Summer is Coming! Summer is Coming!

A very wet Adam running around the back yard this past Sunday after he ran through the sprinkler!

This past week we have seen sun and much warmer temperatures overall. Although today it is only about 64-65F as I write this it is a big improvement on how it was last June. I hope that this warming trend continues! It finally feels like for the most part- summer is here to stay! Our forecast looks dry and fairly warm- in the upper 60's and 70's for the next 10 days! I am so very excited and I know this means that our gardens stand a better chance of a good growing season this year.

Country Garden Report:

This week I have a short report from the country garden since my parents were gone to the beach last weekend I haven't had a chance to visit the garden out there. However, later on this week we'll have a chance to visit and plant our tomato and pepper starts.

Here's what my mom had to say about the work she did in the garden:

"I did manage to do some weeding this weekend. The lettuce is weed-free at the moment. The turnips and rutabagas are free of weeds, but probably need thinning. There are beets showing up and I managed to weed around some of them, but there is still some to be done there. The brussels sprouts have shown up, but there aren't many of them. All we need is a few.

I also did a bit of weeding around each cabbage and broccoli, so at least they can be seen more easily.

The parsnips and carrots appear to have emerged also. I think a few Swiss chard are also up. Anyway, although there are some weeds, we have a lot of what we planted. I also think that some of the "weeds" may be tomatillos and bok choi, and maybe some other vegetables that went to seed. They will still be there when I finally have a chance to weed again, so maybe they'll look like something identifiable.

All of the peas have emerged and are about to reach the trellis. The potatoes are doing very well. Whew!"

It looks like our seeds are coming up quite nicely and my mom is doing a wonderful job of keeping everything weed-free so that all of the plants can grow well. I am excited about our chances for a large crop of vegetables this year!

One of the tomato starts that I planted in our raised bed garden.

Suburban Garden Report:

Last Wednesday we had very nice, sunny weather in the morning so Adam and I ventured into the yard and I decided to finally plant the tomato and pepper starts that my mom gave me. It is a good feeling that it is now warm enough to plant these and I think they will do well. I put a garden stake beside each plant and later on I will need to tie up the tomatoes as they grow.

My tiny little lettuce plants coming up!

Also, I could see that my two rows of lettuce are coming up nicely as well as a few very thin threads of green that are popping up in my row of Walla-Walla onions!

Some "baby" strawberries on my plants.

I can see many, many strawberries forming on my very healthy plants. It looks like we are going to have a huge crop this year! I am very excited. I hope to have enough extra to make some strawberry jam which is Paul's favorite.

The beautiful sculpture/sprinkler in action in the raised bed garden.

Several years ago my mom gave me a really neat piece of yard art that is also a useful sprinkler. It is metal and has a pretty piece of stained glass in it. It is a lovely piece of art that is a fantastic sprinkler as well! It is so very useful! I didn't have a very good spot for it until this year when we built our large garden bed. It is perfect at watering the plants as you can see here. And, the added bonus is that Adam can get cooled off and run in the sprinkler at the same time! I love it!!

A clematis vine that I hope will grow up strong and healthy this year.

Besides the raised bed fruit and vegetable garden I have many other plants, shrubs and bushes that I really love in the yard. It is like a living collection that I work with each year. The clematis vine pictured above I have had for many years. The first 2-3 years I had it in the wrong spot. I think it got too much sun. Then, last year I moved it to this location but I did not have the trellis anchored very well and I think the chicken coop was in the way and it did not get enough sun. I have high hopes for it this year. I hope it will continue to grow and bloom a lot this year!

A lovely pot full of dianthus that comes back better each year!

Another plant that I love that comes back every year is dianthus. I have three pots planted with it and it continues to amaze me. I think this year it looks better than ever! It has so many blooms and buds on it. I love all of the bright colors!

Huge blooms on the rhododendron in our front yard.

Oregon is a place where rhododendrons grow very, very well. I am so glad that I really like them. We have two large bushes in our front yard and several small ones in the back yard. I love the ones on either side of our front porch. This red one is spectacular this year! You can hardly see any green leaves because there are so many large blooms on it!

Our blue hydrangea bush in the front yard.

This hydrangea bush is next to the large, red rhodie in our front yard. We have rescued this plant because a couple of years ago it was being overtaken by the bush beside it. Paul trimmed back the rhodie this year and the year before. I have also made sure that the area around it is well weeded to make sure it gets plenty of nutrients to grow well. I think it is looking very healthy this year and already has many buds on it. I hope each year it will grow even larger.

