Adam enjoying the first sweet strawberry from our back yard patch!
Suburban Garden Report:
We have been very busy these past two weeks with the July 4th holiday and getting ready for more events to come! I am a bit late with this posting but there is much to report! We finally have red strawberries to eat and a few raspberries too! We are enjoying more and more flowers in the garden as well. Today I just picked a few herbs and salad greens to have for dinner! It is so great having a kitchen garden! I love it! Take a look at the photos below of some of the herbs and flowers that are now growing so well in our yard!
We have been very busy these past two weeks with the July 4th holiday and getting ready for more events to come! I am a bit late with this posting but there is much to report! We finally have red strawberries to eat and a few raspberries too! We are enjoying more and more flowers in the garden as well. Today I just picked a few herbs and salad greens to have for dinner! It is so great having a kitchen garden! I love it! Take a look at the photos below of some of the herbs and flowers that are now growing so well in our yard!
A lovely head of lettuce in our back yard garden. It's time to enjoy some fresh salad!
A ripening raspberry on one of our bushes.
The Mexican tarragon in our herb garden with pretty yellow flowers.
A carnation from a plant that now has many blooms on it!
A beautiful blue flower from one of the perennials that my Aunt Janet gave me.
Our side yard- sans wood! Hooray! It is so much prettier without the wood pile there!Adam and I get outside nearly every day. It is fun to see what he likes to pretend to do. Many times he likes to be "Bob the Builder." It is a fun game!
Adam by our neighbor's yard. He loves to pretend to put "concrete" between the rocks!
Our columnar apple is loaded with apples this year!We have many apples on our dwarf apple tree as well as our 2 columnar apple trees. We are very lucky!
Adam loves to "climb" up in trees. Here he is in our front yard on the first branch of a tree.Country Garden Report:
The delicate little flowers on one of the wildflowers my mom grew.
The delicate little flowers on one of the wildflowers my mom grew.
Over the past two weeks we have paid two visits to the country garden. A lot is happening there and it is so lovely this time of year to explore around the woods and surrounding areas. Here is what my Mom had to say about what they have been harvesting and enjoying so far:
"Today Dad went behind the house and cut down that pine tree. It will make good firewood, and it is now out of the way for the deck we plan to build back there. He also finished clearing around the area where the new fireplace will be.
In addition to that, we watered the garden and cut down a couple of the cherry trees that were in the clump of three. The birds can have the third one. Dad was cutting off branches and I was stripping them of cherries, and Dad would help in between. We have got a small bucket full now, and we will go back for some more after dinner.
We are having a whole chicken on the barbecue, and will have new potatoes and stir-fried pea pods with it. I sure wish I had thought to pick some peas for you while you were there. I will try to bring some next Friday, as they are getting really thick. I will try to keep them picked all week, as I remember one of the reasons I liked them is because they kept bearing for such a long time as long as I kept picking. I do want to let a few of them go to seed, though, so maybe I will pick a spot along the row that I don't pick, so the peas can mature. It's an idea, anyway; let's see if I manage to do it.
I thought maybe it would be a good idea to harvest the potatoes that had self-started over by the corn, so we dug up enough to fix for dinner tonight. They were mostly the Yukon Gold, with one russet. I parboiled them, and will finish them on the barbecue with the chicken. We have been having the pea pods fresh, so maybe tonight I'll stir fry them for some variety."
Serena Johnston- Saturday, July 9, 2011.
The following photos show our adventures in the woods as well as which crops are doing well in the garden and the orchard:
Serena Johnston- Saturday, July 9, 2011.
The following photos show our adventures in the woods as well as which crops are doing well in the garden and the orchard:
A tree with a "reflector" near the driveway where Adam loves to play!
A bloom on the wild honeysuckle plant near the driveway.
A blue-eyed grass. One of the flowers I enjoyed growing up.
More lovely wild flowers we found on our walk. 
Some apples forming on one of the trees in the orchard.
A plum forming on the tree.
There are lots of peas to be had this year!
Adam helping to water the crops. We cleared away the newspaper that day which had prevented the crows from eating the corn seeds.
An amazing snail we found along the woodland trail!
Adam with Grandma in the woods near the pond.
An amazing wildflower we saw in the woods.
The lovely lettuce that my parents have been enjoying!
Some grapes forming on the grape vines!
The tomatoes are blooming! Here come the tomatoes!
The Gravenstein apple tree has a lot of apples on it this year!
An amazing discovery- a true wild columbine plant in bloom!
Adam walking in the meadow. He loves it out there!
A heal-all flower that I remember picking as a kid.
Cherries on one of the new cherry trees my parents planted this year!
