"Girls" Rule

My sister Lisa came laden with gifts...her "girls' have started laying! Lisa, her husband Ed and my niece Natalie have taken on raising chickens. The chickens are now laying eggs...each chicken lays one a day and with six "ladies" in the coop, a daily bounty is guaranteed. WOW! I have learned a lot about chickens just listening to Ed and Lisa. My sister said every morning she goes out to feed "her girls" and they always come out to meet her.

Aren't these eggs gorgeous. Here in New England there is a saying "Brown eggs are local eggs and local eggs are fresh"...well let me say these eggs do not get any fresher! Almost to pretty to eat...but I gained my senses and decided to make omelets for supper....

Look at the color...yellow as the sun!

I added fresh thyme from my garden and when the omelets where ready to serve, I snipped some fresh chives on top...YUM...

I stuffed the omelets with sauteed mushrooms, apple wood smoked bacon lardons and a little fresh cheddar from a local creamery. I made a fresh garlic vinaigrette using garlic from our garden to top the baby spinach salad.

How does anyone have a more delightful meal...fresh greens, local cheese, garlic and herbs from my garden, and the star of the show...fresh eggs from Lisa, Ed and Natalie!!!!!

Delicious...and a very special thank you to "the girls"!!!!!

Elizabeth

A Perfect Breakfast

My sister Lisa surprised us with a lovely jar of homemade grape jelly!!!!! My nephew bought a new home and on the property were wild concord grapes...leave it to Lisa to sniff them out. She said she picked loads and she proceeded to make jelly.


Not only did she make jelly, she also made the presentation delightful. The quilted glass jars are finished with squares of pretty red and white plaid fabric and then a beautiful hand printed label is applied. A perfect gift!


Look at the color and clarity of this jelly...it is perfect!



Warm toasted buttered country bread smothered with homemade grape jelly...
A Perfect Breakfast!

Lucky me,

Elizabeth

Sound the Alarms...Dad's Hot Peppers are Ready for Delivery

My father is a grower of hot peppers. He grows many varieties and knows the Scoville Units of each pepper he grows. The Scoville scale is the measure of the chemical capsaicin in each variety that presents the sensation of heat one experiences when eating a certain pepper. The range is 0 to 16 million. No capsaicin the measure is zero such as that for a sweet bell pepper. The level of capsaicin can vary in each variety to watch out!!!!! Jalapenos have 8,000 units, Serranos 23,000 units, Poblanos 2,000 units, Harbaneros 350,000 units and the list goes on.

This is a bag full of all sorts of hot peppers my father gives away to friends and family...

Today he picked a load of Cayennes and I strung them on dental floss and added a raffia bow to hang them and let them dry. Aren't they beautiful all grouped together!!!!!

This is an example of some of the varieties he grows....looks like a page out a magazine!!!!!

They are gorgeous...perfect examples of a hot pepper harvest...

My father has really taken to growing many many varieties and loves to share them...most amazing he never eats them...just grows and gives...a true gardener!!!!!

Elizabeth

Guess What I Did Yesterday

A picture is worth a thousand words.....

Elizabeth

Dinner Is Now Being Served in the Main Dining Room

Now that the tomatoes are coming in, we make them the star of our meals...They are here for only a short time so we must make the most of them. Yesterday I made stacks of different tomato slices, layered with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil from the garden. I sprinkled layers with kosher salt, olive oil and sweet balsamic vinegar. Topped the whole thing with a sprinkling of Maldon Sea Salt for extra salty flavor and eye appeal as well as a generous portion of chiffonades of basil for one last punch of flavor. Makes my mouth water while writing this! We shared a large roll to sop up the vinegar, oil and tomato that settled in the plate after devouring this multi colored Caprese Salad...

This is a summer salad I could eat three times a day, seven days a week!!!!!

Elizabeth

FINALLY....They Are In....Phew!!!!!

A basket filled with jewels from the garden....it has been a struggle this year to get the garden to produce....but now she is delivering!!!!! Mother nature and a somewhat green thumb have really met head to head this growing season...both now seem to be in tandem and look what we now have...tomatoes in all shapes and sizes...WOW!!!!!

A garden trug filled to the brim with sweet, gorgeous, ripe tomatoes....

The day's harvest washed and sorted by variety...........

A nice example of San Marzano and Lemon Boy....

The little tomatoes....Black Cherry, Large red Cherry, Sweet 100's, Yellow Pear and Super Snow White


More Lemon Boy, San Marzano and Black from Tula....

I tried many different heirloom varieties this year...aren't they beautiful, I could just look at them for hours...

Elizabeth

A Morning on Narragansett Bay with Dad

Yesterday morning Dad and I packed up and went to spend some time on the bay...we picked the secluded beach on the other side of Allen's Harbor adjacent to Calf Pasture Point in our hometown of North Kingstown. It was a glorious day, bright sun, clear skies and EXTREMELY HOT!!!!! We set up our chairs and basked in the sun. This beach has a great view of the east bay and when the tide is low it is low! You can walk out sooooo far and the water is just to your thighs and this is being generous. The water is crystal clear and you can see old discarded shells of clams, quahogs, razor clams, crabs (some alive and just looking to take a nip of your toe), barnacle covered rocks, and many varieties of plant life. The beach is scattered with many shells which makes collecting fun for kids and adults alike. The water was refreshingly cool and I took many dips to get a reprieve from the heat....

