I grew a pickle!

I went out tonight to water the garden, grumbling at the futility of it since only the herbs have been harvested.  My one tomato is still green on the vine--with no apparent need to hurry to ripen.  Well, we've had some rain the last few days, so I haven't had to water.  Still no tomatoes.  When I hit the Regal cucumbers with the water, a couple of leaves moved and I saw, no, it couldn't be!  A cucumber.  Somewhat like papa in his search for the cause of the clatter on  the rooftop, I threw down the nozzle, tore over to the plants and pulled back my vine, and what to my wondering eyes did appear?  One giant pickle, and a half dozen more little babies on vine!  My other vines on the other side of the patio (Marketmore and Picklebush) also have some babies--and those are the ones I grew from seeds. 

It's Herman the Pickle, after his first bath.  He's about 7 inches

long, and I don't know his weight.  Isn't he just adorable? 

And look at that healthy fingernail.  Lovely crescent at the bottom with a slight growth of white at the top.  No, I do not have a French manicure, that is the way my nails look every day.  I do have to trim them once a week so I can type and text, due to the iron supplement I take.  Usually it makes my hair grow, too, but I got it cut a month ago, and I think she buzzed me.  Four weeks later and it still sticks straight up.  It's too short to even try to style, so I just hit it with some mousse and I'm out the door!

I'll have to make sure the nails stay looking nice for my trip to Sioux Falls on Thursday.  I get to meet with the head of the Milwaukee transplant surgery team (Aurora St. Luke's).  Dr. Steers will be in Sioux Falls for the week to provide coverage while the two surgeons there are gone.  I guess I'm not a common diagnosis for the liver disease center in Sioux Falls, and I've just been hanging out on the wait list for over a year now.  So I'm one of the patients he asked to meet.  Wonder if he likes cucumbers?

Things that are gross in the night

I will no longer water my garden at dusk.  Monday night there was a small bat chillin' in the raised planter.  I hope I drowned him or made him squish when he fell off the planter wall.  Last night it was an ugly brown toad hiding in the coils of the hose.  Yucky!  Bats are beyond scary, and toads are just creepy.  From now on, I will  water no later than 6 pm.  Again, yucky!

More Odd Sounds

It rained and stormed last night.  Enough that my car windows were still wet this morning.  Shortly after getting to work, it started raining again!  I love it!  But of course that means really high humidity today.  It may only be 84 degrees right now, but it is so humid that it's hard to breathe.  But rain!  I may not even have to water the garden tonight, which would be a good thing since I don't want to risk the bat that was in the garden last night coming back.

The car windows were still wet this morning.  This is the entrance on the back side

of the building.  The front entry is where I have my "garden."

 Rain coming down this morning across from my office.

Look at those raindrops jump.

The dried dill weed from this weekend that Georgette and Quinten dried for me.

Rain, Glorious Rain!

As I've said before in the past week or two, I'm tired of the constant heat and drought-like conditions we have been experiencing this month.  I guess if forced to choose between this and last year's flooding, I'd take this heat.  But I'd like a happy medium.  So I went to bed at 10:00 last night/tonight.  10:01 to be  precise . according to my atomic self-setting alarm clock.  I work up to the strangest sound what turned out to be less than one hour later. 

Was that--no, it couldn't be!  There it was again!  Thunder.  Lightning.  And the pinging sound of rain on the window.  I got up to look, just to make sure I wasn't having a delusional dream.  No, I wasn't.  It really was storming.  I immediately scampered back to bed, pulled up the covers to get cozy, and drifted back to sleep.  There is nothing more restful to me than the sound of a thunderstorm (as long as it isn't severe enough for the emergency sirens to go off).  I slept for another couple of hours before waking up.  The storm had passed, but it had rained enough that everything was still wet.  I guess that means we get a blast of humidity with Tuesday's heat, but that's ok.  We got rain.  I now have greater expectations for my tomatoes.  I even "shook" the plants according the the Texas wives' belief that hitting your tomato plants lightly with a broom handle to get them to set fruit.  One of my staff insists she did it for years.  We'll see.

G'night for now.  More soon.  On topics other than gardens and produce!

Rose gets Rhubarb Radical

My aunt and uncle (thanks Pat and Liz!) hauled a cooler full of produce from yesterday's Farmers' Market and Bountiful Basket post back to my parents today.  I think they were a bit surprised by everything I got stuffed into that Styrofoam cooler.  They said the cantaloupe had a very thin rind and was super sweet.  Drat!  And I didn't keep it for myself. 

