Turning the day on its head

Thank you brewery just off the bike path that lets me meander safely home past smooth ponds and skittery bunnies. Such a pleasant way to end a Monday that was trying very hard to be a Monday.

The most wonderful time of the year

I disagree strongly with whatever Andy Williams was singing about. Late summer is the time for me. In what other season can you start and end your day with fresh strawberry shortcake and throw a few ears of this in between?



And now is when the local wildlife really get hopping. Who knew that the deer twins sound like bleating goats as they wander past my house at two in the morning? Now I do. A hummingbird finally deigned to pay a visit to the feeder that has been ignored for years at a time and then, when I was deadheading cosmos in the garden, one swooped down past my head to get to this:

I knew I saved those tithonia seeds for something. And only in August can I drive to my favorite dark spot north of town to lay on the hood of my car at 12:30 on a Monday morning so that I can stare at the Perseids as we glide through them. Plus, there's three ingredient popsicles to revive you after a ride home in the late-day sun, and tiny toads that magically appear in the garden without warning.

And if you can wake up to these (because you remembered to cut them the night before), your day's bound to be OK.

No filter

Because sometimes you just don't need to.

How to solve a problem like swiss chard

The evening bouquet. They are longer than my arm.

Are the veg drawers in your fridge bursting with greenery? Have you run out of plastic bags to stuff the day's harvest into? Do you chase your neighbors waving giant fans of produce?

If you answered no to all of the above, count your blessings. I only planted seeds in three holes, I swear. Of course, this is chard and every seed can result in three to five seedlings. And did. My bad.

Fortunately I still have the chard enchilada recipe that we got with a CSA pickup eons ago. I can cram five or six leaves in, feel like I'm making a healthy meal and then, pulling one aside for dinner, throw the rest into the freezer to revisit on a cold, January night when there's no fresh veg in sight. Mission accomplished! I've also taken a liking to these corn tacos and substituting chard for spinach in eggs florentine. Got to use this stuff up!

Chard Enchiladas
serves 4-6, depending on hunger levels

2 tbsp cooking oil of your choice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen and thawed)
4 cups coarsely chopped chard leaves, main stalks chopped and kept separate

Cream sauce ingredient amounts vary depending on how gooey to like your filling
1 tbsp unsalted butter (or more)
1 tbsp flour (or more, just keep the butter:flour ratio equal)
1/2 - 1 cup milk
2/3 cup grated cheddar or monterey jack

6 large flour tortillas
about 1 cup enchilada sauce (I just started using this chile sauce and love it. Burns, but I still love it.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in large skillet  over medium heat and saute garlic, onion and chard stems till onion is lightly golden. Add corn and stir frequently till cooked, about three minutes.
Start adding chard leaves in small amounts, allowing them to cook down a little before adding the next batch. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

To make the cream sauce, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat and stir in the flour till well mixed. Add milk and stir frequently till it thickens. Add the cheese and keep stirring to distribute evenly. Mix the creamy cheese sauce into the pan of greens and stir well.

Fill the tortillas and lay them into a lightly oiled or parchment-lined 9 by 13 inch pan. Pour the enchilada sauce over and bake for 25 minutes or until the tortilla edges are crisp.

Eat now or wait till the snow falls. Plan on thinning the chard patch next year.

Back East: A Biased Primer

Things just grow. Everywhere.

No space is left barren.

Water is plentiful, at least most of the time. Leave your moisturizer at home.

Plants seem a little nonchalant about their looks. I don't think extra prayers are required for each seedling.

Night time is party time (lightning bug plus tree frogs plus fireworks)

But while you're watching the light show, you are being eaten alive by mosquitoes, who love you almost as much as they love all that water. And, during the day, the heat plus all that free-floating water will cause the odd sensation of something dripping down your spine. Because sweat is dripping down your spine. You may even become groggy and ill at ease due to lack of lack of oxygen. And among all those ambitious plants is poison ivy, which is really good at hiding underneath the other green stuff. Especially under blackberries, because you know you're going to want to reach for those.

A nice place to visit and I used to live there.

Pickle chip cereal

I'm not ashamed to admit it. I dump Lay's Kettle Chips into a bowl and smother them with fridge pickles and eat them with a fork. Don't knock it. Just make the pickles and try it.

Best Fridge Pickles Ever (discovered on chockfullof.com in 2011)

This is where the first cucumber harvest ends up every year. And possibly the second and the third. I took them to a party once. I came home with none. They take ten minutes to put together. They take about five to devour. Supposedly they're good on burgers, but I just use a fork.

1 cp white vinegar
1/4 cp sugar
1 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp dill seed
4 to 5 small Kirby or other pickling cukes, peeled in stripes, sliced 1/8" thick
1 small white onion, thinly sliced

Combine brine ingredients in a quart jar with a tight fitting lid and shake till sugar dissolves. Push the cucumber and onion slices into the brine, making sure they're mostly covered. Refrigerate for a few hours before eating, if you can. Buy some chips.

Store in the fridge, shaking occasionally. Should last at least one month, but you'll probably eat them before then. You can re-use the brine for future batches.

We were hoping for rain

We ended up with this instead. We miss rain, but this is nice, too.