September 9th, 2010.

 A beautiful fall kind of day today with temps in the 80's, blue skies and leaves starting to fall. Unfortunately I'm feeling sick so I didn't enjoy it as much as I could. Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow. Maybe the right kind of dinner will set me right!

On the menu today:


Potatoes, Brussels sprouts and bacon. And Eggs.


Steam the potatoes and Brussels sprouts together. Cook the bacon in pieces with a bit of olive oil. Add the cooked potatoes and Brussels sprouts with some sage. Cook together for 10-15 mns. Turn off the heat and add a few tomatoes. Serve with runny sunny side up eggs...

And brownies if I have the courage to make them.

september 8th 2010.

My son turned 15 this week end past. 15!! How can this be? It seems like just yesterday that I was at the hospital 15 days after his due date. And he still didn't want to come out. Baby I'm sorry we had to drag you out. But I was so happy to finally hold you. And kiss you. Over and over again. Ok, I'll stop now, sorry.

And on the menu tonight:

 Zucchini gratin:

We've got a zucchini problem, a big one. So here is another attempt at cooking it so that my family will eat it ... without moaning that is.

Cook lardons ( pieces of bacon ) in olive oil, add onions and zucchini. Lots of zucchini. And a bay leaf. Cook until it starts to get translucent then add herbes de Provence and sunflower seeds. Let cook at least half an hour, then transfer to a baking dish ( or if you started in a cast iron pan just leave it in there ). Then, add bechamelle sauce... melt 40g of butter ( 2 thick slices ) and add 2-3 tbsps of flour ( about 40g too ) and cook stirring for a minute or two. Add 60 cl of milk slowly and off the heat. Then return to the heat and cook stirring often until it thickens. Add to the zucchini and sprinkle mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs on top. Then sprinkle with pecorino cheese and put under the grill for a few minutes. Or like me, after you have assembled it, put it in the fridge and when you are ready reheat in a 400 oven.

August 31st.

Summer is waning, summer is going. We are spending as much time outside as we can. We have a lot of clean up to do still. A lot of canning. A lot. This morning alone we harvested 25 lbs of tomatoes. Leaving plenty more on the vine because really, where am I going to put that many tomatoes? I need to clean out my freezer, that's what I need to do.
The thing is, it just really doesn't sound that appealing when I could be watching this:

Or this:

And this:

Or that:

But especially these:

It was a fantastic summer and I'm ready for fall.

On the menu tonight:

A Tomato Salad ( what else could I possibly do when I have more than 25lbs of tomatoes on my kitchen counter?) with Feta, lots of Basil, Sunflower Seeds, lots of Pepper, salt, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar.

And Corn on the Cob. And Ice Cream of course.

August 22nd, 2010.

We went camping in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

It is a very wild beautiful place. Meadows covered in wildflowers that look like they are out of faery tales , peaks covered in snow, geo thermal vents with steam coming out, conifers and streams everywhere. It's hot during the day and very cold at night. Bring a good sleeping bag!
The lakes are crystal clear and cold but we all swam even baby girl.

In short, highly recommended if you don't mind some incomfort :)

August 9th., 2010.

Now that was a busy week. Here are the 2 pics of the garden in august. A lot of the butternut squashes are ripe now and I get pounds after pounds of tomatoes every day. Speaking of tomatoes, we have a black rat that seems very very fond of heirloom tomatoes. But that will be for another day. I have to go make dinner now and can tomato sauce. A lot of tomato sauce.

August 4th 2010.

What a difference a month makes! Here is the garden in the first week of July:

Beautiful Calendula :

At the Gate, looking Left :

Onion flower and Pickling Cucumbers :

Eggplants :

The Monster Plants, 4 different types of Squash on one Mound. Could be too much. Maybe :

Looking to the Chicken Coop in the Back :

Catnip and a Hard Working Bee :

My parsley, nicely going to Seed for Me :

The Peppers. Maybe next year I won't plant quite as many plants of it. I say that every year. Like with the Squash. I have, oh, 9 plants :

The Chamomile looking Tall and Pretty. Highly attractive to toddlers :

The Tomato Wall of Sacramento :

Sunflowers and Artichokes, both Tall and Yummy :

That was long. Tomorrow I'll show the garden as it looks now. In the mean time I have to be at 2 places at the same time today. Twice. With a toddler who will have to shorten her nap after a bad night. Fun, fun. And I have only 3 children. And school hasn't started yet. And I have no idea what's for dinner. And whatever it is I'll have only 20 mns to cook it. Help.                                                                                           

august 3rd 2010.

Whew, it's hot. Actually it's not, but it is. I'm becoming a wimp I guess. We are having incredibly mild weather for Sacramento and yet I'm still complaining about it being too hot. I want fall. Now.

And my second baby turned 11. She just couldn't wait even though I was not in a hurry. Doesn't she look happy?

And this one is not allowed. Nope. No way. She'll stay my baby forever. Hope springs eternal.