Summer Projects and Summer Fun!

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.

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:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/07/food-ark/siebert-text

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)

Brine for Barbecued Chicken:

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!

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!!