Our front planter filled with annuals.

I love this front yard planter that Paul built. A few years ago we had the concrete blocks and sand delivered and Paul worked very hard to build such a nice planter. In the spring each year tulips bloom in it. Then, I cut back the tulips, add new topsoil and plant annuals in it to last through the summer. I like to do different colors each year. This year I am excited about the bright purple wave petunias that I know will really fill out the planter and be so cheery!

Adam having fun washing the car on June 1, 2011.

We are so lucky to live in the middle of a cul de sac. It is great that most days if it isn't raining hard Adam and I can go out and play in the front yard. Last Wednesday it was so nice outside that we decided to wash the car. Adam really got a kick out of wiping the car down and then he used the hose to rinse off the car. It was a lot of fun! He was so proud!

Adam having a great time with pine cones in the front yard/cul de sac.

Today in the morning we went out to play in the front yard although it was a lot colder than it had been in the past few days. It was dry and pleasant, so we went out with our light jackets on. Often, we round around in circles, kick a ball around together and sometimes play hide and seek outside.

Adam playing the "bongo drums" on the wood outside.

Also, today Adam played on the wood pile left from the trees we cut down near our house and he said he was playing "bongos." Such a great imagination!

Trista and Adam playing outside on the morning of June 7, 2011.

We have such fun playing together outside every chance that we get! I think it is important to get fresh air and enjoy nature all that we can!

Beaverton Farmer's Market Report:

Last weekend I splurged on some lovely treats at the farmer's market.

Due to the fact that I was preparing final exams and doing a lot of paperwork for school I hadn't had a chance to make bread last week. So, I decided to buy a loaf a the market. I bought a delicious loaf of hazelnut and cranberry sourdough bread from Alpine Sourdough Bakery. It is a nice, soft loaf that has big chunks of hazelnuts and lots of cranberries. It makes perfect toast for breakfast in the morning which was exactly what I was looking for! Yum!

Pictured below you can see the bread included in my breakfast. I have always been someone who loves to eat a big breakfast. I am always so hungry in the morning and it gets me off to a great start. I usually have a fried egg (from my parent's chickens of course!), whole grain toast with peanut butter, fruit with plain whole milk yogurt and granola and a cup of coffee with cream and whole milk along with a large glass of water and my vitamins. Delicious!!

The typical breakfast that I like to eat during the week. The bread and nut butter that I bought from the market are featured here along with local granola, strawberries, milk and cream from the farmer's market.

I also bought some amazing Hazelnut and Chocolate Butter Blend from a business called Nut-ritious Foods. They have a large variety of nut butters for sale that have flax seed blended into them. It is really delicious and you can really taste the dark chocolate in it!


The last item that I bought was a box of granola from Little Brown Box & Co. I decided to try the Oregon Huckleberry Crumble. It is such a delicious granola and the package couldn't be prettier! I think it would make such a nice host/hostess gift for a summer party! Adam has been enjoying it every morning for breakfast and I like to sprinkle it on my yogurt and strawberries!

A Simple Grilling Recipe:

Korean Grilled Chicken garnished with some extra sauce and some fresh spinach leaves.

Since it was so nice and sunny this weekend I wanted to get out and do some barbecuing! I wanted to share a simple chicken marinade recipe that I have used for several years that really has a nice flavor and keeps the chicken moist while grilling.

This simple marinade just uses a few common ingredients.

Korean BBQ Chicken Marinade:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons hot chile paste (optional) or hot sauce of choice

1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, whisk together the sugar, soy sauce, water, onion powder, and ground ginger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes.

2. Remove the mixture from heat, cool, and whisk in lemon juice and hot chile paste. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 hours before barbecuing chicken.

Notes:

This time I decided to divide the marinade into 3 containers once it was done cooking. I put 2 teaspoons chile paste into the marinade in 1 container, left one container of marinade plain and then saved a third small portion to use as a sauce for the cooked chicken. You can taste the sauce and add more chile paste as desired before you add the chicken. It depends on how spicy you like your chicken.

I have a gas grill so I usually heat the grill on the high setting and let it sit a few minutes. Then, I turn down the heat just a bit and grill the chicken till done. I like to use a digital thermometer to check doneness. It is nice that the chicken stays moist even when it has a nice char on the outside. Delicious! Enjoy!!

Adam and Paul making some water balloons.

To end this blog- on Sunday after barbecuing some hamburgers for dinner Paul and Adam sat outside and made some water balloons. They sure had a fun time. Here's to summer!!

Pop! Splash!!