Category: Garden

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Trouble in Paradise – June 2023

So far, it’s been a pleasant summer. We have had temps in the 80’s until recently.

What happens in the summer when it starts getting hot?

BEER happens. Willpower gone. There’s beer in the house.

I’ve been holding steady at 172 for a few months. But the arrival of beer weather does concern me.

The Boss has been working tirelessly in the yard and it looks the best it has in years. New shrubs, flowers, perennials and rose bushes were added this year. As for me, I try to find plants that I can’t kill. Meet Pepper Plant #4.

Readers with sharp eyes will note this tiny thing already has two peppers. Yeah, I cheated and bought a plant that already had fruit. I still remember the horrors of my last Pepper Plant 08.02.18. So I cheated. Pepper Plants #3 and #2 are in a pot and about twice the size of #4. No fruits yet, but I remain hopeful.

There’s basil on the patio too. I taught myself how to prune basil properly and hopefully I’ve learned something from watching hours of basil pruning videos on YouTube. Upon careful inspection today the plant needs to be pruned. So tonight’s meal will be Pasta with Vegetables, Olive oil, and Garlic. I don’t think I’ve ever written this recipe down but One Rotisserie Chicken, 50 Meals – #6 Pasta with Chicken, Vegetables, Oiive Oil and Garlic is close enough. No chicken or squash tonight. I’m heading down the broccoli route with lots of fresh basil and garlic. Go 4 cloves. Or more.

The basil is healthy and my new pepper plant has peppers. Hopefully this summer will be better than The Tomato Plant – 2014 Final Update. My basil didn’t’ do well that year either.

Time for a beer and to give thanks for not living in Texas anymore.

Update –

I used about a half cup of fresh basil.

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Remember Doug? Well, Doug is Not a Potato

At 17 Pounds, ‘Doug’ the Ugly Potato Could Be the World’s Biggest Spud — Latest articles | smithsonianmag.com

“sadly the specimen is not a potato and is in fact the tuber of a type of gourd. For this reason we do unfortunately have to disqualify the application.”

Giant New Zealand potato is not in fact a potato, Guinness World Records rules https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/16/giant-new-zealand-potato-is-not-in-fact-a-potato-guinness-world-records-rules

Now what?

According to Doug’s owner Colin Craig-Brown “He is the world’s biggest not-a-potato.”

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25 Vegan Soup Recipes – the First Mess

The Digital Devil told me I had dipped below 173 and I’m resisting the urge to overthink this. I can’t explain this bizarre behavior. It’s just part of my makeup, a tiny piece of me that tends to repeat over and over and over again. If the number goes up I’ll try to figure out why. If the number goes down my mind does the same thing. Why? Why is my weight going down? Is this merely a random fluctuation or can I pinpoint a reason for my successful weight loss/maintenance? As I wandered the internet I found a website post that had the answer I had been searching for.

Soup. I’ve eating more soup.

Laura Wright is a vegan cookbook author and blogger based in the Niagara region of southern Ontario, Canada. Her most recent post is 25 Vegan Soup Recipes and can be accessed at https://thefirstmess.com/. To be clear I haven’t tried any of these recipes yet but I needed a reminder to do so. Thus this post and link.

It’s like a giant Sticky Note that says “Hey, try these recipes. Also don’t forget you already bought her cookbook and it’s sitting on your eCookbook shelf.”

I actually forgot I bought Laura’s cookbook.

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Eat More Carrots – VRG Scientific Update

Researchers began studying close to 50,000 women in 1984 when their average age was 48 years old. They collected information about the women’s diets over the next 22 years. The women’s cognitive function was assessed at 28 or 30 years after the start of the study. At that point, 41% had good cognitive function, 47% had moderate function, and 12% had poor function. Women who had the highest long-term intake of total carotenoids were 33% less likely to have poor cognitive function and 14% less likely to have moderate cognitive function than those who had the lowest intake. The same results occurred when the researchers examined individual carotenoids.

VRG > Vegetarian Journal > 2020 Issue 4 > Scientific Update — https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2020issue4/2020_issue4_scientific_update.php

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Pepper Plant 08.20.18

I lost another pepper.  Note the pepper on the left which I was hoping to vine ripen has split and rotted.  This is the second pepper I’ve lost to rot.  Fully one third of my summer crop has rotted away.  But if the remaining four fruit survive this will be my most successful attempt at growing fruits in pots.  A few summers ago my tomato plant produced two tomatoes.  Then I tried cucumbers.  Only got one.  This pepper plant is actually growing peppers!

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Pepper Plant 2018

Every summer I try to grow something.  A few years ago I started a tomato plant that produced two tomatoes.  Then there was the cucumber plant that produced one cucumber.

This year’s confirmation of my Brown Thumb is a Gypsy Pepper plant.

It sure doesn’t look like the Gypsy Pepper plant pictures on Google Images.

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Frenchy’s Citrus Gazpacho

“Send pictures of the Tiny Human.”

“Only if you send me your Citrus Gazpacho recipe.”

The exchange was made and Frenchy’s recipe follows:


CITRUS GAZPACHO

For 6 Cups


  • 4 large ripe tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 TBLS white wine vinegar
  • 2 1/2 cups orange juice
  • zest and fruit of 1 orange-remove the peel and pith
  • zest and fruit of 1 pink grapefruit-remove the peel and pith
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced
  • 1/4 medium red onion, diced
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
  • 1 TBLS olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • Cayenne pepper to your taste


Instead of using fresh tomatoes which you must boil for 20 seconds, then dunk in ice water to stop the cooking, cool, peel, then dice-you can use a can of diced tomatoes.
Use an immersion blender or container blender to mix the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, orange juice, orange and grapefruit zest. Puree.  Pour over the cucumbers, peppers, onion, orange and grapefruit, olive oil and seasonings.
This is best when it has been refrigerated overnight.  Top with fresh cut basil before serving.  A few pomegranate seeds in each serving for color.
Beautiful in martini or cocktail glasses as a starter.
Historical Note for Family and Friends
Frenchy is a real person and our friendship predates my marriage to The Boss.  When the Doctor and the Architect were tiny humans themselves we would have wonderful meals at Frenchy’s.  I’m positive I’ve had this gazpacho but at my age I can’t remember when.  Enjoy!

 

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