While my daughter, in North Carolina, is making Kindergarten soup and enjoying the beginning of fall; here in California we are still experiencing very hot days (90+ degrees!)and it feels like summer. I decided this called for another summer recipe. Many years ago a good friend of mine invited me for dinner and served a … More “SOLAR SUMMER PASTA”
This week it finally felt like Fall was in the air, it cooled down enough we opened our windows for the first time all summer (disturbing a few spiders…) and I let out a sign of relief at the fresh air blowing all through the house. Fall in North Carolina is the best time of … More Kindergarten Soup (Stone Soup)
I spent last weekend making elderberry syrup and tincture and am feeling ready for flu and cold season now; also tackled a box full of beautiful Suncrest and Indian Red peaches and made some “summer in a jar” peach preserves. Next post will have that recipe. There is nothing like having jars of preserves and … More “ELDERBERRIES and RAISINS”
We are truly in the midst of “dog days of summer” here in the drought-stricken California foothills. All this week the temperatures have been 100 degrees plus and smoke from several nearby forest fires makes the air thick, orange and awful to breathe. I am ready for El Nino! Until then, all I want to … More “Watermelon Cucumber Salad”
This morning, while working in the garden I saw this handsome creature and had to take a photo of it (not sure if it’s male or female?). It is always fun to find a big praying mantis right up close. While they eat both beneficial and harmful insects in the garden, they are fascinating to … More “Friend in the Garden”
This past weekend, I hiked into the higher elevations with Susan, my “gleaning partner”; and found gorgeous elderberries just at their peak. We picked several bags of those and will be making elderberry tincture, cough syrup and maybe even some elderberry brandy to keep us all healthy through the winter months. I put the bags … More “Foraging for Food”
It is a bounty year for cucumbers so I thought I would try my first batch of fermented pickles. I have made vinegar cukes before but am experimenting with fermenting since it is much healthier for our digestive tracts! I made cucumber chips because my cucumbers got big before I harvested them, but you could … More “When Life Gives You Cucumbers … Make Pickles”
So happy to see the monarch butterflies are back to lay their 4th generation on our milkweed plot. When they emerge from their chrysalis as butterflies they will fly to the coast (probably Monterey or Santa Cruz area) and winter over in the eucalyptus trees there. Then in the early spring they will search for … More “Bees and Butterflies”
the pollen count 