Still Going Strong

Even after the cooler weather we had here recently in Minnesota, the garden is still doing well. Quite a long list of produce harvested today for delivery to Mt. Calvary food shelf tomorrow morning.

Green Beans
Okra
Hot Peppers
Carrots
Potatoes
Onion
Thyme
Basil
Dill
Chive
Oregano
Eggplant
Lettuce
Cucumber
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Tomatoes
Beets
Kale
Swiss Chard
Mustard Greens

Greens

All of a sudden the greens are going to town. Maybe the cooler weather? In addition to the chard and lettuce in the picture, we have mustard greens and kale like crazy. We found this recipe for greens - and liked it!

1 bunch greens (collard, mustard, swiss or rainbow chard - about 5 c chopped)
1 bunch kale (about 5 c chopped)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1.Wash and chop greens.
2. Add olive oil, garlic and greens to large pan.
3.Cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until greens are tender, tossing frequently.
4.Once the greens are softened and slightly browned, add the lemon juice and saute an additional 2 minutes.
5.Serve warm.

Visitors

We were glad to see these visitors (free pest control) but they were not as enchanted with us as you'd think. Lots of hissing and honking and rude looks. Couldn't understand what they said, but got the distinct impression it was less than complimentary.

Picnic Weather

Look at what we delivered to Lewis House and Mt. Calvary Food Shelf last week!


We're in picnic season now! Sweet corn, watermelon, summer squash and coleslaw (well cabbage and carrots) - and scrumptious salad greens. Not to mention potatoes for salad or baking. If only we could grow chocolate chip cookies . . .



Guess it's not a picnic without ants, though. When we were digging up the potatoes it was my job to grub through the dirt and make sure we didn't leave any behind (potatoes, not dirt). I turned up a boatload of little red ants.

I didn't get any good pictures of them because, frankly, they were creeping me out. But they weren't fire ants like we have down south. They were smaller than your usual black ants, but bigger than the little black sugar ants (frequent visitors in kitchens where I come from, and yes, I do so clean my kitchen).

So, does anyone know if they're good ants (Flora, Merryweather, Fauna) or bad ants (Maleficent)?

Okra for Mrs. Stone, thank you for the spider

The picture above is a special thank you to my Mom for making me eat my okra. I just want her to know that I am passing along the appreciation of this excellent vegetable to other children. Mmmm - gumbo.

And another special thank you to all the folks who pitched in to help us identify Joan's spider friend, Argiope. (His real name probably isn't Argiope - probably Henry, or something. But we like the sound of Argiope - rhymes with Caliope. Look it up.)

I should report that when I went out this morning to pick, his web was there, but he wasn't. If he crawls out of my shoe in the middle of a meeting today, notice will be taken. I'm just saying.