Showing posts with label gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardens. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
night rain
I woke up to the rain pounding down the windows. My eyes popped open and I lay there, thinking. A little body twitched in sleep beside me, with a slight shiver. I pulled up the blankets that I knew she would kick off again and tried to close my eyes again, to no avail. The rain sounded like a nightmare inside my head. I don't hate the rain and I am very grateful for it- at least today. At least right now.
But, as nightmares do, this one woke me up and kept me there. I'm not ready for this day to begin. I've a long history of waking in the early morning hours, and happily doing so. But this morning is too early...and a long day lies ahead. Nothing of particular circumstance, but long even if.
Tiptoe from the room, move the brick holding the door open so that it eases quietly shut. Turn the switch on the computer as I walk silently into the kitchen. Without thinking about it, open the freezer and put frozen bread on the skillet to toast. Modern day toaster. We've never graduated to the future with that one, and are very happy with our skillet toast. Open the fridge. Find that I polished off the mixed berry jam yesterday morning. Open the peanut butter and scoop out a glob. Spread it on the bread, carefully. Millet bread has the tendency to crumble with any stiff topping. Hesitate over the honey option, and decide it's a good one.
Bring my toast into the living room and sit quietly down at the computer screen. Sooo close to my sleeping beauties I have to be very quiet with my movements. Check mail and read the blogs I usually do. Check Facebook and make sure the world didn't end in the few hours I slept.
And as usual, it didn't.
Think about the days, the nights, the family that runs it all. My daughters who's very breath sometimes melts my heart. Think about my own parents who's lives suddenly are fragile. Those people who growing up seemed the least fragile. Think about my brothers and sisters, their lives, events and joy.
The rain. My gardens. My dear friends who's livelihood depends on the bounty of soil.
Ah, another day. Another June. Another night, another time woken up by the rain before the day comes.
But, as nightmares do, this one woke me up and kept me there. I'm not ready for this day to begin. I've a long history of waking in the early morning hours, and happily doing so. But this morning is too early...and a long day lies ahead. Nothing of particular circumstance, but long even if.
Tiptoe from the room, move the brick holding the door open so that it eases quietly shut. Turn the switch on the computer as I walk silently into the kitchen. Without thinking about it, open the freezer and put frozen bread on the skillet to toast. Modern day toaster. We've never graduated to the future with that one, and are very happy with our skillet toast. Open the fridge. Find that I polished off the mixed berry jam yesterday morning. Open the peanut butter and scoop out a glob. Spread it on the bread, carefully. Millet bread has the tendency to crumble with any stiff topping. Hesitate over the honey option, and decide it's a good one.
Bring my toast into the living room and sit quietly down at the computer screen. Sooo close to my sleeping beauties I have to be very quiet with my movements. Check mail and read the blogs I usually do. Check Facebook and make sure the world didn't end in the few hours I slept.
And as usual, it didn't.
Think about the days, the nights, the family that runs it all. My daughters who's very breath sometimes melts my heart. Think about my own parents who's lives suddenly are fragile. Those people who growing up seemed the least fragile. Think about my brothers and sisters, their lives, events and joy.
The rain. My gardens. My dear friends who's livelihood depends on the bounty of soil.
Ah, another day. Another June. Another night, another time woken up by the rain before the day comes.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Spring gardens
A year ago, I went to the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbour with my dear old friend and her little one. It had just rained, and we meandered around, getting happily wet and witnessed the early summer garden coming to life. A beautiful thing.
Love this place. SO magical.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Green Tomatoes
Tomatoes. Tomatoes and more green tomatoes.
Salsa Verde
one pound tomate verde (tomatillos, but green tomatoes will work too...)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons white onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
cook tomatoes in just a bit of water, until they are soft (five minutes).
Put a bit of the cooking liquid in blender with remaining ingredients and pulse until blended.
Add tomatoes and pulse for a few seconds.
Serve on everything. (Scrambled eggs and avocado, refried beans, chicken tacos, "black" tortilla chips, quesadillas, etc, etc.)
