One of my heirloom roses in full bloom. I love how the petals look like velvet.Another busy week flew by! Progress is being made in both gardens and many other projects are under way. The weather is still very lackluster here. It seems like summer is like an airplane that flutters in fits and starts rather than flying full speed ahead. We have had a couple of sunny days in the 70's but today was rainy and in the mid 60's. It seems it bit cold for summer!
However, we are plugging along and enjoying what sun comes our way!
A close up shot of the boysenberries forming. There is going to be a good crop this year!
Country Garden Report:
Last Friday Adam and I headed out to my parent's house to see how the garden was coming along since my Mom planted the rest of the seeds and also to help plant some annuals in the deck planters. As you can see in the photo above the boysenberries are very healthy. They are growing quite well and we'll enjoy a lot of berries from their vines this summer!
Some blueberries on one of the bushes in the country garden.
Also, the blueberries are looking quite healthy. It is exciting to see that there will be a variety of berries to enjoy later on in the season. All of the seeds that my Mom planted including the corn, beans, and melons are coming up nicely. It will be exciting to see at the end of this week how much they have grown. Below you can see photos of some of the other plants progressing well in the garden. We are certainly off to a better start this year than last, despite the colder weather.
The vigorous grape vines in the country garden.
The vigorous grape vines in the country garden.
A pepper plant that is growing quite nicely.
One of the purple cabbages that we planted.
Some pea plants growing tall.Lastly, we also observed the pretty wild flowers that my Mom has been cultivating in pots near the house. Here are two photos of them. They are quite lovely and unique.
A sweet little bloom on one of the wild plants my mom has been growing.
One of the other wild flowers about to bloom!
To close this section on the country garden I would like to mention that Seed Savers Exchange of which we are members was featured in an article by National Geographic recently. They point out in the article how important it is to save seeds and grow heirloom varieties of vegetables and fruits. It may be what saves us all! Here is a link to the article:
Enjoy!
Suburban Garden Report:
Our garden is coming along quite well this week. I was able to spot a few red strawberries on the plants a day or two ago which I will take pictures of for the next post. I finally planted my basil and cherry tomato seedlings into the garden as I felt they were ready and big enough to hold their own. The raspberry plants and the rhubarb grow ever bigger! We have also started to replace a lot of the boards in our deck to get ready for some barbecues we are having. I also hope to finish the gravel "moat" around the garden in the next couple of weeks. There are always projects to do in the yard, but it is fun!
Below are some photos of some of the plants that are coming along nicely in the yard.
A fern that I moved to a shadier spot a while back. It sure seems to thrive here!
Some of the huckleberries forming on the bush! I am excited to eat these later on!
One of the perennials that my Aunt Janet gave me. It is in full bloom and so pretty!
Also, I have started to harvest some of my rhubarb and thus made a delicious rhubarb bread out of some of it. I will be looking for lots of ideas on how to use more rhubarb soon as I have a bumper crop this year!
Some of the thick stalks on my rhubarb plant.
Below you will find the recipe for the rhubarb bread. Also, I have included a recipe for a brine for barbecued chicken. It is a great recipe and very versatile. I used it to barbecue some chicken this past weekend and it was delicious!
Rhubarb Cinnamon Streusel Bread:
I found this recipe on the website for Taste of Home magazine. I added some cinnamon to the bread and also added more butter and cinnamon to the topping. Yum!
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespooon cinnamon
- 1-1/2 cups chopped fresh or sliced frozen rhubarb
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans ( I usually skip the nuts)
TOPPING:- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cold butter
Directions:
- In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and oil. Beat in egg. Beat in buttermilk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into brown sugar mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans.
- For topping, in a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and butter until crumbly; sprinkle over batter.
- Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Cut with a serrated knife. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each)
This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated Magazine.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup kosher salt
1 quart water
4 chicken leg quarters or 8 chicken thighs
(this recipe also works for boneles, skinless chicken breasts- about 4-6 large ones which can be cut up into smaller pieces if needed)
Instructions:
1. In a gallon size zipper lock plastic bag, dissolve sugar and salt in 1 quart water. Add chicken, pressing out as much air as possible; seal and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 1/2 hours.
2. Heat your gas grill on high or light the charcoal on your charcoal grill in a chimney starter. Allow the charcoal to burn until the flames have died down and all charcoal is covered with a layer of fine gray ash. Make a two layer fire by placing half of the coals on one side of the grill to within 3 inches or so of grill rack for medium hot fire. Arrange remaining coals in single layer on other side of grill for medium low fire. Return grill rack to position; cover grill and let rack heat 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove chicken from brine, dry thoroughly with paper towels, and season with pepper.
4. Cook chicken, uncovered over medium hot fire, extinguishing any flames with a squirt bottle, until seared, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Move chicken to medium low fire; continue to grill uncovered, turning occasionally, until chicken is dark and fully cooked, 12 to 16 minutes for thighs, 16-20 minutes for whole legs.
For a gas grill as I have- put the chicken on an oiled grill. Turn heat down to medium high. Grill 5-8 minutes on each side with the grill covered between turning the chicken. Check for doneness with a thermometer. It should read 180 degrees.
Enjoy!
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