Adam pretending that the tree is a motorcycle that he is riding!
A Social/Shy Person:
I find that I am always very happy when I am planning and cooking for a gathering for family or friends. I love creating dishes and sharing food that makes people happy and celebrates important milestones and occasions. I think that I would have been very content as someone who in days of old entertained people on a more regular basis. It is interesting to me that although I am a bit shy, I am also very social. I like to listen to people and chat. And although I really like social media, e-mail and online chat with faraway friends like my friend Lily in Mexico what I really need is "face to face" time with people on a regular basis. I feel much more connected and whole when I am able to see people often and find out about their lives and relate what is going on in mine.
I lived for a year in Mexico and one of the many things that I loved about living there was that people "dropped by" or visited much more often. I remember that we would go to visit Aunts and Uncles sometimes on a weekday in the evening which is very rare here. I thought it was so nice that we would chat, have a glass of juice or a snack and catch up on the news. It is difficult to do that here because it is not a custom and we tend to plan our get-togethers much in advance. Sometimes though I wish I could say "Just drop by to say hi!" I would love to just put on a kettle of tea or have iced tea in the summer with a friend on a weekday evening or afternoon! Imagine that! That is why I savor any time I am able to spend with family and friends because it comes around much less often than I would like. However, I cherish the times I have with everyone and love to chronicle it with photos and stories in this blog. Our 4th of July barbecue was one of those wonderful times with family that I'll always remember...
Adam helping to water the crops. We cleared away the newspaper that day which had prevented the crows from eating the corn seeds.
An amazing snail we found along the woodland trail!
Adam with Grandma in the woods near the pond.
An amazing wildflower we saw in the woods.
The lovely lettuce that my parents have been enjoying!
Some grapes forming on the grape vines!
The tomatoes are blooming! Here come the tomatoes!
The Gravenstein apple tree has a lot of apples on it this year!
An amazing discovery- a true wild columbine plant in bloom!
Adam walking in the meadow. He loves it out there!
A heal-all flower that I remember picking as a kid.
Cherries on one of the new cherry trees my parents planted this year!
Adam pretending that the tree is a motorcycle that he is riding!A Social/Shy Person:
I lived for a year in Mexico and one of the many things that I loved about living there was that people "dropped by" or visited much more often. I remember that we would go to visit Aunts and Uncles sometimes on a weekday in the evening which is very rare here. I thought it was so nice that we would chat, have a glass of juice or a snack and catch up on the news. It is difficult to do that here because it is not a custom and we tend to plan our get-togethers much in advance. Sometimes though I wish I could say "Just drop by to say hi!" I would love to just put on a kettle of tea or have iced tea in the summer with a friend on a weekday evening or afternoon! Imagine that! That is why I savor any time I am able to spend with family and friends because it comes around much less often than I would like. However, I cherish the times I have with everyone and love to chronicle it with photos and stories in this blog. Our 4th of July barbecue was one of those wonderful times with family that I'll always remember...
4th of July Celebration:
This year we decided to host the 4th of July barbecue at our house. It was a lot of fun to host this year! Adam really loves fireworks so he was all in for the fun! We had some family come for a potluck. We made some barbecue chicken, sausages and some grilled tofu with a peanut sauce. We had some delicious side dishes like deviled eggs by my mom, a red, white and blue fruit and yogurt trifle by my cousin Helen, a jello salad by my Aunt Debbie and an amazing avocado salsa by my cousin Lauren. It was so very delcicious! We also had some homemade buttermilk ice cream as well as chocolate ice cream made by my parents and my lemon raspberry souffle pie. Fabulous!
My cousin Helen-with her delicious fruit and yogurt trifle, Adam and Me
The table is all set for the barbecue!Around 8pm or so we decided to start lighting off some fireworks so that we could at least try to get Adam to bed at a decent hour with all of the noise and commotion going on! He really loves fireworks and had fun picking out which ones to light off! He is very enthusiastic!!
I love what my mom said about Adam during the fireworks session we had out in our cul de sac:
"We really got a kick out of him (Adam), he was so delighted with the fireworks. I was amazed, too, that he knew everyone's names. He picked up on Lauren's "Run for your life!" phrase, and did it. At least I think it was hers, maybe not. Anyway, he used it and it was fun overall."- Serena Johnston- July 5 2011.
It was so cute how when questioned on everyone's names he knew all of them, all of the cousins, etc. He is a very social little guy! The following photos show how much fun we had on this special day:
I love what my mom said about Adam during the fireworks session we had out in our cul de sac:
"We really got a kick out of him (Adam), he was so delighted with the fireworks. I was amazed, too, that he knew everyone's names. He picked up on Lauren's "Run for your life!" phrase, and did it. At least I think it was hers, maybe not. Anyway, he used it and it was fun overall."- Serena Johnston- July 5 2011.
