The State of My Garden

In a word...scary.  Seriously.  Take a look.  Would you want to walk in here?

I certainly haven't wanted to in quite some time and it shows.  I'm afraid of what I might scare up.  I startled a little bunny rabbit last week and I also saw a beautiful Western garner snake.  But I'm not sure what other sinister critters may be hiding out in this mess.  I only have one garden bed that is still growing stuff and that's my sweet potato bed.  And I peeked in there a couple of days ago and oh my goodness, will I have sweet potatoes!  But that's for another post :)

The current state of my garden is also very embarrassing for me.  I have Never.Ever. let my garden get so overgrown and messy.  I still can't believe it looks so bad.  But this summer, it has just been too darn hot to get out there and work it.  And it still is.  It was 99 degrees yesterday...and it's the end of September for crying out loud!

Anyway, I have been procrastinating long enough.  It's time I did something to clean up this mess and get my garden back!  And I've also done something else I've never done before concerning my garden.  I actually hired a crew to clean it out.

It pains me to admit this.  I've always taken great pride in my garden, in how productive and beautiful it is (usually), and in doing all the work myself.  But I finally admitted to myself that I needed help.  And look what they've done!

They cleaned out all the beds

mowed all the weeds down to the ground,  laid a weed mat around the entire garden floor and put down a 6-inch layer of mulch, turned over all the soil in all the beds and spread a bag and half of compost I had laying around.  I was out there yesterday morning before they finished the job and couldn't believe how much better it looked already!

Of course the puppies were very curious as to what this was all about...not to mention all these great new smells!  It was also a treat for them because my garden is usually off limits.

And see what it looks like now!  I have my beautiful garden queendom back! 

Many thanks to Mark and his crew for all their hard work!

Harry and I leave in a couple of days for two weeks in Paris and Holland.  When we get back, all I have to do is add some compost to a few beds and plant my fall and winter garden.  Yay!  I'm anxious to get back into my garden.  I've really missed it these past couple of months.  I'm also anxious to get back to blogging.  I've missed that and y'all too!  Of course, I probably lost a lot of you guys too during my lil break :/

Thank you all for your patience and encouraging words in my last two posts.  Hopefully, I will be back online by the middle of October.  Until then, bon voyage! :)

The State of Texas

Thank you all so very much for your kind thoughts and words.  I'm working on it...I'm really trying.  But as Cat can probably attest to, it's just been SO HOT and SO DRY that NOTHING is growing...NOTHING...and my garden has never, EVER, looked so bad or so pitiful. Not to mention the horrific wildfires that much of Texas is experiencing.  Since early May 2011, South Texas has had over 55 days with temperatures over 100 degrees.  Who wants to get out and work in that heat?  And God bless those who have to. 

I've said this in an earlier post...I have lived in Texas for almost 30 years and I have never seen a summer as hot, as dry and as fire-prone as the Summer of 2011.  It's difficult to explain unless you are here and experiencing what we are living with.  As I write this, there are wildfires all around me.  How and why they have not touched us here is beyond my explanation.  The entire state is a tinderbox.  

It is now the middle of September, 2011.  South Texas has had only 6.5" of rain this year.  Think about the magnitude of that.  I don't mean to be a spoilsport or a doomsdayer, but this is the reality we are living with.

Kelsey, what has your year/summer looked like?  I know you had awful fires earlier this year.  What do things look like now?  Can you relate to this unprecedented drought? 

I do hope to be back online soon.

But if you pray in any way, we ask that you pray for the entire State of Texas and its residents.  This is more than anyone can truly fathom. 

This photo was taken by a friend.  It depicts the city of Austin in the foreground with city of Bastrop, 25 miles to the East, burning uncontrolled.  Dear God, help us; and please...pray for rain.  

Lil' Break

Geez...it's been such a busy summer!

I was gone the first part of August visiting my daughter-in-law and grandson while my son is deployed; and then I was not home but two days when my other son, his wife and my granddaughter came to visit! 

