Happy Pollinators & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I took advantage of a free 8 x 10 offered by Walgreens.  It happened that my cousin had just sent a scan of our grandparents wedding photo.  I'll be so happy to add it to our family photo gallery.  I pulled off the pillow covers and mattress pad, and washed them with the other linens.  All laundry was hung on the line.  One of the commenters on The Prudent Homemaker gave me the idea to freeze zucchini tots, so I made a quadruple batch, and froze 3 meals worth.  I plan to do it again, as a way to use up some of the squash.  All of our little apples in the crisper, along with one of our pears and several of the free asian pears, were used in an apple tart.  It was a real labor of love, as almost all had pecked or bad spots, but I feel good that they've been made use of.  The pups were given peelings a few nights with their dinner.  Update:  I made the tart using honey for sweetener, and have to go back to the drawing board, as the taste was too strong for our liking.

The pollinators have been happy on the mountain mint and Joe Pye weed.  I recently read of goldenrod helping achy muscles.  I gathered some, and followed the recipe to make salve.  If it works, that will be a helpful thing to have on hand.  The chicken coop was cleaned, and mint and lemon balm gathered to freshen it up a bit.  The pups were bathed with homemade soap in the outdoor shower.  I used homemade sweet potato treats to entice them.  After their bath, I made up a half & half vinegar/water solution, and cleaned their ears.  Lemon balm was harvested, and a jar of tincture started.  Basil was harvested, chopped and frozen in cubes with water for winter use. Pasta sauce was made with our tromboncino squash, tomatoes, basil, rosemary and garlic.  I requested a book from the library, and redeemed swagbucks for a $25 amazon GC.

I tried making another round of almond milk, this time a half recipe, as the majority of the first batch went bad, even with dividing and freezing half.  I like to mix things up for meals, so something that only lasts 2 days is a bit problematic.  On my Dr's recommendation, I also removed the skins this time.  I'm hoping that makes a difference in it's perishibility too.  A double batch of hummingbird food was made.  A pair of slippers were repaired.  One of the things I fall short in is fertilizing plants.  Somehow, I don't often get to it.  But this week, I did manage to fertilize a number of plants, some edible, but many flowering.  The heat and humidity drove me back inside, but I hope to get to another round of plants soon.  A neighbor came by while I was harvesting.  I had found the two largest pawpaws we've ever grown, and he loves them, so they went home with him.  The next day, I sent a bag home with him. 

Though my birthday isn't until next week, the celebrating has begun.  I enjoyed a dinner out with family on Saturday, and was gifted a painting and wildflower bouquet from a very sweet little boy (my great nephew).  With a hurricane possibly heading this way in a few days, we harvested all the pears we could reach with a picker.  They filled two 5 gallon buckets.  Now, what to do with all those pears?  I decided to make pear preserves on Sunday, which I plan to give as gifts.    That put a dent in it, but there are lots more.  After canning, I headed to a friend's lake house for the evening.  It's always a treat to relax and look out at the water.  I brought a tromboncino squash and eggs to share.  In just a couple more days, the Pumpkin Chai soap can begin being wrapped.  For all those in the path of Hurricane Dorian, I wish you safety.  Be well, friends.

New Recipes & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I foraged some lovely chanterelles.  We've been getting some nice rain, which is helping the mushrooms come out.  After work on Tuesday, I picked up a few groceries, including .99 avocados and bags of dog food on sale for $4 less than usual.  I also stopped to get a few lettuce and parsley plants.  I was focused, and didn't even check out the mark down section :o).  The goji berries finally began blooming last week.  Hopefully, there is time to get some fruit before first frost.  I canned squash, and made Pasta Norma, which used our eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano and chives.  A double batch of hummer food was made twice.  The hummingbird numbers have increased dramatically, so I'm thinking they must be close to migrating.  They're going through lots of food.  J noticed storm clouds gathering, so grabbed the laundry on the line.  Three pairs of his work pants were still slightly damp.  I threw them over chairs instead of using the dryer.

morning pond

A batch of tomatoes was canned.  One of my nieces came for a visit.  She went on the morning hike with the pups.  I fixed breakfast when we returned, and introduced her to pawpaw, which she liked. I gathered seeds of carrot and kale, and found that kale had reseeded in our old cold frame.   A neighbor gifted us a large bag of corn.  Six ears were boiled, and the remainder were used in a corn zucchini chowder, which was delicious.  The chowder also used a tromboncino squash, as well as our potatoes, garlic and thyme.  It was as pretty as it was yummy.  Several figs were harvested, and enjoyed fresh.  The loofahs have begun blooming.  I'm pretty sure it's too late to get any viable loofahs, but the pollinators seem to be enjoying the flowers.  Another new recipe was tried, Lentil Salad with Cucumbers and Olives.  It's a keeper too.  I'm so enjoying the cooler temperatures, and having the windows open again.

