Cooking and eating from the garden, cont’d.

I think it is week 17 and 18 from my CSA bounty. But I have also been buying some seasonal Western produce: peaches and peppers from Washington State and hopefully soon, some blueberries from Oregon. Washington, Oregon and California are close enough that I am including their seasonal stuff that comes direct to Montana as local :)!

Here we go!

More cucumbers and I dressed them in a creamy dressing of a wee bit of homemade mayo, greek yogurt, buttermilk, dill, salt and a good dose of fresh ground pepper.

In addition to a refreshing salad, the mix made a good topping for a spicy corn chowder. My CSA corn and green pepper went into the chowder.

I blitzed a bit of the cucumber salad to make a riff of tzatziki sauce which also went well with some chowder.

Oh…those little tomatoes!!! They are sweet like candy and I ate most of them just like candy – as a sweet snack!

Kale, sweet onion and green beans roasted in olive oil and basalmic vinegar…

…. they went in another soup.

As the calendar flipped to September, the weather flipped to Fall. Cool/cold nights warming to Fallish afternoons. Soup sounded good and it was.

But…still time for some salad. This last week had beautiful lettuce mix. I added some ham, corn off the cob, pumpkin seeds and a ranchish dressing…along with some Washington State Elberta peaches.

Roast Chiles!! Anaheims, Red, Jalapeno – on the grill…for chile rellenos…

Oh, yeah! And in addition to the above which were part of my CSA distribution, the local grocery had a chile weekend and I bought a number of the best Anaheim peppers I’ve seen in these parts. Those have been roasted and frozen for Winter enjoyment.

Cooking and eating from the garden and local produce. It continues to be wonderful eating and preserving.

not pretty, but beautiful!

Last evening (Wednesday) was not a pretty night…in front of a cold front, heavy overcast moved in. It was that eery stillness of ‘calm before the storm’. Everything was quiet…no breeze, no birds, no squirrels, no bugs. Not pretty, but beautiful in its own way and we enjoyed.

And even though the yard and woods are a bit dry and crunchy…

…they still inspire a good roll around!

Overnight, the wind blew and I woke to the sound of a good soaking rain.

I also woke with a strong craving for a cinnamon roll. I grabbed a peach sized bit of dough from my dough crock, rolled it into a thin rectangle, brushed it with melted butter, added some chopped apple, cinnamon and brown sugar. Rolled it up, folded it over, let it rise for half an hour and then into the oven. The finishing touch: a caramel glaze of brown sugar, butter and milk. Not pretty, but beautiful and seriously, YUM!!

Sunday evening on the loop

Early Sunday Evening on the last leg of the loop walk…mid 70’sF this afternoon after a cool 42F start. And blustery – it feels like Fall.

Although a lot of chores were done, a bit of relaxing was done: walks taken, stomachs rubbed and general lying around outside. A beautiful weekend.

A celebratory treat

Homemade peach yogurt (greek yogurt, buttermilk, peaches and vanilla extract), pecans and homemade vanilla bean caramel sauce (sugar, cream, vanilla bean, vanilla extract and sea salt) – to celebrate the last day of birthday month, the second full moon of birthday month, and the last weekend of the Summer … YEE HAW!!

***my first go at caramel sauce…too good!
****yes, the autumnal equinox does not occur until September 22 but September always seems like Fall just like June seems like Summer :)!

The second full moon of August

Slightly more than 1 hour before the moon reached its fullest, Bear and I went down the road home in the Jeep to watch that nearly full moon set over a just cut wheat field. It was 45F: cool, clear and beautiful.

I was almost 14 when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon and today his life is to be remembered. When the moon is full and large on the horizon, it seems further away and harder to get to than when small and high in the sky. It was an incredible time when man walked on the moon and what an adventure – even for me, watching safely from earth. To see not only the moon, but the photos of earth from the moon: a different perspective.

The last day of August 2012: the second full moon. Happy Friday!

A peaceable kingdom

First with Zack and Gus, then with Karl and Gus, Karl, Gus and Bob, Karl and Bob … for something in the neighborhood of 16 years I have started each morning with quiet reflection, some of Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest”, a cup of coffee and my dear boys.

This morning, for the first time…Bear and Bob – together – shared the time with me.

A peaceable kingdom.