BACHD BEANS

An eye injury has waylaid my writing and reading for that matter. A corneal abrasion that ,once the intense pain had left, has altered the vision in my left eye. As I try to write, it tires easily but I believe it may actually be healing!
I wept as I picked the beans this morning. A beautiful day, cool with a light breeze and varying clouds. I sit upon a small coleman cooler with a flat top so that I do not have to do a great deal of bending. Its is the perfect size for fitting in between the rows of beans. A portable radio tuned to NPR and a large metal bowl are my equipment. This morning's selection happened to be Bach and as I listensed and picked, I was overcome with the beauty of them both. Bach and the beans. The pure simplicity of putting a small, grey seed into the ground and then watching it grow and the pure ecstacy of Bach's piece that itself sprang forth from a small, black note. I held the beans in my palms, closed my eyes and let the music envelope me and as I wept, I said a feeble word of thanks for the beautiful, crisp green Bachd beans.

COOKING

The party was a huge success and I have speant the last few days cleaning up and distributing left overs! Here are a few of the recipes and always remember that your taste buds complete a recipe and all of these have wiggle room depending on your likes or dislikes. A couple of these I got from THE GRILLING BIBLE which is one of my favorite summer time cookbooks. I added, subtracted, substituted and tweaked until it was perfect...you should do the same.

SPICY SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE BOIL

In a large pot boil 10 - 12 cups of water. Place two hot chiles(sliced down the center), 4 stalks of celery, quartered; 2 medium onions, quartered; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 3 TB of seafood seasoning; 4 ears of corn, quartered; cook for aprox 15 minutes. Add 1 pound of new potatoes, 1 pound of smoked andoullie sausage cut into 1-inch pieces, cook an additional 10 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, add 1 pound (or more) of shell on shrimp, let stand until shrimp are opaque for about 2 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid. Drain mixture and place in huge serving bowl. Add 4 TB of melted butter, hot peper sauce (to taste) and the reserved liquid. Serve with the seafood seasoning. Enjoy!!!

SWEET BASIL PESTO PASTA SALAD

In a small food processor, place 2 cloves of minced garlic, 10 oz of pine nuts, 1/4 c. of grated parmesan, 1/2 c. of fresh basil leaves (torn into pieces) and 3 TB of olive oil. Process until smooth. Now here is where you have to use your eyes, nose and tongue to determine if it is ready. You can really play around with a pesto using more cheese, less basil etc until it is to your liking. Prepare an interesting pasta, drain, add any veggies you like (tomato, olives, etc) or nothing at all. Stir in pesto and serve!

CORN AND BEAN SALSA (this is my sister's favorite!!!)

Whisk together 6 TB of Franks hot sauce, 6 TB red wine vinegar, 3-4 TB of minced fresh cilantro, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tspn of chili powder, and 1/3 cup of olive oil, until blended.

Pour over 1 -12 oz package of thawed and drained frozen corn, 2 cans of drained black beans, 1 can of diced tomatoes and chilies and 2 diced green onions. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with a variety of tortilla chips.

PATIENCE AND WATER

Gardening takes a lot of water and patience. Water I have from a well that has never run dry! Patience...that's another matter. I am afraid that well tends to run dry from time to time but you can't rush a tomato or a zuchinni...they make you wait. It takes me aprox. one and a half hours to water the garden and, inevitably, about three quarters of the way through I think "oh, the last few will probably be okay" and then I take a deep breath, remind myself of the eventual reward, yank the hose a few more feet and soak every last root. Patience.
Much of what has been grown will be used this Sunday for my son's birthday. On the menu is meat, of course, we are midwesterners afterall , ribs, pork steaks, chicken wings with homemade bbq sauce and a variety of other dipping sauces. Baked beans, Sweet basil pesto pasta salad, tossed leaf lettuce salad with fresh tomatoes and onions. Potato salad and macaroni salad. Corn on the cob. Black bean and corn relish, homemade salsas and chips and last but not least, cake and ice cream! I have to wrap this post so that I can get started. Next week I will post my recipe for Sweet basil pesto, pico de gallo, bbq sauce and a spicy shrimp boil! have a safe and happy 4th of July and to my son. Colin, at GITMO and to all of the other service men and women THANKYOU!!!!

