Perpetual Harvest

I'd never successfully cultivated any form of plant life until this year. Houseplants weren't an option since they would have fallen prey to pets. Plants I attempted to keep at my office inevitably withered from lack of water because I am used to the living things I care for reminding me of their need for sustenance (none of my animals have never been shy about that). But I really wanted this garden to work, and with a little luck - and Eric's greener thumbs - it has!

We've pulled fresh produce from our own backyard all summer long. The first cuttings of spinach mid-May were followed by garden peas and the never-ending supply of summer squash. One of my favorite meals this season was a Barley Risotto with Summer Vegetables, which I was able to put together with almost all home-grown ingredients from our early harvest. (Violet loved this dish too!)

And that was just the beginning. About month ago, we dug up about 40 pounds of potatoes, and plucked a plethora of baby carrots along with them. Today the squash is still coming, the corn is ripe, and the tomato plants (heirloom, roma and grape) are producing almost more than we can keep up with. We're about to begin picking a lot of peppers as well: there's fruit appearing on almost all 10 of our sweet pepper plants, in addition to our 15 or so varieties of hot peppers that are putting out even more.

A couple of weeks ago, we retilled several beds whose crops had exhausted themselves and replanted with some that can withstand the increasing chill in the autumn air: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and more peas, carrots, spinach and salad greens. We're looking forward to continuing to pull more good food from the garden for at least another couple of months. I've also set my sights on preserving what we can't consume immediately - Julie from Chez Artz piqued my interest in canning some staples like tomatoes. That may be a bit ambitious for me, admitted amateur gardener, but I'd like to give it a try!

Celebrations(s)!

As I explained in the previous post, Violet's birthday was three weeks ago, but it's taken me some time to process the photos from the big day and her party the following weekend. Here are the highlights of the celebrations:

Eric and I both took the day off on Violet's birthday to spend the day with her. She kicked things off by trying out eating with utensils for the first time: we gave her a spoon with her oatmeal and let her have at it. Much mess ensued. She's still working on mastering the spoon, and falls back on using her fingers quite a bit, but we're happy to let her figure it out at her own pace.

The real festivities came after breakfast - birthday presents! Violet dove right into the pile, ripping away wrapping paper and inspecting the contents of each package. Among her favorites: a xylophone, a set of Haba blocks, and a Melissa and Doug Learn-To-Play Piano.

After lunch and a nap, we headed to the zoo, where Violet was captivated by the "ki-cas" (tigers/kitty-cats). Violet alternated riding in the Hotsling on my hip or on her Dad's shoulders while we checked out all the animals before heading home for her birthday dinner. We fixed her one of our favorites, Penne with Corn, Roasted Poblanos, Avocado and Tomato; she loved it. Followed that up with a few bites of huckleberry cheesecake, and the birthday girl was ready for a bath and bed. (To see the entire album of Violet's birthday, click on the photo of her and her dad at the zoo.)

The next weekend our families joined us for her birthday party at my parents' place (they have one less 150 pound dog to wrangle there). Lunch was planned with Violet in mind: Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash Salad with Citrus Splash Dressing (made with zucchini and squash from our garden!), Garlicky Roasted Potato Salad, and fruit skewers with a honey-lime drizzle and mint garnish; grown-ups also got brats. Though we were up into the wee hours the night before prepping those dishes, it was worth it. We wanted Violet to be able to partake of at least most of the menu - it was her party, after all - and she enjoyed some of everything we'd made.

After lunch, the guests all gathered to watch Violet open her gifts. The first thing she unwrapped was a gorgeous pink pettiskirt, with matching wand and sparkly headband from her Aunt Amy and Aunt Meagan. She adored her new girly gear, and wore it until it was time for cake.

We wrapped up the festivities with a couple of Marion berry Upside-Down cakes I made using some delicious berries we picked up at the farmer's market the morning before. (Marion berries are a favorite of ours, and we planted some this spring, but it doesn't look like our bush will be producing much this year.) Violet loved the cake, but was left with a rash around her mouth and up near her eye, where she had rubbed with a cake-covered hand, after eating it. Once again, the rash faded quickly, and we still haven't been able to pinpoint what she's reacting to.

She fell asleep nursing not long after that, giving me some time to just watch her and marvel at how much she's changed in the past year. How did our baby get so big so fast?

(To see the entire album of Violet's birthday party, click on the photo of the birthday girl in her party hat above.)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

See for yourself! This is currently the most prolific section of our garden. The corn is crazy tall, and heirloom and grape tomatoes (to the right of the corn) are exploding, though still green. But the summer squash (in front, from left to right: scallop squash, yellow squash, zucchini and lemon cucumbers) is already ripe, and we're inundated with it.

Zucchini is featured frequently at our house right now, with the most recent rendition Stuffed Zucchini with Potatoes and Peas. Also on the menu this week: zucchini, black bean and corn enchiladas and zucchini-based faux crab cakes (I'm told Old Bay seasoning makes these vegetarian cakes taste just like the real thing . . . we'll see).

The peas were somewhat short lived. We picked a bowlful about a month ago, and then the plants promptly died. Beans were equally disappointing this year; though the plants we have continue to thrive, only a few ever came up - despite three rounds of planting from different seed packets.

Our formerly lush potato plants have also begun to shrivel up and die, which I understand is an indication that the potatoes themselves are ready to harvest. We'll dig one up this weekend and see. I did pull up an onion last weekend, and they still have some growing to do. Carrots and celery will be ready soon, and peppers are just coming on. We're big pepper people, we like 'em both hot and sweet, so we're looking forward to that crop.

And for dessert . . . last night I tasted our first homegrown blackberry. Yum!