this week

This week, or was it last week- we had company last week and it's all a bit blurry, or maybe that's just my baby brain, which seems to have seriously amped up in forgetfulness this last month- I've never burned so many pot bottoms.

We made more blueberry muffins for the freezer, and a few more jars of Dills; harvested and ate the first of the rainbow carrots, so pretty to look at, and delicious to eat; rediscovered some old favorites from the costume box; picked a few zinnias (those are 'candy cane mix' and some 'envy' which make a perfect bouquet if you ask me); enjoyed a few sunsets out by the garden; have been eating fresh ripe tomatoes at every meal- at last!! (could that be contributing to my heartburn I wonder???); and have been spending a bit of time courting these three semi-tame cats we've moved onto the farm to keep the rodent population down and replace our beloved Fats, who disappeared last fall (yes three cats to replace one- he was quite the cat).

These kittens started out life at our neighbours place and have been a bit hard to get to know, they are pretty shy- deemed "wild cats" by N, we have finally been able to pet them- while we feed them- well two out of the three, anyhow, but it's taken a couple of weeks of just being near them, trying to encourage N not to chase them away. They do seem to know when feeding time is anyhow...typical opportunistic cats. They are all silver tabbies and so pretty, just like Fats was. They've already brought us a couple of 'mouse presents' as N calls them so at least we know they're working hard!

Is Zucchini good for you? Really?

These are the patty pan squash that we grew this year- very tasty- definately our favorite

Like so many gardeners, we have a lot of zucchini right now- so much that we're considering pulling the plants. But that is a tough sell for us because it's free food, it's producing, we like the way it tastes, and global food prices are going up dontcha' know- surely someone could use it right? So I've been preserving what I can, and baking with it, and eating it, and trying to think of new ways to freeze the stuff. I've been using this method- with hopes that it will not become a soggy mess in the freezer, I also have been using it in brownies- which were pretty good, and cooking up some of the patty pan squash to go into macaroni and cheese which is totally awesome, and probably a good way to freeze them as well.

But somewhere along the way I remembered having a discussion with someone about the dubious health benefits of Zucchini, you always hear that the inside colour is what's so important about antioxidants and everything, and Zucchini is basically water- I mean, yes it's a vegetable- so of course it's healthy- but isn't the white flesh inside really just a sponge? Is there any benefit to adding it to your baked goods at all- or is it just essentially filler?

Of course I turned to the Internet to this nutrition data website that is pretty cool- you can look up virtually any food and see how it all breaks down. It turns out that it is good for you- it has  potassium and folate, and dietary fiber, vitamin c and a as well as lots of other minerals. I assume that if you peel it you lose lots of benefits. I originally looked up the data for a baby, raw zucchini, but then I also looked up the data on a cooked large one- with skin and I'm totally blown away, turns out the zucchini is actually healthy, not just a sponge for flavour. So I guess I'll keep on shredding it, and baking it into random things, and giving it away to people.

I'm going to try to saute up some of the patty pans with onion and summer savory and then freeze them to add to pasta later- maybe that will work? last year I tried just blanching and freezing, but it was not really good- maybe cooked in a bit of butter though- will help to save them. I'll let you know how it turns out.

This week

 

Pink Larkspur and Green Envy Zinnias

Cleaning the freezer out and making the last of last year's frozen tomatoes into pizza sauce

Fresh raspberries and homemade bread eaten on the table outside

The first ripe Tomatoes!

Pickles

I realized this weekend that I really should have been making pickles last week- there are a few very large seedy cukes ready to get composted now, and I was told by N that I was being "rude to the food" while I was throwing the large yellow ones out into the pathways. I guess we've said that to her in the past about wasting food?????? the things that come out this kid's mouth, I tell you. Anyways I explained that we'll turn it into food for the plants next year, so it's not really wasting it- and then I was told twice that the yellow ones make really good relish (not by N, she's not that aware of old time preserving recipes), but I'm sure I'll get more oversized ones by the time I'm through.