What you didn't see were the two huge bags of rhubarb they also got thanks to my friend Maria's garden.  Hail at the beginning of June nearly destroyed it, but it did grow back so tender and colorful.  So of course mom (Rose) got right on it and chopped rhubarb for 2 HOURS.  That's 4 quarts or 16 cups of rhubarb, now filling the freezer.  Once this unbearable heat passes (yup, still over 100 degrees), she will make some rhubarb strawberry jam and this rhubarb dessert they love.  Personally, I have never liked rhubarb and never will.  Last year I even hauled a rhubarb kuchen to South Carolina for the Michaels to enjoy.  Yes, you can take packaged food on the plane under current FAA guidelines. 

The variegated green and red stalks of rhubarb.  Never eat the rhubarb leaves, as they

are poisonous.  Even to the baby bunnies we always tried to rescue as kids.

Starting to chop the rhubarb.  Here the fruit looks mostly green inside.

But here is the inside of the fruit with the beautiful red color.

So here for you to enjoy is the infamous (and sodium-free) rhubarb dessert.

Rhubarb Cobbler

Mix until crumbly:

1 cup oatmeal

½ cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ¼ cup flour

Pour ½ of this in a greased  8x8 or 9x9 baking pan – cover with 4 cups of diced rhubarb.

Cook until thick and clear :

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Pour this over ingredients in pan and put remaining crumbs over the top.  Bake 1 hr in 350 degree oven

Farmers' Market and Bountiful Baskets, Oh My!

Today was all about produce.  Started happily when a made a quick run to DakotaMart and found they had California grapes that were big and snappy crisp and juicy.  Then it was off to the Capital City Farmers' Market.  Springerridge was back this week, as was Farmer Ralph, so I hit pay dirt on local produce.  Here's a look around their booths:

Sorry about the off-center and less than great quality on this one, but the sun was

SO bright I couldn't see the screen on my phone to see where the sign even was. 

 Springerridge has great produce and uses no pesticides or herbicides, so my liver

doesn't have to filter out a bunch of funky stuff.

They also have lots of great baked good and canned items like jams and relishes. 

Resisted buying the fudge.

Yellow squash and some other kind, and zucchini (a/k/a "garden garbage").  Not something I eat, but it's still great to see such a variety of produce coming in.

I don't do the Swiss chard, but I'm all about the leeks!  Can't wait until my leeks and fennel come in at my boss's farm.

Baby onions and heirloom varieties of lettuce.

Beets!  I got some pickled beets from my neighbor Miss Helen.  I like Harvard beets.

Green and yellow beans.  Not a big fan of beans.  But I do like fresh green beans with some crispy bacon, drizzled with a little of the bacon grease.

Little carrots!  I bought a bunch of those, and plan to roast them with some

onions and potatoes.  I LOVE carrots.

 

Farmer Ralph's cucumbers, new potatoes, dill and chokecherries.  $3 for a "bunch" of dill.  I assumed a "bunch" was a few stems  It was a Hulk-sized armload!  I've given some of it to friends, and I plan to freeze a lot of it to make pickles when my cucumbers come in.  And to make some cucumber salad!

Chokecherries up close.  The berries are free, but you pay for picking  Gotta love Ralph!

And later this afternoon after work, I picked up my first Bountiful Basket.  You pay $15 for an assortment of fruits and vegetables.  This, too, got split between a couple of us.  We figured out what the retail cost of the basket items would be.  Here is a list of what we got:

1 head broccoli

5 small yellow squash

2 English cucumbers

1 head Butter lettuce

1 pound of carrots (real carrots, not the processed baby carrots)

4 ears red sweet corn

1 pint red raspberries

1 quart strawberries

2 pounds seedless black grapes

6 plums

1 cantaloupe

At the store, this would be $38.87.  But we paid just $15, and everything is super-fresh.  And this is the first time I've ever actually seen the red sweet corn.

After splitting the basket this is what I kept, along with my add-on loaf of sourdough

bread.  For $10, we got 5 loaves and split them between 3 of us.

The Rainier cherries we bought.  Five of us split the 18-pound lug that we added

for $25.  That's $1.40 a pound, or a 66% savings over the recent sale price at the

store.  Next time someone comes from our office in Yakima, WA, we're hoping for

more cherries.  These came right from Yakima.

The beautiful variegated kernels of the red corn.  The red color gives the corn extra

antioxidants, so it's healthier than standard yellow or yellow/white corn.

And for the easiest corn cleaning/shucking and cooking, watch this video.  It truly does work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4

After giving dill to 5 people, this is what remains from my "bunch."  Get ready to can some pickles, mom!

I'm going to have to take it a little easy on the fresh produce, and not dive in the way I want so that I don't give myself a stomach ache.  I can't use up the Bountiful Basket in one week, even with splitting it, but maybe every few weeks.

I guess we got a little bit of rain overnight, but not enough to keep the soil damp for the garden, so I still had to go outside to water everything.  Now I'm cooled off, even though I never did sweat today, even running around in the 100 degree heat.  Hopefully it won't throw off my sleep tonight.  I've been doing pretty well with the exception of last night.  So, time to go take my meds and go to bed.  And dream of dill since my house smells like a vat of dill oil.

