Skip to main content

Butterflies and Beans

We had a busy weekend so didn't get to the farmers market on Saturday or Sunday. I have some leftovers from last week to use up, and some things ready to harvest in the garden, so it was okay to skip a week. I'm not sure if it is due to the unusually wet spring or some other factor, but my neighbor and I have noticed an increase in the number of butterflies in our yards this year. It's been really fun to experience. As usual, I let some herbs flower for the butterflies and for our other neighbor's bees. And now that the purple cone flowers are in full bloom, the butterflies are flocking. 


Tomatoes are coming in nicely, but are mostly green still at this point. Same with the peppers. So the big harvest starting now, that should last for a few months, is the green beans. I picked enough last night for a meal and am planning on pickling both dilly beans and spicy beans this year - and hoping to get at least one of those done this weekend, with maybe a little addition from the farmers market. Usually the Japanese beetles eat the bean leaves, but I haven't seen any this year. Again, not sure if this is due to our unusual weather, or maybe because we have the beans covered in hail netting. I feel like they could get through the netting if they really wanted to. Either way, it works for me!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kimchi and stir fry mushrooms and spinach - go to summer meal

The Cherry Creek Farmers Market is getting busier on Saturdays as more booths appear and more people are in the mood for local produce. My favorite go-tos that have been there since day one are Unni's Kimchi - a new booth from two sisters who moved here from South Korea. I was actually their very first customer since I get to the market when it opens on Saturday. The other is a wonderful local mushroom grower. I didn't know until watching a special on Colorado Public Television that this state is a large producer of mushrooms. They have different varieties each week and I stir fry their mushrooms with some spinach from another booth, spoon on some "Magic Soy Sauce" from Unni's and serve it over brown rice with a big spoonful of kimchi (cabbage or Korean radish). Delicious!
Post a Comment
Read more

Word Salad - a writing prompt from my latest class

I mentioned that I'm taking a 4-week introduction to writing class at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver. It is amazing! I am loving the creativity it is inspiring and the instructor is fantastic. Last night we focused on the sensory aspects of writing and one of my favorite activities was Word Salad. Our instructor handed around a bowl full of words: written, typed, cut from magazines... we pulled out a pinch and then wrote a poem using as many of the words as we wanted and adding our own. The creative spirit really flowed and I was once again reminded of how much I love writing poetry. It's something I enjoyed as a child and then laid aside as I focused on other things in my studies. I also forget to read poetry, but luckily Joy gave us a bunch of recommendations for books to read. Here is the poem I wrote last night. It's still raw - no editing. And I enjoyed every second. And send my regards to infinity True vulnerability is received through kindness It is ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Preserving in the Winter and Crafting Classes

I really slowed down on this blog once canning season ended, but realized it does not just have to be about food preservation in that sense. This insight occurred to me in particular as I was deciding what to do with 5 pounds of organic meyer lemons. My neighbor and I decided to share a 10 pound box, shipped from Fairview Orchards in California. I knew I needed to use every last bit of these beautiful lemons. Lemon peels in vodka, preserved lemons, and homemade vanilla I adore the taste of limoncello, so I knew that drink had to feature in my plan. I bought some 100 proof vodka and carefully removed the yellow portion only of the peels of 12 of the lemons. They will steep in the vodka for about a month and then the flavored vodka will be mixed with simple syrup to create the limoncello. Half will be mixed with a milk-based simple syrup for a creamy version. Then I had plenty of juice to mix up some delicious meyer lemon margaritas! (2 oz lemon juice, 2 oz tequila, 1/2 oz Cointr...
Post a Comment
Read more