After Clemson

Ah, back at home after a family weekend at Clemson.  "Go Tigers!"  That is after "Go Bears" of course.  Who knew I would love college football one day.

We are finally having our summer, after a much cooler summer season.  My garden was not that prolific or healthy this year.  I did come home to a nice harvest of both green beans and Italian green beans.  I also pulled my first turnips and picked a fresh poblano pepper and zuchinni as well as a bowl of cherry tomatoes. 

I pulled up the eggplant and the cucumbers.  Cucumbers were mostly bitter this year.

I braised duck legs in vermouth, chicken broth with bay and sage.  Later I added carrot, poblano, and turnips.  Served over noodles....yum.

Labor Day

It is Labor Day and I am at my home away from home at Lake Tahoe.  Yesterday I harvested before I left and brought my veggies and herbs with me. 

Yesterday's dinner was whole wheat spaghetti with grass fed beef/tomato/herb sauce.  I had previously roasted farmer's market roma tomatoes with olive oil and used these for the sauce, along with my oregano, thyme, sage, basil, and crushed red pepper. Our salad was made with my precious Cheroke Purple tomatoes and Japanese Suhyo cucumbers.  The cucumbers have been producing nicely.

It has been a very hard year for my tomatoes. This is just the beginning of the tomato harvest!  Our weather has been much cooler than usual. Not complaining, really.  Cooler than usual beats all the other bad weather out there this year.

I usually grow eight plants and have had to pull up three.  One of my two San Marzanos just turned a bad brown/gold color almost overnight. I was worried this signified a virus so up it came.  I also pulled up both my Brandywines.  They were tall and vigorous and between them produced ONE poor, little tomato.  I just got plain tired of tending the vegetation!

This leaves me with five. I have two sad looking but just beginning to produce, Sweet One Hundred, cherry tomatoes, one San Marzano that isn't very prolific and no ripe fruit yet and my two Cherokee Purples.  They are the most successful but still will be a poor harvest.

I have my garden's green beans and zucchini for tonight which will go along side a grilled side of coho salmon.

I mix lemon peel, black pepper and brown sugar together and liberally lay the mix on top of the salmon several hours before grilling. The salmon is laid on the grill brown sugar side first.  Once done it is topped with melted butter mixed with the juice from the lemon.  So Good!

We'll have a simple peach cobbler for dessert.

Time for a walk.....