Choco-holics Rejoice!

Oh rapturous joy!  The heavens have opened and produced the perfect new business for anti-new business Pierre.  Rejoice!  It's an entire store devoted to chocolate!  And while I can only enjoy a small bit from time to time, it's a sublime treat.

http://www.bhchocolates.com/

And they have a Pottery 2 Paint located right next door where you can walk in and paint pottery, go to events, or schedule a private group party.  Let's go girl--it's time to get our paint on!  You can take food and beverages in with you (coffee and chocolates, or chocolates and a soda from Coolers?).  And they have air conditioning!  Who doesn't love that?  Ok, so I didn't turn on my air until after 8 pm yesterday.  Even though it was 105 or 106 degrees.  I looked over at the bank across the street at 1:00--100 degrees!  It makes me long for my winter coat, scarf, and boots.  

I was dreading having to run all the way out to Wal-Mart for just 6 items.  I decided I could wait until Sunday morning around 9:30 when it's pretty empty to go.  It's certainly not as though I'm starving or anything.  I just whipped up a batch of chewy, creamy caramel rolls to take in for the callers tomorrow.  First, of course, I need to run to the Farmers' Market, then the grocery store, the scrapbook store to get some coloring paper for my Copic markers, then work.  All between 9 and 9:45.  Hope I sleep well again so I'm charged up for this!  G'night!

Hot, Hot Hot and Cool Summer Produce

We're now at eleven straight days of 100 degree plus heat.  And no rain in my part of Pierre on the Missouri.  I'm going to melt.  One day it's unbearably humid, and the next day as dry as a brick oven.  They always say that this is South Dakota and if you don't like the weather, stick around for 5 minutes and it will change.  Apparently "they" need a new watch battery, since it has been WAY longer than 5 minutes.  And the good news is there are only about ten more days like this until we get a break.  Yay!  NOT.  I admit I get cold easily, but can we please reach some kind of compromise?

And the heat is affecting my tomatoes.  I water them thoroughly, and have tons of buds, but until the night temps go down, they likely won't set fruit.  Same with the cucumbers.  So it's back to the Capital City Farmers Market this weekend for produce (please have green onions!)  I also get something new to Pierre, but not new to other parts of the country.  It's called Bountiful Baskets.  It is a cooperative venture providing fresh, seasonal produce (fruits and vegetables both) for a really decent cost.  You can get a regular basket for $15, or for an additional $10 upgrade to organic.  They also have some great add-ons like breads or fruit.  This week, you can get an 18 pound lug of Rainier cherries for $25.  That's roughly $1.40 a pound.  Last week the local grocery had them on sale for $3.99 a pound.  Talk about a whopping savings!  A couple of us went together to get the cherries plus a 5-pack of sourdough bread.  I can't wait to see what is in the baskets.  I'm kind of hoping for some of the red sweet corn featured on their site's blog link.  I have to be careful about eating too much corn though, or I have gastric pain and issues. I will take pictures of the basket and post them next week!

For now, time for a quick popsicle before I scamper off to bed for another night of good sleep and confusing dreams.  Hopefully the pineapple acid burn inside my mouth will be better by tomorrow!

Fresh Produce!

Aside from having my first tomato growing and ripening on the vine, I've harvested herbs three times now.  The tomato plants have loads of blossoms, as do the cucumbers that are vining like some sort of alien plant life!  But the Farmers' Market has also started to have some wonderful things in.  I've been buying truckloads of green onions, some baby spinach, and funky fun lettuce varieties.  This week my favorite vendor was out of town, but some of the others picked up the slack.  Here's a sneak peak at some of what was there:

One of the booths just setting out produce.

Farmer Ralph with his eggplants, cucumbers, and chokecherries.  The cucumbers were

4 for just $1.  Yummy creamy dill cucumber salad will be made!  The chokecherries

were $3 a bucket.  They went very fast.

Oakleaf Lettuce (Foglia Quercia Rossa) is a strongly-flavored red-tinged leaf lettuce that really does look like oak leaves.  It is best in the spring and fall to avoid bitterness caused by the heat of summer.  Very lightly dressed in a vinaigrette dressing with pear, Gorgonzola and walnuts is a good use for this lettuce.

I'm hoping that there will be more variety there next week.  I'll have to check their blog on Friday to see what will be in on Saturday!   Other than the baked goods of course.  I find those a bit pricey, and I'm not always pleasantly surprised with the taste or texture.  Better get busy now, since I need to make a salad and a cake for the potluck at work tomorrow.  Eat well!

I'm not the only one!