STORMS, HEAT AND REWARDS!

Storms and tornadoes are common here in the midwest. You get used to them. The howling winds, thunder, lightning...furniture moving about the yard. So used to it that your first thought is not to run for cover but rather to run for your camera. The only time I truly sleep is while a summer tempest rages outside my window. Intense heat came early this year. What is common for August crept into June with temperatures of 105 so this storm was a welcome one leaving in its wake cooler air, brilliant colors, dizzying aromas and overnight incredible growth!

Radish, zuchinni, wild flowers and in each corner, heirloom tomatoes.

BEAUREGARD FARM

I paid a visit to my friend Terry at Beauregard Farm today. The name, Beauregard, is in memory of her son Beau who passed away six years ago this July. She is selling her beautiful little farm and moving to Maine so, while she waits for a buyer, she offered some of the herbs and incredible plants she grows so that I could transplant them in my gardens. She told me to come early as she is always up at the "crack of dawn" however she had forgotten that she was having a little party yesterday and so the dawns crack was visible before Terry's was today. I, on the other hand, woke at an uncharacteristic 6:00 giddy with excitement over the treasures I was going to find, waited an hour and called Terry. "Come on over!" I grabbed shovel, spade and boxes and off I went. What a glorious place! Life everywhere including dogs and peacocks, bees and butterflies, toads and worms and OH! the plants. Many I was familiar with and many more I was not. Terry pointed often..."how about some of this?" OK. Sure...why not?

It occurs to me as I watch Terry bend and pull and dig that six years ago she made a choice. She could have buried her pain but instead buried roots and her tribute to her son is breathtaking. After two hours, I drove back home with a pick up truck full of plants. I planted the thyme and tarragon immediately and will wait until dusk to plant the rest (heat indeces over 100 today). As I look at the plants that grow throughout my acre, I remember where I got most of them, who gifted them and for the most part even the days I planted them. Today I brought home a piece of Beauregard and for years to come these plants, these herbs, these glourious colors will remind me of Terry and of course, Beau. Thanks Terry, our loss is Maine's gain!

FATHER'S DAY

My father is 77 years old going on 55. Golfer, cyclist, volunteer, hero. My sister and I began texting each other about what to get dad for father's day. His birthday was in May and we got him a plant for his patio and a Streisand collection. At 77, there isn't much he needs or want. He wants my sister and I to be happy and healthy. He has lost his parents, our mother and both of his sons... my brothers so he knows what really matters and a new shirt or golf club, although nice, don't compare to the time that he is able to spend with us. What to do...what to do. I wonder as I look out of the windows of my sunroom at the wild flowers, the petunias and the fresh herbs that are flourishing after the recent rain and the sudden heat and then I know. Dirt. Dad would like some dirt. My mom and eldest brother were cremated and their ashes placed in niches, my other brother served in Desert Storm and has been buried in a military graveyard. In all cases it is difficult to leave flowers. So I decide. I text my sister "how about a memorial garden for dad, somewhere he can plant flowers, living things, to memorialize mom and the boys". A resounding YES. My husband had made the plots for my flowers and herbs, I asked if he would do the same for my dad and after a long, hot day of working on air conditoners (he is an HVAC tech) he drug out the tiller and the wooden posts and made my dad a garden. We gave dad some gardening tools and gift cards to Menards, walked into the yard and unveiled a crudely painted sign DAD'S DIRT and he was, well, speechless. I cannot begin to tell you how many golf tees, golf balls, golf shirts, records, cd's and books I have purchased for my dad throughout the years...but I can tell you this...nothing...I mean nothing beats a little dirt.

