Blue Yonder

Granny's Garden, Update #3

Well we surely can't come back from Granny's without giving you an update on the birthday garden. 

Last month, we were so impressed by how quickly our little seedlings had grown. Gardens are a bit like children I think...  you don't notice how quickly they are growing if  you live with them each day, but if you are apart a while, it just takes your breath away to see how fast they've grown up. 

So after the long drive to Granny's house, when we rounded the corner to her drive, everyone unbuckled and pressed themselves up against the car windows to see how the garden was progressing. There were many squeals, bustling and pushing out of the car, snacks and suitcases falling to the ground, and then a full sprint to look under the plants for a harvest - like looking under the Christmas tree for a gift with your name on it. 

Granny, smart cookie that she is, had let some zucchini grow to a ridiculous size so that her boys would be duly impressed. 

Oh and they WERE! "Well you don't ever see a zucchini like THAT in the grocery store, do you?"

I'm kind of thinking that the garden itself is not the fullness of the birthday present that we gave to Granny... I think the real gift is the chance that she's getting to work on a project alongside some fellas that she kinda digs, and to watch their utter delight in the rewards of their efforts. 

We cut into those monster zukes straight away and made stuffed, baked zucchini. I think that we first saw this on a Paula Deen show, but I can't find the recipe, so we tried winging it. 

Here's what we did: 

We used two giant zucchini, so I'm thinking four regular sized ones would do. We slice them right down the middle, long ways, and laid them face down in a casserole dish with a little bit of water. Then we microwaved them for a few minutes until the centers were soft. 

Then, we scooped out the centers, leaving little boats made of the skins. We mashed up the cooked zucchini and added two cups of Pepperidge Farm seasoned bread cubes, a cup of sour cream and a cup of sharp cheddar. We sprinkled in some extra salt and pepper too. 

Then we loaded it all back into the shells and baked it for about 30 minutes I think... maybe 20? 

It was VERY yummy! I think you could even add in a little sausage and some sauteed onion or mushrooms if you wanted to get fancy. 

My boys were tickled pink to cook up something that they grew. Now, of course, they are waiting most impatiently for our trip to Granny's next month, when hopefully there will be tomatoes for a tomato pie (see all the green ones in the photo above?)! 

If you've got any great zucchini or tomato recipes, we'd love to have 'em!

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Take a look at my young man's amazing (if I do say so myself) foray into lepidopterology today at the Magnifying Glass. 

Small Wonder :: Good Earth

Remember Granny's birthday garden that we planted a month ago?

 

Well we thought for a little bit that maybe our sneaky Granny had replaced those plants with some new and bigger ones. 

We're standing in the exact same spot!

My Luke, the farmer among us, has decided that there's no place but East Texas for his future farm. 

Considering that nine generations of his family got their start in that same soil, I'm thinking it's a pretty good spot for growing roots as well as vegetables. 

Hope Springs Eternal

I intended only to plant herbs this year. Herbs I can do. Herbs I've had some success with, despite the fact that our yard gets virtually no sun. I was resigned to the fact that I'm just going to have to buy my vegetables since I can't get them to grow. I told myself that I can still enjoy the farmers markets. I can still make jelly and can salsa. I can still blanche and freeze the beans that my mother-in-law will bring to  me (right Grandmother?). 

And then I went to pick up my herbs, and somehow 4 tomato plants jumped in my cart. I don't really know how that happened because surely *I* would have not done that. I mean, *I* know better. I know that no matter how much I love tomatoes, no matter how much I even love the SMELL of tomato vine, they will NOT grow in my yard. 

There must have been some kind of "buy a boatload of herbs and get 4 tomato plants free" deal, right? 

Right. 

You know, I've heard it said that the definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same thing, expecting to get a different result. 

But then you knew I was a little cracked, right?

It's Only Natural

I knew the minute that we saw them that James would have to have them for his birthday. And OH they are so loved! My guy is already talking about saving his pennies so that he can order a couple more sets. You know, for "really BIG castles!" 

