Peanuts

Insert Debbie Downer sound.

A few weeks ago I posted a few photos of my peanut plant.  I planted it this year as an experiment just to see if I could do it.  I hoped that I would have success and plant more next year.  It's funny what can happen to your garden while you are away for a few days and the dogs aren't there to watch over the yard. I was very upset when I came home and found that a critter got to the peanuts before I could.  They were very thorough.  All I have left are three very small peanuts.  I hope that I am going to be able to save them and use them for starters next year.

Kerrytown Farmers Market

Yesterday Mary Ann and I left for vacation in Saugatuck, MI.  We decided we would stop in Ann Arbor for lunch at Zingerman's Deli in Kerrytown.  They also have a Farmers Market that is open 7:00-3:00.  Below are some pictures Mary Ann took.

Morning Ritual

I love opening up the cold frame first thing in the morning and seeing what has happened since the previous morning.  Below are pictures from this morning.

Spinach

Beets

Spinach

We also planted a row of carrots and are still waiting to see them peek through the soil.

Saturday Morning Find

While I am watching my beloved Tennessee Volunteers get beat handily by UF,  I thought it would be a good time to post what I found in the back yard this morning.  A few weeks ago we planted some sugar snap pea plants that we found at Oakland Nursery.  They were on sale and I believe we got 8 plants for $1.99.  Their growth has been fairly steady, but this morning I found the first pea.

Sunday in the Garden

Today I knew I needed to get some work done in the garden or who knows when it would happen.  We've had the cold frame done for a few weeks, but haven't put it on the garden yet.  One of the glass panes broke awhile ago, so we've been trying to come up with an alternative that would work.  It seems that when it rained, the adhesive that was holding the glass to the wood was compromised and it fell.  I am glad that it happened when it was sitting on the driveway rather than in the garden.  So we stapled some plastic to it, cleaned out the garden, added some compost, and will plant some seeds later today.  Right now, it is time for football.

Below is picture of the green tomatoes we salvaged from clearing out the tomato plant.  It's amazing how many tomatoes one can get from a single plant.  Mary Ann would really like me to make some green tomato chutney.  So if I have the time this week I may try a new recipe.

I don't think I've mentioned that I tried growing a peanut plant this year.  We found one at Oakland Nursery this spring and planted it in the raised bed.  If it is successful I will grow more next year.  I've read that when the leaves turn yellow in the fall you should carefully dig it up and shake any loose soil free.  Then it should hang to dry for two weeks, pick off the peanuts, clean, and let them dry for another two weeks.  The leaves are just starting to turn and some peanuts are peeking out of the ground.  I hope that this time next week they will be ready to pull up.

You Can Save Thyme In A Bottle.

I have a new favorite kitchen tool.  It is a paint pen. I first discovered it while I was looking for an easy way to label  food that I was canning.  Now I look around my kitchen and see many different places I can use it.  You can buy them at an art supply store and there are a lot of colors to choose from.  So what happens when you want take the paint off?  They have a pen for that too!  

Green Chili Sauce Recipe

Click here for recipe and more images.

The Perfect Bite

I love figs.  I think I love how they look as much as I love the taste.  We've had a fig tree, named Giada, that we've had three years and she has never produced figs for us.  This year we saw some fig trees that already had some figs growing on it and couldn't resist taking one home with us.  We've named him Mario.    I think I am hoping that Mario will inspire Giada to produce some figs.  In the meantime we got to enjoy a couple of Mario's figs today.  They were small, but roasted with a little bit of goat cheese and drizzled with honey, they made a perfect bite.  I don't have any pictures of the figs after they were roasted.  I got so excited I forgot to take one.