If you look through the previous posts to this blog, I recently wrote about the judgemental aspect of having liver disease.  Apparently, I am NOT the only one ticked off by the short-mindedness of others upon hearing that I have liver disease.  Read this post, and see if you don't agree.

http://carlanddawn.blogspot.com/2011/02/passing-judgement-liver-disease-is-not.html

And if you happen to share this attitude, shame on you!  You are an AJ (the previous friend who can't handle my being ill).  And the funniest part is I haven't had hepatitis, but AJ has!  And hers was due to her sister's lifestyle choices.  So how dare she act the way she does.

I'm a farmer!

I replaced some of the plant stakes with longer, stronger ones tonight, and then watered the garden.  What I thought at first was a curled up leaf is actually about a 1" baby Roma tomato.  Not ready to eat yet, so poor Shirley will have to wait a bit longer.  I should have plenty more soon!  And some cucumbers to go with it.

Isn't baby 'Mater cute!  About 2 finger widths long.  Romas only get to be about 3 ounces, so it won't take long to mature.  The big 13 to 18 ounce ones haven't set fruit yet.  But soon, in all this heat and humidity!  And the cucumbers won't be far behind.  Lots and lots of cucumber.  Have to find some recipes

Good news travels fast!

When so much of today’s news is so negative, it’s nice when there is something positive to report!  The Youngberg girls’ “little” lemonade stand has raised more than $6,000 to help pay for transportation for the family to their dad’s medical treatments.  And the news is nationwide, being picked up by the wire services this morning.  I found these posts on Fox News, a San Francisco news site, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper!  And all because everyone spread the news and gave what they could to help out another Pierre resident.  Wow!  What an inspirational way to end a week.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the respite from the sweltering heat!

Children’s creativity helps out father

By Michael Neary michael.neary@capjournal.com | Posted: Thursday, July 5, 2012 10:30 am
When Rylee and Sydney Youngberg found themselves grounded – the first time ever, said their mom – they had a choice: They could stay grounded, or they could figure out something nice to do for someone in need.
“This is what they came with,” said Jen Youngberg, their mother, motioning to a lemonade stand set up on Tuesday afternoon near the corner of Church Street and Highland Avenue.

Rylee, 10, and Sydney, 8, teamed up with their 16-year-old brother, Ty. to create the lemonade stand so they could raise money to visit their father, Michael Youngberg. He’s slated to go to the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Fairview next week for cancer treatment. Jen Youngberg, his wife, said he’s endured a kind of cancer called Ewing’s sarcoma since he was a child, and it has recently traveled to his brain.

Michael Youngberg directs the Division of Securities in the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.

“His prognosis is excellent,” Jen Youngberg said, but she noted that he’s scheduled to undergo six to eight weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. It’s a treatment, she said, that he’s had to undergo several times in the past.

“We can’t afford to be out there as a family,” she added, “so they’re trying to raise money so they can go out and visit Dad.”

According to Rylee, the whole idea for a lemonade stand was not hard to concoct.  “It just came to me,” she said.

Jen Youngberg said that by middle afternoon on Tuesday, the children had made $1,500 from their stand – and the sun was still high overhead.  “People are donating,” she said. “And they’re not asking for change back. They’re just handing money to these kids.”

http://www.capjournal.com/news/children-s-creativity-helps-out-father/article_5efd87fc-c6b6-11e1-85e9-0019bb2963f4.html  Pierre

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/07/06/daughters-sell-lemonade-to-help-with-dad-cancer-treatment/  Fox News

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Daughters-sell-lemonade-to-help-dad-s-treatment-3687568.php  San Francisco

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/daughters-sell-lemonade-to-help-dads-treatment/387061b8f2a44186893085744a355d9c  New Orleans

Down on the farm

Ok, not a REAL farm, but my apartment-sized mostly container garden farm.  I had to go to Running's yesterday to get larger tomato cages.  The crazy tomato plants from Farmer Ralph at the farmers' market have really taken off in the heat and humidity.  So have the cucumbers.  My herbs are mostly doing well, although the dill seems a bit frail, and the chives are not doing well.

The cucumber plants I rought from Farmer Ralph are about a foot long, with big, beautiful blooms on them.  The cucumber seeds I just sprinkled on the ground one day are growing, and I have a 6" one.  And this noon, I harvested my first crop of parsley and basil.  I didn't need either just now so I took it to work for one of the gals there.  I now have a waiting list!  And Shirley won't  be happy until she has her fresh cherry tomatoes.  Here are the pictures of the little tomato plant on Memorial Day weekend, and again this past Tuesday (before it got its snazzy new red cage)

Not bad for one month's growth!  And the ground wasn't actually as dry as it looks on the right.  It was still moist, but not just watered.  Those are the cucumbers growing crazy at the base.  I hope it isn't too long until we have tomatoes and cucumbers! 

And here are the parsley and basil I harvested today:

I can't wait until everything is ripe and ready to eat, freeze, or can!  Look, ma~I's a farmer!