On Saturday, we planted a good part of our fall garden... collards, cabbage, broccoli, kale and lettuce plants.  There are also collards that have come up from seed, though they're small yet.  I also planted the moonflowers.  In planting the mystery yellow flowers, I found that there are indeed spirea in with them.  So, I got two for one in those pots.  After making and painting 5 orders on Sunday, J & I worked on our solar hot water system.  Conduit was laid in a trench, and the lines fished.  A few things were hooked up, but I can't remember the names at the moment.  Last week, he was given a heat exchanger that was no longer in use from a job he was working at.  It will work perfectly in our system.  Lemon balm and lemon verbena were harvested and dried for tea.  I know I'm forgetting some things, but it's been a bit of a whirlwind lately.  Wishing you a lovely week ahead.

Old Man of the Woods & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  After an appointment last week, I went by Trader Joe's and a local natural foods market.  On Tuesday, I met a friend for dinner and free live music to celebrate her birthday.  I'd seen one of the musicians earlier this summer, and thought she'd like him too.  Two of her gifts were made or altered by me.  There were daily walks with the pups.  While harvesting parsley one day, I noticed several swallowtail caterpillars feeding on it.  I recently saw a friend had put a large laundry bag over her plants with caterpillars to protect them.   I only had small bags, so I covered them them the best I could for one day, then found some large ones at Dollar Tree, and changed them out.  These are busy days in the garden, with cucumbers, green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, tromboncino, tomatoes, peppers and hazelnuts being harvested.  There were even a few of the peach runner beans, which I cooked up in a recipe with tomatoes, onion and garlic.  We enjoyed them, though the hot, dry days have made all the beans a little tough. Good fiber!

One day, I got a call from J, asking if I'd be willing to bring the guys their suitcase welder, as the large portable one had broke down.  They were working at the place where he and his business partner had first worked together as employees.  The plant has gone through numerous changes since then.  At one time, a good bit of food was planted there.  These days much of it goes to waste.  I gathered 10 asian pears, and around 3 dozen figs while there.  A few figs were eaten fresh, and the rest were dehydrated.  I'm thinking of making a tart with the pears, but haven't decided. I also gathered a few flower heads of zinnias and dianthus.  Free organic food and seeds was a nice bonus for doing a good deed.  J worked there again the next day, and brought home another 12 asian pears.  I stopped by a nearby feed & seed for chick food on the way home, and saw their plants were all 75% off.  I came home with a lemongrass, 2 moonflower vines, and 2 plants labeled as spirea tomentosa, but learned they are something else entirely, with yellow flowers.  Oh well, it will be a surprise, unless you can enlighten me.  The plants were all $1 or $1.25 each.

mystery plants (see long, narrow leaves below lemongrass leaf)

I had intended to can squash, and had just put the canning rings in a pot to boil when J called about the welder.  So, plans changed, and I canned squash the next day.  While keeping an eye on the canner, I shelled the dry lima beans.  When I was done canning, I blanched and froze fresh limas, and made a batch of yogurt.  For my upcoming birthday, I'd been thinking of asking for headphones, which I sometimes use to listen to things on the computer, or watch a movie J isn't interested in.  The right side of the headphones hasn't worked right for some time, and takes a lot of fiddling to get it to work.  It occurred to me that I may be able to fix it by replacing the jack, so ordered one for less than $5, which J will solder for me.  I've had them for years, and replaced the ear foam within the past year.  The headphones are good quality, so if the jack works, they should last a good while longer.