I sure got my grandbaby fix this month and loved (loved!) every second of it :)

I'm now in catch up mode.  I'm gonna take a short break from my blog to regroup, catch up and try to salvage what's left of my garden in this relentless, record-breaking heat spell South Texas has been experiencing.  I've lived in Texas for more than 30 years and I've never (Ever!) experienced a summer like this one. 

On a good note, I've got cantaloupe ripe and ready to pick!

Cantaloupe gelato anyone? :)

Eggplant Parmesan

I rarely order this dish in a restaurant.  Most of the time it's gooey, bland and swimming in a watery tomato sauce.  Yuck!  But I wanted to try and make it at home with vegetables from my garden.  God knows I have enough eggplant!

And in my freezer, I've got several batches of that fire roasted tomato sauce I blogged about a couple of days ago.  So I searched my cookbooks and the internet and hoped to find a good, easy recipe.  And I found one on CookingLight.com/HealthyHabits.  Of course, I wouldn't be "me" unless I tweaked the recipe a little bit to reflect what "I" (and wonderful hubby) like!

So here is my version of Summer Eggplant Parmesan.  It's not a simple-throw-together-quickly-on-a-weeknight-recipe, but it's not that difficult either.  It just takes a little time.

Summer Eggplant Parmesan 
Eggplant:
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 (1 pound) eggplants, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices

Filling:
1/2 cup torn fresh basil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic or pressed through garlic press (about 2 cloves)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 16 oz container whole milk (or part-skim) ricotta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Remaining Ingredients:
1 24 oz jar premium pasta sauce (or homemade)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

To make eggplant:
Combine 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon water in shallow bowl.
Combine panko and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in a second shallow dish.
Dip eggplant in egg mixture, dredge in panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere and shaking off excess.
Place eggplant 1 inch apart on foil lined baking sheet, coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or so until golden, turning once and rotating baking sheet after 15 minutes

To make filling:
Combine basil and next 6 ingredients.  Set aside.

To assemble:
Spoon 1/2 cup pasta sauce in bottom of a 9 x 13" glass baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Layer 1/2 of eggplant slices over pasta sauce.
Sprinkle eggplant with 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Top with 3/4 cup pasta cause.
Spread half of ricotta mixture over sauce and top with a third of the mozzarella and 1/4 cup cheese.
Repeat layers once, ending with about 1 cup pasta sauce.

Cover tightly with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375F for 35 minutes.
Remove foil; top with remaining mozzarella and Parmigiano.

Bake an additional 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese melts.
Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

 

Looks yummy doesn't it? Tasted even better! :)

Buon Appetito! 

Cantaloupe and Sweet Potatoes

I can't believe how much the cantaloupe vines and sweet potato plants have grown!  Maybe it has something to do with that wonderful manure compost I put in this bed before planting.  I'm not sure, but it has to be something because this is what this bed looked like when I first planted it...

 ...and this is what it looks like now!

I wasn't sure any of these sweet potato slips or the three volunteer cantaloupe plants would even make it in this God-awful heat.  Not only did they survive, but they are thriving!  Look at the cantaloupe on these vines!  There are fifteen (15!) of these babies on the vines, just this size and a lot more little ones waiting to grow.  It's amazing!

There's a ton of little ones out there too!  Don't ask me yet what I'm going to *do* with all these melons that will likely be ready at the same time!  I suspect some of my friends will have a cantaloupe mysteriously appear on their doorstep!  I also envision cantaloupe ice cream, cantaloupe bread, maybe cantaloupe preserves... :-)

And I've never grown sweet potatoes before so I wasn't sure what to expect.  But the plants are gorgeous!  The foliage is purple and green with very large leaves.

The potatoes should be ready to harvest 90-100 days after planting, which puts the harvest date around mid September.  I can't wait for that!  And I sure wish I could get a glimpse of what's going on underground in this bed!  Oh well, that's part of the fun of gardening...the waiting, the anticipating and the joy of the harvest!