Sun bathing is one draw to this strip of land but the real crowd shows up at low tide for quahog and clam digging. People of all ages show up with a bathing suit on, water shoes tied tight, clam rack in hand and a container to hold their booty securely held in place by some sort of inflatable invention...most use an inner tube, but some had those noodles you see in pools for exercise, salvaged Styrofoam and I saw one elaborate system set up using water barbells...if it floats and can hold a basket, cooler or pail it is considered part of the paraphernalia used to dig for a salty, briny treat from the bottom of the bay. Enjoy the photos...

Off these guys go...rakes in hand, a floating cooler and a canvas bag over one shoulder.

These guys with heads down have spotted something but notice the sea gull to the right...it appears he spotted the same thing...maybe a crab?

She's up.........

She's down.......

This lady tied a mesh bushel bag to her waist to hold her bounty from the bottom and dug with her foot to loosen her harvest...she would bob up and down as she moved from spot to spot

This woman held a rake in one hand the traditional clam basket in the other...she dug for a while and half filled her basket while her husband walked their dog up and down the beach....with the sun sparkling on the water, it looks like this lady is wading amongst diamonds!!!!!!

A family collecting shells....

Sun bathers...there was lots of room on the beach today....

Dad and I had a wonderful day...lots of sun, sand and people watching!

Elizabeth

Divine Treats from the Garden

Finally we are picking tomatoes...not many but those we get are sweet, sweet, sweet...Also picking cucumbers...the cukes are odd shaped and not long but do taste soooooo good...

Lots of cherry tomatoes in different colors and few San Marzano...

Made a delicious panzanella salad...yellow, orange, and red peppers, red onion, tomatoes, chunks of crusty ciabatta bread, feta and a lovely vinaigrette with homegrown garlic...served it on a bed chopped lettuce for an added crunch...sometimes I add kalamata olives also....this is a great summer salad...love the olive oil and vinegar soaking into the bread...

Also made a huge jug of cucumbers soaked in vinegar, salt and pepper. My sister Whitney adores these cukes...use about 1/3rd apple cider vinegar to 2/3 water mixture with lots of salt and a bit of fresh ground pepper...just thinking about these makes my mouth water...


One big jug of flavor.....

Gotta go...I need to raid the cucumber jar...YUM

Elizabeth

Garlic Is Superb This Year

The garlic is superb...I dug and harvested the garlic a few of weeks ago. It lifted out of the soil with ease and it was so much fun to see what had been hidden away since last fall. The air filled with the fragrance of garlic...it was delightful. Look at this bounty!!!!!

Such wonderful garlic.........

I harvested about 300 bulbs. I took armloads to the gazebo and tied bunches together by variety. Then off to the shed to dry/cure...of course I had to take some to the house to use immediately...SIMPLY DELICIOUS

Well the garlic is now ready to clean...I cut off the leaves and rubbed the dirt covered outer paper like skin off to reveal the most wonderful bulbs....I placed each variety out just to admire it before taking some to bag up as gifts....Below you will see all the varieties in all their splendor...I tag each one with the name of the variety and also just a little description so the recipient knows what they are in for....enjoy the photos!!!!!

All labeled and bagged...now off to deliver.

Nothing like homegrown garlic...now if the tomatoes would just ripen!!!!!

Elizabeth

Delightful Dahlias

The garden is not doing well...too much rain and cool weather...not enough sun and heat...YET the dahlias produce...amazing plants...crisp foliage and stalks, big beautiful flowers in colors that can be breath taking. The rain does not seem to have hampered these strong beautiful flowers. How this much plant and color can come from the bulb/toe that looks so gnarly and dead when it goes in, is truly a miracle.

Look at these burgundy beauties!

These yellow dahlias look like sunflowers or the sun itself...

This variety has a pink-orange color that is amazing...

This is one giant dahlia...befitting the description dinner plate size!

A look across the dalias to the greenhouse...

Hope your garden is doing well...here in New England I hear lots of moans and groans...

We always look forward to the tomatoes...this year is going to be tough...but at least we have gorgeous bouquets...

Elizabeth

Garlic is Growing Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!

What is that curly-q thing?! It is a garlic scape...edible and cool to look at. These neat looking scapes can be added to soups, stew, chopped for stir fries, added to salads or any creation you want. They also look great in bouquets. The shape just adds another dimension to a cluster of fresh picked flowers and always lends to someone wanting to know it is...

This is a single scape...don't you just love the shape!!!!!

My garlic was throwing lots of scapes this week....I cut them off so all the energy is allowed to go to the growing cloves. the varieties heavy with scapes is Music and german White. I do leave one on as an indicator. when the "indicator " points straight up toward the sky...time to dig the garlic. When scapes appear, no more fertilizer and slowly pull back on heavy watering. Keep pulling weeds as they can deplete a garden bed of the nutrition your plant stock deserves...why feed weeds?!

The garlic bed looking through the cucumber ladders.

Isn't this just a gem of a garlic bed! OHHHH LA LA....

Just another angle of the garlic....

If you decided to plant garlic last fall...you must be as anxious as I am to see what lies beneath the soil...

Elizabeth