While canning, I kept enough yellow squash out to make this dish.  For another meal, I pulled sloppy joe sauce from the freezer, and J pulled a chicken from the freezer another day.  The ice maker broke a few weeks ago.  It took several tries, and a bit of sleuthing, but J managed to fix it for not much OOP.  Another day, I canned tomatoes, then dehydrated the skins for bird suet.  I'd been wanting to try a plant version of mozzarella, and did when I made a caprese salad.  It was surprisingly good. Even J said he would eat it.  This will help me better keep to my Dr's recommendations during tomato season.  I'm not perfect, but I'm trying.  It's been a few weeks since there were any figs to harvest.  I checked on them, and found 4 big, perfectly ripe figs to harvest.  They were so good.  J bought a new TV, which came with Roku.  I think that means I'll be able to watch more of the This is Us show for free, which makes me happy.

On Sunday morning's walk, I harvested a couple of chanterelles and an old man of the woods, which were both taught during the mushroom class.  Old man of the woods is a new edible for me, so I cooked up a small piece with the chantrelles, eggs, tomatoes and garlic to try.  The instructor said the taste benefited from drying and rehydrating, so I dried the remainder.  It's always a good idea to eat a small amount when trying a new mushroom, to make sure it agrees with you.  We traveled several hours east on Saturday, for a family reunion.  I brought cucumber couscous salad to share, and brought a large bowl of lima beans to shell on the drive.  After we got home, a friend and her husband delivered several bottles of their honey, brought wine and crackers to share, and a few rose of sharon seedlings.  It's so hot and dry again, I'm going to keep all the plants watered for now, and plant them when they have a better chance.  I hope your week has been a good one.

Mushrooms, Computer Woes & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I saw a lovely living luna moth on a branch, while on my walk.  I thought it was pretty special, as I usually only find a wing or two now and then.  I learned that this one is a male, due to it's feathery antennae, and the adults only live a few days to a week.  I harvested elderberries, and started a batch of tincture.  I plan to leave the remaining elderberries for the birds.  I recently found a bag of dates I had purchased a while back fermenting.  The bag looked like it was about to explode.  I've never seen this before, but returned it to the store where I purchased it, and received store credit.  They had a best buy date some time in 2021, so it was somewhat surprising.  I gathered shiso, and have a pan of it drying.  I typically use this when the pups eat something that will upset their stomach, per my herbalist friends recommendation.  I cleaned and did some decluttering in my sewing area, and mended a rug.  All laundry was hung on the line.

morning light

I got some back to school sales, notebooks and glue sticks for .50/package, and significantly discounted packing tape.  Thankfully, my PC was able to be repaired.  It required a new hard drive, but my files were all saved.  My laptop appeared to have died while the other was in the shop.  J got it up and working again, but it was tired, with multiple issues, so we decided to take advantage of back to school sales, and purchase a new one.  I used $8 in rewards toward the cost, which was already discounted $150.  It will be so nice to have one where the keys all work, and hopefully is faster.  I requested books from the library, and picked them up.  An ebay order did not arrive when "guaranteed".  I reported it, and received a $5 voucher.  It arrived four days later.  I foraged chanterelle mushrooms several times, and blanched and froze 4 more meals of lima beans.

The horticulture crew at our zoo does a fantastic job.  I couldn't help but notice this beautiful plant in the aviary.  Doesn't it look painted?  My husband had an evening out, enjoying a concert with cousins, so I had a rare evening to myself.  I enjoyed it by painting my toe nails, and reading library books.  I had thought I may cook some things he doesn't eat, but decided not to cook at all, and enjoyed a homegrown tomato sandwich instead.  Earlier in the day, I took a class on edible mushrooms.  Though the class and book I bought were not frugal, I hope it will allow me to forage more varieties of mushrooms. A pan of eggshells was crushed, and added to the compost bin.  A pan of bread ends was turned into bread crumbs and frozen.

Homemade almond milk has been on my to do list for a while.  I finally determined to do it over the weekend.  The hardest part will be remembering to soak the almonds the day before.  I probably need to change how I'm straining it too, as it's really slow through cheesecloth.  Next time, I'll try one of my jelly straining bags, and see if that doesn't pick up the pace.  I'm used to the unsweetened, so for this first batch, I added only a pinch of salt.  Now I have pure almond milk, without all the questionable ingredients, and am saving money too.  Orders continue coming in to our little shop.  J finished up three this weekend, I powder coated them, and we worked together to get them packed to ship.  After that, there was a little time to relax.  I hope you had some too!  Have a wonderful week!