HERB HEAVEN

me and the crew, Murphy and Angus.

I dehydrate tomtoes at the end of every season. Today I made a sun-dried tomato pesto using the tomatoes I dried last season and fresh basil and oregano from my new herb garden. Incredible!! Fresh herbs make such a difference and what a (albeit silly) feeling of accomplishment. I am fairly happy with this batch but I am going to experiment with other ingrediants including the s.d. tomatoes and a variety of chilis. I bake an herb bread that is very dense and rich and have always had to purchase pesto to spread on it but not anymore!!!

My crop is small this year but I was warned that it might be for the first year however a friend owns a seven acre organic farm nearby and has invited me to visit and dig up full size herbs to bring home and transplant into my garden....very exciting!

Now for my son Colin whois serving in the Navy...Ian's graduation!I only have one picture because of the complete and utter chaos that was the "graduation". It was more like a circus...people standing on the folding chairs ath convention center...talking on their phones...screaming at other people in the stands. I was in shock and we left early fearing that if things were so out of hand during the ceremony they were certain to get worse after! I will send more pics after Sunday! Love you like rainbows...miss you like crazy...be safe.

IN FULL SWING!

Got very busy gardening and completely forgot I was blogging but things are in full swing here. I convinced my husband to enlarge the garden by A LOT!!! ( more growing, less mowing). He agreed so we added herb plots and three more vegetable plots.

Back to work..finally!

If you follow my blog Key Elements than you know that we (my family) has had the flu so I am behind in everything but I finally started planting. I purchased a grow starter kit at Dollar General and a starter mix along with seed from Menards and Walmart.

I placed the mix into each compartment and the seed sparingly. Water lightly and then secure the clear dome .

Now, in order to be certain of what I planted in each compartment, I simply use a sketch pad and draw a rough (really rough) picture of the planter. I use a little paint and mark the front left corner of the planter, this way even if the lid should be turned, you'll know what you've got. As I place the seeds, I write in each box.

Very crude but Hey! it works. I keep this sketch pad with my Gardening book.

The seeds have to be lightly watered daily and I am lucky enough to have a bay window off of my breakfast nook so that's where they will be sunning. Now, we wait. Meanwhile there is the taks of planning the garden.

Planning

Here I sit looking through a dusty window at a dreary day. Windy and rainy. February. The worst month of the year in the Midwest. The month of waiting. March, although often times equally dreary and cold, holds the promise of spring. We can feel it, smell it, count the days to it so lest we be caught unprepared, in February we have to plan!

I have always loved gardening. Now please keep in mind that this does not mean I am a good gardener...it simply means I enjoy it. However, our recent ecomony has turned my love for gardening into a necessity. Last year I had an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, radishes, greeen beans and zuchinni.

This year I plan to have all of that and more. I love cooking with herbs so last year I planted some in the large garden but lost track of them and as time wore on was unable to identify them except for the lemon balm. This year, I will be starting them indoors. I picked up a few packets at Menards over the weekend and plan to get more We use a lot of oregano, basil, lemon and cilantro but I would like to experiment with some others. In the past we have used a garden tiller, a simple plan and planted. I will be using this book along with the advice of my friend Terri who runs a beautiful, successful, organic farm just a few miles away. She is able to supply the local cafes with produce and fresh herbs! (I am so jealous.) I will be thrilled just to able to enlarge my garden keeping my family and friends in fresh produce for the summer and fall. Last year I did quite a bit of canning and freezing and this year I am going to experiment with salting. We made gallons of salsa from mild to extra hot...basic to black bean and corn. Lots of work but well worth it! My husband makes soup for one of the local V.F.W posts several days a week to make sure that some of the older vets have a healthy lunch and our garden provides a great deal of the ingrediants he uses.

Well, I am off to purchase some small containers and soil for the herbs. I will get them started and placed in my kitchen bay window tomorrow and we will see what happens!