I've also put about 12 loaves of zucchini bread in the freezer.)

We harvested about 100 bulbs of garlic earlier this summer, and used quite a few of them in the above mentioned pickles, along with our red hot peppers and some Joe's Long cayenne pepper.

We are all counting the days until we can open that first jar of pickles in mid-October and see how they turned out. For now, they provide a colorful assortment of food on my laundry room shelves.

HAPPY HARVEST EVERYONE!!

SUMMER RELAXIN' ON THE LAKE

This is hubby Mike, hard at work in the lake.

Spent four days on a quiet lake in northern Wisconsin with four other families. We ate, drank, ate, relaxed, went on evening boat cruises as the sun went down, endured long bike rides, ate, drank, jet-skiied, relaxed, played water volleyball, ate some more, drank, inner-tubed behind the boat, played more volleyball in the water, had a day-long "Cabin Olympics" with challenging events including; Boccie Ball, Horse Balls, Football Beanbag Toss, and badminton. Water events were to have included kayak racing, swim races, and 'noodle bop' where each person stands on an inner tube in the water and tries to knock the other one off with a foam floating noodle. Unfortunately, we got thundered out of the water and a large wind storm swept in. So of course what did we all do? High-tailed it inside for more eating, drinking, poker (the kids), and playing massive games of 500. This vacation was food for the soul. TOTAL RELAXATION with great friends, great kids (all teens!), and great food! THANK YOU TO THE MILLER FAMILY FOR SO GENEROUSLY SHARING THEIR LITTLE PIECE-O-PARADISE!

GARLIC HARVEST!

This past Sunday we harvested our garlic patch (about 100 - both the number of garlic bulbs and the outside temperature) and planted in their place sweet peas, two more lettuce varieties, and a fifth patch of basil - all in just under one half hour. In that short thirty minutes or so, we drenched our clothing with sweat, several times over - all by 10am. All the while talking about how we'll install an outdoor garden shower next year! The tomato plants have become jungle-like, I keep expecting to find a lost dog or cat hidden within their tangled stems and leaves. The soil in the garlic bed was teaming with worms, every square inch I swear! And we've spotted a happy garter snake in the ground cherry patch. The deer have been eating all the wonderfully sweet cucumber blossoms, but left the rest of the garden alone for a while. We're holding our breath, I'm sure they'll strike just as we go out to harvest that first perfectly ripened tomato. Triplets and their protective mother live in our backyard - I just keep smiling and secretly calling them "Christmas Dinner 2011, '12, and '13" We've got the garlic and rosemary to go with them!

TOTAL RELAXATION, COOL BEVERAGES, GREAT FOOD, and CHOCOLATE!!!

Just got back from three full days of total bliss on a beautiful lake in Wisconsin. Hard to come back to reality and laundry. Our good friends B & J truly delight in sharing their cabin home in the woods with their friends and family - year round. We are very grateful for their warm hospitality and their willingness to indulge Mike and I in a few dozen games of 500. We all like to cook and try new recipes - during this three-day bonanza we tried at least three new recipes: New-Postmodern Polynesian Grilled Chicken, Roll-Your-Own Fish Tacos with choice of grilled beef strips, grilled chicken strips, grilled shrimp, or grilled Halibut and all the makings, and last but not in the least bit least - HOLLY'S HOLYCOW THESE ARE SINFULLY DELICIOUS BROWNIES (made with a layer of Rolo caramel candies in the middle, plus butterscotch chips and brownie mix, did I mention the stick of melted butter? We could have stayed in that position, in that lake, with those friends for hours upon hours that day - but alas, the beer ran out. Beauty of drinking while floating in a very large lake - you don't have to excuse yourself for the restroom! Happy summer everyone!