Mushrooms, NC Zoo & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I spotted the first cinnabar chanterelles along our creek bank.  They're pretty small, so I'm going to leave them alone.  I've signed up for a mushroom class in a couple of weeks, and hope to learn a few more to harvest safely.   I got the toaster oven out, and have used it several times in place of the oven, to cut down on heat in the house.  J went to help a neighbor with a piece of farm equipment, and came home with freshly dug red potatoes, and 13 ears of corn.  I used 6 ears for dinner, and froze the other 7 as whole kernels.  I blanched the gallon bag of lima beans, and froze them.

It's something I often forget, but I remembered to log in my walks and weight for balance rewards at Walgreens, which increased my rewards by $2.  Waldorf salad was made with our apples.  The last of the sweet potatoes were boiled.  Leftover corn and lima beans, with cucumbers and tomatoes, made this meal homegrown and local (corn) except for a few minor things.  I harvested thyme, and am drying it for winter use.   The lima bean shells for dye experiment was a fail.  They imparted almost no color to the water, after boiling an hour or more.  They'll make fine compost though.  Pasta sauce was made with our tomatoes and tromboncino, rosemary and basil, and cucumbers and tomatoes went in a salad.

So, I've now tried cleaning the dishwasher both with lemon kool aid, and without.  I can see no benefit to using the kool aid.  It looks exactly the same after it's been run through, and wipes down just the same without it.  I expect results may vary based on your water.  A dinner of our eggplant, green beans, leftover sweet potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers was enjoyed.  Elderberries were harvested, and a quart of tincture started.  I had a slow day shop sitting at a pottery shop, and was able to wrap three batches of soap, and do a little reading.  Our fall greens were doing well, until flea beetles started attacking them.  They were started in a large metal container on concrete blocks, a long way from the ground, so we were rather surprised to have flea beetles there.  Go figure.

kale seedlings, before the flea beetle attack

After work on Friday, we picked up our GD, Miss S.  We stopped at one restaurant, and after 20 minutes without any acknowledgement, we left.  At another restaurant, after a long wait, we had dinner.  I thought I might take her to hear live music, with possibly another stop or two on Saturday, but she was adamant that she wanted to stay home and sew.  Who could argue with that?  She made her Mom a heart stuffy from scratch while I mended some items.  She wanted to fix her own breakfast of eggs and cheese, and made a batch of hummus with minimal help. We did a garden harvest, picked a bouquet, and visited the chickens a couple of times.  She enjoyed strewing the cherry tomatoes to them, seeing the young chicks, and collecting eggs.  She helped cut cucumbers for asian cucumbers, and fed the pups.  J worked some more on our solar hot water, and she and I took turns assisting him.

Miss S and I joined another grandmother and GD at the zoo.  She has a membership, which allowed us entry for free.  While the girls had fun in the kid zone, my friend and I were able to catch up a bit while keeping an eye on them.  We all enjoyed a picnic with foods brought from home after visiting a couple of animal exhibits and a carousel ride.  Harvests from the garden include cucumbers, tomatoes, tromboncino squash, green beans, lima beans, a few apples and hazelnuts, a pear, and herbs.  My PC crashed and burned Sunday morning without warning.  I'm looking at refurbished ones to replace it with.  J thinks running the videos on swagbucks probably contributed, so I'm thinking I will stop doing those.  The hardest thing about a new computer will probably be redoing my soap labels.  I did save the earlier ones on a disc, but all the new ones will have to be redone.  Ah well, it could be worse.  Wishing you a beautiful and bountiful week!

Beans, A Hike & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  On Monday, I gathered purslane and basil, and made a triple batch of purslane pistachio pesto.  We enjoyed it with pasta two nights.  I made a double batch of granola.  This time, I had pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and added those too.  After working in town, I stopped at the discount grocery and got organic beans, canned corn (for the chickens), & cans of olives for .50 ea, and organic juice $1 ea.  I got a 6 pack of LED votive candles for $5, and saw a used pack of this brand for $16.50 on ebay.  I dropped off a box of books at the Friends of the Library store.  There were several antique books, including one from 1886.  I hope they'll be able to make some decent money from them.  At Aldi's, I picked up cherries @ $1.89/#, avocados .69 ea., and mangoes .49 ea., and bought a pack of their meatless crumbles to try for $3.49.  Not inexpensive, but we like to have sloppy joes occasionally for a quick meal.  I had hoped to pick up some things at the Farmer's Market; some tomatoes, and maybe corn and peaches, but a deluge sent them all packing before I could get there.