I never thought I would pick so many green tomatoes. I pick them green and bring them inside, hoping they eventually will ripen in our warmer then outside inside. And something about this dark dank kitchen... they simply love it. Bazaar, huh?
Well, because of our overabundance of green tomatoes I have decided that when time allows, whenever that may be, I am making many more batches of Salsa Verde. So, if you happen to come over for dinner any time in the next month, be sure that you will be eating green salsa. Or something vaguely like the old El Mirador cuisine (a Mexican taco stand I used to work for back in the days of the Portland Public Market...when I was childless and fried chips at five am....).
one pound tomate verde (tomatillos, but green tomatoes will work too...)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons white onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
cook tomatoes in just a bit of water, until they are soft (five minutes).
Put a bit of the cooking liquid in blender with remaining ingredients and pulse until blended.
Add tomatoes and pulse for a few seconds.
Serve on everything. (Scrambled eggs and avocado, refried beans, chicken tacos, "black" tortilla chips, quesadillas, etc, etc.)
 |
| the kale. (our other very abundant crop) |
Monday, June 20, 2011
After all
Yesterday morning, Stella and I went to the land to see Travis. He was working away on the support system for the addition, carving out the joints in gorgeous long timbers. Heck of a job for father's day on his first celebrated father's day ever, but there he was. My sweet and dedicated love, working away in the woods with all the mosquitoes. That guy. Sometimes it just astounds me how much I adore him and how lucky we are to have him in our worlds.
We brought him a big double latte from Treats. (Fancy coffee...)
He perched himself up on one of the beams with Stella in one arm, coffee in the other as I viciously attacked what once was the garden before the chickens got to it. It still is a garden in many respects, there are so many things that simply volunteered to come up in the very composted horse and cow manure that we spread over it all last year before we planted. Last year we had the craziest squash vines you could ever imagine and tomatoes that would take over the world. And my huge pregnant self was just flat out too exhausted to cope come the end of the growing season, so everything was just kind of left there. So, this year, TONS of teensy (but growing!) tomatoes have come up, as well as some random squash.
So yesterday, all by myself, my little helper watching from a good 10 feet away in the safety of her papa's arms, I pulled so many weeds it felt like I was starting from scratch. My body suddenly recalled what it is like to work so hard...and yeah, it felt wonderful.
Holding a baby is hard work all on it's own, but remembering how to use your body again for something other then house work and dinner making... Yum. Lactic acid and all.
So in the garden the chickens once devoured (before something devoured them...) we now have beets, carrots, tomatoes (!!!), squash, lettuce, kale and a few peas. Not to mention rosa rugosa, lemon balm, chocolate mint, oregano, thyme, and johnny jump ups.
Love love loving it. This is just the best time of year.
We brought him a big double latte from Treats. (Fancy coffee...)
He perched himself up on one of the beams with Stella in one arm, coffee in the other as I viciously attacked what once was the garden before the chickens got to it. It still is a garden in many respects, there are so many things that simply volunteered to come up in the very composted horse and cow manure that we spread over it all last year before we planted. Last year we had the craziest squash vines you could ever imagine and tomatoes that would take over the world. And my huge pregnant self was just flat out too exhausted to cope come the end of the growing season, so everything was just kind of left there. So, this year, TONS of teensy (but growing!) tomatoes have come up, as well as some random squash.
So yesterday, all by myself, my little helper watching from a good 10 feet away in the safety of her papa's arms, I pulled so many weeds it felt like I was starting from scratch. My body suddenly recalled what it is like to work so hard...and yeah, it felt wonderful.
Holding a baby is hard work all on it's own, but remembering how to use your body again for something other then house work and dinner making... Yum. Lactic acid and all.
So in the garden the chickens once devoured (before something devoured them...) we now have beets, carrots, tomatoes (!!!), squash, lettuce, kale and a few peas. Not to mention rosa rugosa, lemon balm, chocolate mint, oregano, thyme, and johnny jump ups.
Love love loving it. This is just the best time of year.
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