I Ventured Out

I ventured out on Friday after a suffering through a stomach

virus for the last couple of days.  I decided to take

just one more day off so I wouldn't infect everyone at work.

 I don't think I was quite ready to go far but took a stroll

through our local Agape House to see if there were any bargains.

And there were!

I picked up this new series of books that revolve around quilts,

I know it's Harlequin, and some people don't care for them,

 but they look to be nice mysteries and have a quilt theme.

I couldn't resist a cat mystery and I love MC Beaton novels!

Bargains at $0.50 !!

Then I found 8 salad plates for $1.00 that match my dishes!!

I need to find the same deal with the salad bowls too, 

I look every time I go past a resale shop.

I love stoneware and Mom had this pattern when I was a kid

so I grabbed a set a rock bottom prices at St Vincent DePaul resale

when I saw them awhile back.  I washed them and stacked them 

in the cabinet with the others so I'm covered for now.

It is a good place for dishware, kids clothing and nicknacks but 

not so great on clothing.  Books are great there, very inexpensive 

and they are categorized but the stock doesn't rotate much.

It's a good cause though so I love stopping in.

Ah Ha!! Caught Him!

I KNEW it!

See what I discovered when I unexpectedly opened the garage door?

My husband had run up to the farm supply store.

He thought I was too sick, sleeping in the recliner recovering

from this bug that I caught.

But he was wrong.

The TRACTOR was in the garage.

See the car thrown out into the elements,

the one out baking in the 95+ degree weather?

That is my car. The car that lives in the GARAGE.

Now I know what happens when I leave for work.

He brings Tractor into the garage where it is 

lovingly cared for and rests in comfort.

He probably redirects the A/C vents to keep it nice and cool.

Then I would image about 30 minutes before I am due home,

he likely drives it back to the tent shed as if nothing

ever happened!

 The man does love his tractor!

Really, he was making some repairs. He had to weld up

a bracket that had broken from the previous owner's repair

to the thingy you step on to get on the tractor.  (Yes, I know,

I'm pretty technical when it comes to tractor parts.)

He welded, he painted and his baby was better than before.

Dehydrated Peppers

My husband's square foot test garden was very successful this year.

He planted a pepper garden with varieties such as bell peppers,

 tabascos, jalapenos, moles, banannas, and poblanos and thai dragons.

   They took off like a rocket and most are just as hot too!

He has been harvesting and pickling or dehydrating them

 for future use.  Next in the dehydrator will be the recently

picked tomatoes sliced into wagon wheel shape.  Tom

loves how concentrated the tomato flavor becomes, almost

sweet.  He's been known to take a few to work for a mid-day meal.

We still have tomatillos to process plus all the rest of the peppers

that are still growing on the vine.  

I came down with a 24-48 hr virus and was sicker than a dog

yesterday, still a bit today but I know I am improving- I felt

like cleaning up the mess of cups and hard candy wrappers that I made 

while laying in my recliner and wishing I could keep something down, 

even water would have been nice.

We just returned from a trip to the gas station.  Where I live that is a combination gas station, grocery, restaurant and minor cleaning and hardware supplies plus

the required live bait.  When I am sick I always want a slush, sometimes

I can keep it down when all else fails.  I came home with my favorite,

blue raspberry!  I can feel the healing already.

I'm still on-and-off with my posts as I have some other

issues to deal with for a bit so pardon the sporadic publications.

Magnolia Pods

I collected these pretty magnolia pods while I was away.

They had fallen to the ground but there were some giant ones still on the trees.

I would like to let them dry and make some sort of display,

maybe a shadow box or something along those lines.

Garden Update

Sharing a brief update-

While I have been away my husband kept busy with

the ripening tomatoes.  He added another 24 jars of sauce.

We picked peppers from the square foot garden.

This bag was completely filled and there are still more on the vine!

Mostly hot but some are not.

The destruction to my squash plants is horrendous. 

Without me removing eggs every day for over a week,

they matured and took over.  Huge adults are marching across the 

vines, killing most of them.  I salvaged only two squash.

The tomatoes continue to come in as well as the tomatillos.

I'll be posting on and off.

Thank you for your patience and concerns.

I am fine but to protect the privacy of others, I 

can't provide additional details.

Away from Blogger Still

For your viewing pleasure-

A beautiful lake scene.

I'm still tending to some things 

so blogging is on the back burner.

I've got to get up to the garden tonight,

the Squash Bugs took advantage of my inattention.

They are so big you could put a saddle on them.

See you soon.

away

I am Away from blogger for a bit. More later.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin!

