Friday, August 24, 2012

A New Friend?

This little guy hitched a ride home today from Starbucks - couldn't tell what his beverage choice was.
I drove very slowly to make sure he made it all the way to the garden.  I think he would be a nice addition to my ecosystem.  After posing for his photo, he flew off ... and next door!


What do they have that I don't?  Certainly not plants!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

A Perfect Weekend

Mid-August and we had a June weekend.  You know.  One of the weekends we should have had way back in June when we were having July ... or something. 

Highs in the low 80's.  A bit of rain both afternoons.  Time enough to get a jump start on fall weeding and deadheading.

Time in the kitchen, too. A bit of peach pie.  [Meant to take the picture before we ate half!]
A bit of canning.  Roma's are in short supply this year, so I may not be able to make any more Tomato Jam this year.  Not good news ...
And, a fun little project to use up the surplus of tiny yellow Roma's we have produced. 
Spread the tomatoes on a parchment-lined pan and "bake" at 250 for about an hour - could take up to two hours depending on how big* your tomatoes are.  These are sprinkled with Italian herbs, and will go into the freezer once they are cooled.  Then stored in plastic bags until needed for a touch of summer in February.

*These directions are from Martha Stewart in the local paper.  You can do it with cherry tomatoes or cut larger tomatoes in pieces.  I only did the mini-Roma's because I liked the idea of keeping their shape.  If you are serious cook and just want the flavor, chopped up "real" tomatoes would probably do just fine.