female summer tanager

I was gifted 4# each of pinto beans and brown rice, and 6# of navy beans.  I transferred them all to glass jars.  I shared a bag of garden produce and eggs in kind.  Almost all the remaining sweet potatoes from last year's garden were prepped and put in the dehydrator for pup treats.  I'll cook up the last few for us.  We were blessed to get an inch of rain and cooler temps.  The house was opened up for the first time in weeks.  We should be able to open up each night for several days, before it heats up again.  A can of corn was frozen into cubes for the chickens, for the next heat wave.  I made "zucchini" tots with our first tromboncino squash, which also used our eggs and herbs.  I'll be making them again.  I sliced the last of the gifted tomatoes to enjoy with it, a Cherokee Purple, and heated leftover grilled corn.  So yummy!  A load of laundry was hung on the line.  I used homegrown mint in making a batch of soap.

Homemade salad dressing was made, and garden cucumbers and tomatoes were enjoyed in a salad.  Cabbage and noodles was made with some more of the gifted cabbage, but there's more left.  The gift that keeps on giving :o).  Now that we have lots of cherry tomatoes, I was reminded of a favorite breakfast my Sicilian grandmother and my Mom used to make.  Saute some garlic, throw in chopped tomatoes, then add eggs.  The bread was local sourdough.  All else but the oil and salt were homegrown.  I've started noticing hazelnuts dropping, and have begun gathering them.  I tried a new recipe, for Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad.  It just so happened I found a bag of Bob's Red Mill tricolor couscous at the discount store for $2  the last visit.  The recipe was excellent, and leftovers were just as good.  It's a Budget Bytes recipe.  Most of Saturday morning was spent picking lima beans.  That night, J & I shelled them while we talked.  We ended up with a gallon of beans.  The shells almost filled a 5 gallon bucket. I decided to cover them with water, for a future dyeing experiment.

Hopi Dye sunflower

Elderberries were harvested, and a second batch of tincture was started.  I recently found out about a local hiking group, created to promote health in the community.  They hike in various areas throughout the Uwharrie National Forest, which I've been wanting to learn more about.  I've known there are various trails, but have never known where the trail heads are, so was happy to learn about this group.  I asked a niece if she'd like to join me on Sunday.  We walked on private land along the Uwharrie River.  There were interesting wild plants, one of which I didn't know, and need to research.  After we returned, I dropped off orders at Fedex, then headed to Big Lots with a $5 off $15 coupon.  I found my favorite egg noodles marked down to 1/2 price (not sure why, as the same noodles with a closer best by date were on the regular shelf full price??).  Also found was organic juice for $1.75, which is $3.99 in the grocery stores.  The last stop was Aldi's, where I picked up 3 things, including organic strawberries for $2.79/#.  The day was a lovely end to a good week.  Wishing everyone a good week ahead!

Plenty of Cucumbers & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, laundry was dried on the line.  Plenty of cucumbers were harvested, and some were shared.  Also, green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, peppers, eggplant, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley and oregano were harvested.  The loofahs have begin climbing up the twine.  I did some weeding around the melons, but the heat drove me back in the house.  Half of the gifted cabbage was made into asian slaw.  Eggs were boiled, and the water used to water plants.  I went through swagbucks for 6% and used a 15% off code for an online order.  A bill was received from a test done 16 months ago, which I thought had already been covered by the healthshare.  Thankfully, when I called them, they said I didn't need to pay it, and they would reprocess it for payment.  Hooray for that.  I took pics of, and listed my new Bright Morning soap in the shop.

One evening, I noticed the bronze fennel had been munched on.  I started looking around, and saw a swallowtail caterpillar nearby.  I planted the fennel for just that reason, and was delighted to see it.  I reused bubble wrap and other packing materials for an ebay order.  I went through swagbucks for 4% off to purchase a bathing suit for our GD at 50% off.  She'll need this in a few weeks, on a zoo day, as the children's section has several water features.  I recently tried the food saver sheets that are paper embedded with a spice blend, and was really disappointed.  Though they got great reviews, they didn't work well for me.  The main reason I wanted to try them was to keep nectarines from going from unripe to moldy within days.  Of the first 6 nectarines I tried, 3 went from hard/unripe to moldy in 3 days, and all did the same within 6 days.  I considered that it might be the nectarines, and wanted to give it a fair trial, so tried a second round.  The first 2 went from unripe to moldy within 2 days, and the 3rd was moldy on day 4.  I really wanted it to be a great natural solution to food waste, but that wasn't my experience.