Boys aren't the only little critters that enjoying natural wood playthings. Our girls got a new cedar roost yesterday. We found it on a walk in the woods yesterday and lugged it all the way home. It was most assuredly worth it, as they are clearly and undeniably a little giddy with joy over it. They hop on, hop off, hop on, hop off. If chickens could giggle, I know they would. I know it. 

It was Ellie who let us know that they would prefer a rough and natural branch to the smooth skinny dowels that we had been using. She was so right! So, for the others of you who are experimenting in poultry, grab yourself a branch! 

In other natural news, the garden at the Ranch is coming along. That, plus squash from grandmother's garden meant a really yummy dinner! 

If you find yourself with some summer squash too, try this: Cut it into thinnish, short pieces and toss it with pasta sauce, a little chopped onion, some mozzarella and some cooked italian sausage (we used three links, with the casings taken off). Pop it in a 350 degree the oven for 25 minutes or so, then top it with more cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and the squash is soft. My guys (who are pretty picky about veggies) LOVED it. They swore that it tasted like a pasta dish. 

We hope your weekend is delicious too!

The Gardens of My Youth

There is a pile of laundry on my living room floor, a bunch of dirt under my fingernails, and deep contented sigh in my heart of hearts. Evidence of a long weekend well spent.

My mom and I took a little junkin' road trip to Nacogdoches, then Conroe, then the big antique fest in Warrenton (more about that in the whole separate post that it deserves). We hung out with my aunts and grandmother. We visited old haunts, told well worn stories and made a few new ones. It was all very good. Very very good.

The big hooptie doo in East Texas this time of year is the Azalea Trail. The idea is to drive around old neighborhoods and salivate over well manicured lawns, and white picket fences behind billows of white and pink flowering clouds.

I swear, you ride past houses like that, and you get to thinking that if you only lived there you might never raise your voice or lose your keys or find a petrified peanut butter and jelly sandwich under your son's bed. You think maybe life in that place would be just a gnat's wing away from heaven.

I know, I know, people who have wrap around porches have their problems too, but the difference is, they get to think on those problems while swinging and having a glass of sweet tea. I'm certain that makes it better. Certain.

Anyhow, while we were riding around, my aunts and mom and grandmother kept pointing out other flowers and calling out their names. "Goodness, look at the size of that hydrangea!"

"Isn't that Bridal Wreath?" "Oh the Camelias!" "Look a Confederate Rose!" "Have you ever seen Rhododendrons that color?"

The feeling those long unspoken names inspired was the same one I had after being in Japan for a week, getting off the airplane and seeing signs and hearing words in English; a deep breath after being underwater too long.

In an instant, I was a little girl, helping my Momo water her flowers. Some of the names she knew, and told to me. Others she made up or just called, "Aunt Vivian's Shrub" or "Polly's Flowers," after the people who'd brought over a paper towel-wrapped bulb or a cutting from the their own gardens.

My Momo didn't go down to Lowe's or Red Barn when she wanted a new something for her yard, she just asked a neighbor for a piece, stuck it in her magic dirt and it grew. It grew 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide and flowered all year 'round. Or, at least that's how it seemed to me.

So, despite the fact that I have no magic East Texas dirt (I have 1/4 inch of topsoil over 50 feet of Central Texas Limestone), I came right home and bought a Wisteria and a Carolina Jasmine, and planted seeds too - morning glory, zinnia, larkspur and coneflower. Don't you just like the ring of those names? Go on say them again, "Wisteria. Jasmine. Morning Glory. Zinnia. Larkspur. Coneflower,"

Of course, every year, about this time, I get all good intentioned about gardening and then by about June, I start forgetting to water stuff. So, we'll see if any of it makes it.

I also spent so much time gazing at old homes and imagining the lives lived inside and the days gone by, that I came home with a fresh desire to write fiction. I'm thinking those dreams are going to take a good bit of watering too.

We shall see.

Tune in tomorrow for the nonfiction tale of our junk gypsy weekend entitled, "Rebel Road Sisters Caught Unawares in a Cold Front."