   A bacon wrapped pork loin rests just off the smoking, hot coals

 on the Weber kettle late Saturday afternoon.  We found a small loin

for a good price at Frick's grocery in Union, MO, just about the right

size for two or three dinners. 

My husband brought in the pork and let it rest a minute

before slicing.  I set the table as best I could

since I have somehow twisted my good knee.

It was nice and juicy inside, flavored with bacon juices.

 My husband whipped up a carrot, potato and onion dish

in our new baking dishes that I found at JoAnne's at 70% off!

We had leftovers Sunday night with enough to have it once again today.

I've somehow twisted my knee so I am hobbling around, it ought to 

be fun at work today. Fortunately it's my left leg so driving will be no problem.

This better clear up in the next couple of days.

I'll have to get on the recumbent bike and give it some exercise tonight. 

Sauces and Pickled Peppers

My husband, Tom, was busy making salsa verde

now that our tomatillos are ripe and falling off the vine.

 For those of you that are unfamiliar with tomatillos

they grow on vines, similar to a tomato, but in pretty little husks

that look like hanging lanterns.  We grow them vertically 

on cattle panels, tying them up with twine because they get 

really tall (long?).  Once the paper husks begin to turn brown,

they release from the vine and are ready to process.

They are the light green pieces you typically find in red salsa

but can be made into a green salsa too.

The fruits are sticky to the touch when you remove the husks.

They have a slight citrus taste when eaten fresh,

but it's not like eating an orange or lemon, it's mild but

I would not eat them by themselves.

There are several recipes on line, pick one that sounds good.

We have more on the way.

There is a basket full in the fridge and more on the vine.

This was made for immediate eating so not canned.

The garden is coming through for us this year

but there are still so many green tomatoes.

I hope they ripen up pretty soon so we can get to work.

Rather than taking an entire day to can everything, 

we can here and there, small amounts that don't heat up

the kitchen too badly.  Here is some red sauce.

And pickled peppers from my husband's square foot garden.

Some of the hot peppers cross pollinated with bell peppers

so now he has bell peppers with a zing!  That's a good thing in his book.

I still have zucchini on the way and the new crop of radishes is starting to come up.

That pretty much leaves the pumpkins 

and whatever the "other" squash is that's growing

among the cucumbers and beans.  Right now it's green

but it won't take long before we figure it out.

In the meantime we'll have fun guessing.

Really Bad Recipe!

Mom came to visit for a few days, right in the middle of zucchini season.

So . . . . guess what we had for dinner?

Yep, zucchini.

Zucchini for the main course, zucchini for the side dish

Zucchini here, zucchini there- you get the idea.

Well, I will put this recipe on the Do Not Bother list.

Similar to the Do Not Call list, but for recipes.

On second thought, put it on the Do Not Call list too.

Better safe than sorry.

It was Asian Summer Salad.

It had pasta, raw zucchini, carrot and pepper, onion

and a ginger dressing.  Served cold.

  

Keep in mind- I did NOT cook it, 

Tom did, and he is a super wonderful cook.

I in no way influenced the taste of this dish.

And there was no taste.

There was just nothing to keep the dressing in/on the noodles.

 Once I covered it with Italian dressing and Parmesan, it was tolerable.

A completely different recipe, mind you, but we could eat it.

 Not too bad for a small side dish.

I didn't like the carrots, they were hard, since they were not cooked.

Raw zucchini was fine.

The grilled zucchini was great. 

(score one!)

I do think my husband is loosing his mind though.

He picked up Peach wine.

Peach??

Not the sort of Tom-Wine that I would have expected.

I didn't care for it.  This is a good winery, I am just not a fan of peach wine-

I'd take the pie instead.

Speaking of which--

Here is the second reason I think he is losing his mind.

Ring, Ring !  ( my office phone)

Tom says "I'm going to the store, is there anything I should pick up for dinner?"
  I reply, "Why yes, we need dessert, can you pick up something

from the bakery?  Maybe a cheesecake.

If you can't find a cheesecake in the bakery, look in the freezer section."

(I didn't have time to make zucchini bread)

I get home and greet Mom.

Tom is on the porch  talking with his boss-

he's recovered from knee surgery and cleared to do lighter work-- 

not on ladders.  There might be some work coming up that he can do.

 I walk outside and say hello and get some idea of when we might eat.

He had the pasta chilling, I'll prep the zucchini but where is dessert?

 "I got a banana cream pie," he states.

No, really, where is the cheesecake?

"It's a banana cream pie."

No it's not! You're kidding.

Here is my cheesecake!

That's not a cheesecake.  

Note, it  says Banana. Cream. Pie.

Fortunately, Mom does like banana cream pie!

 All in all, most of the dinner was good 

but scratch that Asian salad!