The elderberries have begun ripening.  I harvested the first quart, and began a batch of tincture with them.  One of J's clients gifted us a bag of produce.  There were tomatoes (yay!), a couple of white peaches, yellow squash, and an eight ball zucchini, which was a new one for us.  I researched recipes, and made Eight Ball Zucchini Parmesan with it, also with a mix of our yellow and zucchini squash.  I took the suggestion to double the spinach, garlic and basil, increased the cheese slightly, used lambs quarter for the spinach, and used provolone instead of parmesan, because that's what was on hand.  We thought it was very good.  Along with that, I prepared chard I harvested that day with our garlic and broth.  I was commiserating with a friend recently that cooking this time of year often seems like damage control... what needs to be used most today? After dinner, I harvested purslane, and the next day, made a triple batch of purslane pistachio pesto.

The tromboncino squash are almost ready to begin harvesting.  Another box of donations was taken to the thrift store, while in town to deliver a soap order.  While there, I picked up oilskin reproofing cream for one of J's coats.  I paid $2 for 2 jars, and it lists for $12.24 ea. on amazon.  At the library, I found out that in addition to e-books, we also have access to audio books and magazines online.  I had another lovely moment on an evening walk.  There are rolling hay fields that meet our property in the back, and this is where I walk to in the evenings.  They had just rolled the hay into large round bales, which always look pretty scattered across the field.  The evening light was hitting a multitude of small flying bugs, which looked rather like sparkles, and many dragonflies darted here and there.  It was lovely, and just one of the many reasons I feel blessed to live here.

Over the past week, the birds have gotten wise to the blueberries.  At first, they were focused on two bushes, and I was still able to pick from two.  Now they're picking all of them clean before I can get to them. Oh well, we've gotten to eat them fresh, and I've frozen 2 quart bags.  On another note, the new bird feeder pole seems to be working.  The squirrels are mostly eating the seeds on the ground, with occasional tries for the hanging feeders, which makes me happy.  I've got plenty of jam from last year, so decided to make mixed berry syrup.  I use these when making berry vinaigrette's.  I pulled bags of mulberries & raspberries, cranberries and elderberries from the freezer, freeing up room there, and adding more syrup jars to the shelf.  I used the mehu-liisa steamer, which makes it really easy to move the already fairly dried remaining fruit to the dehydrator, to use in future bird suet.

Making granola has been on my to do list.  I ground wheat into flour, which is the first step.  J picked our first large tomato.  It had a bad spot in the center, which hastened ripening, but he said it was good despite it.  I picked up birthday cards at Dollar General for $1 each, instead of several times that at the drugstore.  The boots I wear on my morning walks were getting tough to zip up, so I rubbed beeswax on the zippers, which helped.  I made swagbucks goal several days, and sent a message about points I didn't receive after shopping, which I then promptly received.  Like a lot of the country, the heat index has been 100 or more most days, so the a/c has been running 24/7.  There are cooler temps in the forecast next week, which I'm greatly looking forward to.  Though we recently had a half dozen peaches still ripening on the trees, I saw there was only one left on Saturday. I asked J to harvest it (it was high up), and we found that Japanese beetles had already been munching on it.  Man, it's hard to provide much fruit for ourselves here.

The Prudent Homemaker's Spanish Rice was made, to go with bean burritos.  Neighbors stopped by, and were given a bag of cucumbers.  Some of the wheat flour, along with our blueberries and an egg, were used in pancakes on Sunday.  With our tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, oregano, and a few other ingredients, I made a triple batch of my Mom's caponata.  I froze several containers, and kept one for us to enjoy this week.  I shared cucumbers and eggs with my sister and BIL.  On these hot days, I've been adding ice to the chicken waterers, and bringing them frozen corn treats in the afternoon, to help cool them down.  Pups are given grated cucumber, and various other vegetables with their dinner.  While grating the pups cucumber, it occurred to me that the chickens would probably enjoy cold grated cucumber too, and indeed they did.  I guess you can tell from the cucumber theme, it is our biggest garden harvest at the moment.  Laundry was dried on the line.  There was still a gallon bag of eggplant slices I baked and froze last year.  As J was grilling, I filled a baking sheet with them, and added our garlic and oregano.  He covered them with another baking sheet, and cooked them on the grill.  They were quite tasty.  Wishing you a most lovely week!