AFTER THE RAIN HAS FALLEN

  

My Creek

"I have never seen such a lovely sight
as the creek that is flowing with speedy delight.
When I look out my window and down below,
the glistening beauty of it is all a glow."

 Judith Pleasant 5/23/2004

 

 For the complete poem, click on the link below.

 

www.authorsden.com/judithpleasant

 

 

 Our Creek after this past Monday morning rain.

 

Can you find the ducks?

IT'S GARLIC ORDERING TIME!

"Stop and smell the garlic! That's all you have to do." - William Shatner

It's almost time to plant garlic!   Well, sort of, however, it is time to order your garlic.  I have learned that most orders are filled on a first come first serve basis.  The larger bulbs are shipped out first, fallowed by the smaller ones.  Larger cloves produce larger bulbs, hence, the smaller the clove the smaller the bulb in the spring.  Shipping begins in early September and runs through fall, or when out of stock.  You will get about 50-60 cloves from a pound of softnecks, and 40-50 cloves from a pound of hardnecks.  (Expect some smaller cloves on the softnecks).
Garlic should be planted about 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes and soil temperature is about 60 degrees.  This allows the garlic adequate time to establish roots before winters icy grip and prevent the garlic from "pushing up".     Since I have raised beds, I have been able to plant garlic into late October with good results in the spring.
There are many different types of garlic.   They range from mild to pungent, sweet to bold, and somewhere in between. 

"A nickel gets you on the subway, but garlic gets you a seat." Old Yiddish saying

Pickled Cherry Tomatoes

Blanched

These tasties are a cherry that looks like a small plum.  Indeterminate, high yielding hybrid produces clusters of grape looking fruit.  I like them because they are sweet, juicy and delicious, but with the "meatiness" of a plum. 

Pickled

Super easy with no canning experience needed!  A "brine" solution is used to "pickle" or preserve the tomatoes.  Allow 2+ days for the flavor to develop and for the tomatoes to pickle.  Since these are not prepared for storage using a water bath or pressure canning method, they need to be kept in the refrigerator.  We are looking forward to trying these with some crusty bread, a good cheese, and a Bloody Mary!

Today's Harvest

Images of Summer's Beauty

National Zucchini Day

Also known as Courgettes in some parts of the world, zucchini is a fruit that is treated like a vegetable.  Not native to the US, zucchini was brought to America in 1920 by Italian immigrants.




                                                  

Zucchini can grow up to 3 feet long.  The largest recorded zucchini was over 6 feet long and 65 pounds.  Smaller zucchini's are more flavorful. making them ideal for frying, stewing, soups etc.  Use larger zucchini's for baking.

Delicious and a good source of fiber too!

What's for dinner? Roasted Garlic

Harvested Hardneck Garlic

Hardneck Garlic is distinguished by the stiff “neck” or stalk that grows up the center of the plant and produces a scape.  Hardneck varieties tend to be more complex then softnecks ranging from subtle to robust flavours.  They produce fewer cloves per bulb then softnecks, however, the cloves are larger and more uniform.  Since the outer bulb wrapper is thinner then than that of softnecks, they have a shorter shelf life.  If you are thinking about growing garlic for 2013, know is the time to place your order for best selection!

I picked up this garlic roaster for $2 (new) at a thrift store!  (I love a deal!)

Cut off the top of the garlic bulb, 1/2" to 1" depending on the type of garlic you are using.

Pour about 1T of olive oil over each bulb. This is optional, but how we like it.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. 

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We had this with some fresh zucchini from the garden.

SNAKE IN THE.......BACKYARD!!!

"Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears." Wikipedia

This snake showed up a little over a week ago in our backyard.  It is staying under the shed, coming out to catch some sun in the morning.  We will have to relocate him if he doesn't move on soon!