Anyhow I picked a bunch of cukes and dill and beans and made 16 jars of pickles this weekend- a slightly stupid number because my canner holds seven jars at a time, so I had to boil one last batch of two jars- annoying. It was really hot work, and long, and darn it, I just don't know how I did it last time I was pregnant. And I really went nuts with the pickles when I was having N, we're still eating pickles from 2009, and I haven't grown pickling cukes since. I do want to make a few more batches- but I'll try to keep it on the minimum I think, I always do salsa and pickled carrots though, and I do want some bread and butter style pickles, and I have a recipe for zucchini relish that I think I'll have to try (though it only calls for a measly three pounds of zucchini- and my plants are producing at least much daily), so the pickle express is far from over.

Sewing- Faux Chenille baby blanket

Baby Blanket and Kicking bag-
stuffed animal meant to demonstrate- otherwise it looks like a fancy hot water bottle cover

So despite being extremely practical when it comes to handmades for this new baby, I did make a couple of special items just for it- every baby needs at least one new blanket right? I saw this tutorial and fell in love. I made mine with an old flannel sheet I had kicking around because darn it flannel is expensive- and I could not justify spending 8 bucks a metre on something that I wanted to cut up and fray. I was a little concerned that the old sheet wouldn't have the right weave or the bias cut would somehow not work- but it did- so if you want to try this using an old sheet- go right ahead.

I also really love the idea of a kicking bag for this baby- though who knows if we'll need it at all- if it stays this hot here I'll probably just let it roam in diapers. I didn't have one for N and I think it will be handy this fall and winter. It's a pretty loose pattern- the one I read was meant to be knit in the round- but I used straight needles and just sewed up the bottom and sides. I added a little bit width after the ribbing as well because it seemed tight otherwise- and then to hide my yarn over increases, and add a bit of interest I did a row of a miniature leaf pattern with a contrasting yarn. It looks exactly like a large hot water bottle holder (and actually has me thinking that a hot water bottle cover might be a good gift for Christmas- especially out of hydrophobic wool), but once there is a cute baby to put inside it it will make sense- I hope.

Poppies

These Poppies were grown from seed we collected least year. I have three rows of pretty thickly seeded flowers out in the garden next to the peas. I could collect the seeds to eat, or just to grow again next year. These will self sow pretty prodigiously, even if you collect the heads- somehow a few always manage to escape and get past me. But they are pretty spectacular looking, and they are the easiest seeds to collect, I just snip the seed pods once they dry out and keep them in a Ziploc bag. they do finish blooming pretty early, but the seed pods themselves are quite nice looking too, so it doesn't bother me. I've heard that you could cut the flowers to bring them inside, but I imagine the mess those thin red petals would make once they were done would not be great- and I don't think they'd be very long lasting.

I can't tell you what variety these are- I think when I first bought them- years ago- they were a mixed colour package, with salmon and white as well as red- but have managed to select out to just red pom pom style flowers, which are lovely all on their own.

This Week

Purple royalty beans and yellow beans- ready to be frozen or pickled.

The Summer Squash are super producing this year- so lovely and abundant.

Calendula Blossoms ready to get dried and used in body lotions and salves.

Fava Beans after their first shelling, ready to get boiled and shelled again. Yesterday was one of the first days we could actually spend most of the day outside, it was only 24 out and perfect.

Peas ready to be shelled- this is our second harvesting of the peas, and we're really enjoying them- though they are a lot of work to shell, N has got the hang of it though- her shelling just goes right into her mouth- but I'm not going to discourage it.

My 'Baby' in the stroller- she hasn't actually used the stroller for a while- but she's fascinated by it- and was pretending to be alternately a baby, and a puppy while sitting in it. She's gotten quite a bit bigger in the last little while, and has stopped answering to the term baby- insisting that she's a kid now. I'm really happy about that actually- I think it'll make it easier once the new baby comes.  Hope your week was great my Friends.