It was so cute how when questioned on everyone's names he knew all of them, all of the cousins, etc. He is a very social little guy! The following photos show how much fun we had on this special day:
I love how enthusiastic Adam is about fireworks!
Adam, Mom, Me, Lauren, Kim, Helen and Aunt Debbie with our 4th feast!
The marinated, grilled tofu with peanut sauce that Paul made! 
Lauren, Aunt Debbie, Stuart, Dad and Adam all enjoying the food outside on our deck!
Some of the homemade chocolate custard ice cream that Kim and Stuart brought! Yum!
Here we all are watching the fireworks display in the cul de sac! What fun!
Aunt Debbie, Mom and Me with Adam covering his ears because of loud fireworks. 
Me taking a photo and Paul taking video! 
One of my favorite moments of the night- Adam with his Grandpa- so sweet!
A big pitcher of rhubarb strawberry lemonade- Yum!
Rhubarb Strawberry Lemonade:
This lemonade was so delicious it was gone in a flash. Next time I'll make a double or triple batch! I got the recipe from my Mom's cookbook "Joy of Rhubarb".
3 1/2 cups water
2 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 3-inch strips fresh lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups strawberries, sliced and divided
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1. Bring water, rhubarb, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla to a boil in a nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 8 minutes.
2. Stir in 1 cup strawberries. Bring to a boil; cover and boil 2 minutes.
3. Cool, then strain through a course sieve over a serving pitcher;discard pulp. Stir in remaining strawberries and lemon juice. Refrigerate and serve with ice.
Makes 6 servings.
Raspberry Lemon Souffle Pie:
A delectable raspberry lemon souffle pie is refreshing as a summer dessert.Raspberry Lemon Souffle Pie:
This is a pie that we partially invented from a recipe I found online. We made a few changes to it and we served it at our farmer's market booth- "Farmer's Tea." It was a big hit and it still is!
-Pastry for one 9 inch pie
Pie Filling:
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
Pie Topping:
1/2 cup lemon curd
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1 cup fresh raspberries
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pastry. Line pie plate with pastry.
2. Beat eggs. Add sugar, flour, butter, lemon extract, lemon rind and salt. Mix thoroughly. Blend in buttermilk.
3. Pour into pastry lined pie plate.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely.
5. Spread the lemon curd over the cooled pie. Then, spread the raspberry jam over the top of the lemon curd.
6. Finally, arrange the fresh raspberries on top in concentric circles.
Enjoy!
A Day in the Country:
This past Sunday- July 10, 2011 I went on a wonderful outing with my friend Carol. We decided to meet in Dundee, Oregon for brunch at the restaurant "Farm to Fork." It is such a lovely place! They have a very nice set brunch menu and we decided to each order a different item and then split each one so we could have a bit of sweet and a bit of savory for brunch. So, I ordered the croque monsieur and Carol ordered the French toast with berries and cream. So delicious!
This past Sunday- July 10, 2011 I went on a wonderful outing with my friend Carol. We decided to meet in Dundee, Oregon for brunch at the restaurant "Farm to Fork." It is such a lovely place! They have a very nice set brunch menu and we decided to each order a different item and then split each one so we could have a bit of sweet and a bit of savory for brunch. So, I ordered the croque monsieur and Carol ordered the French toast with berries and cream. So delicious!
The croque monsieur that I had at Farm to Fork in Dundee, Oregon.Then, we went to the Red Ridge Farms and Oregon Olive Mill. It is also an amazing place and could not be more beautiful! I felt like I was in Provence, France or at least what I imagine it to be like with the lavender fields! We had fun looking in the gift shop and sampling some of the olive oils that are partially made on site from olives grown close by. We also tried some flavored vinegars that were outstanding! Our favorite was the passion fruit vinegar! It was good enough to drink. It was so surprising! We'll have to come back to get some to serve with salads and other dishes- delicious!
A view of the lavender fields and other flowers near the Oregon Olive Mill.
Me with my friend Carol at Red Ridge Farms & Oregon Olive Mill
A wonderful view of the lavender fields and the arbor set up for weddings.
A view from the arbor where weddings can be held.
A close up of one of the kinds of lavender that you can pick in the lavender fields.Red Ridge Farms and the Oregon Olive Mill are amazing places to visit in the summer as well as the fall. We are planning to come back here again for a visit perhaps in September or October to see the lovely fall colors and enjoy the scenery.
Enjoy your week!
Enjoy your week!
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