Our world is full of edible, beautiful, fragrant flora at work and at home. – June, 2015
AT WORK
Piedmont Tropicals is bursting with healthy ginger and turmeric.
Ginger on the left, red turmeric in the middle and yellow turmeric on the right.
POTATOES
In June, Bob harvested nearly fifty pounds of potatoes. Here is one of those harvests, twenty-some pounds of goodness. The total harvest this year will weigh in at around one hundred pounds. We boil them, fry them, bake them and turn them into potato salad.
Our latest “go-to” recipe is Oven Roasted Cajun Fries. To make these, trim and quarter a dozen medium fingerlings and let them sit, refrigerated in cold water for at least an hour or as long as you wish. Turn the oven to 450, oil a cookie sheet, drain and dry the potatoes with clean flour sack towels (something other than terry cloth). Toss potatoes with a few tablespoons of olive oil, half a teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of cajun seasoning. Bake 45 minutes, turning once. These are great party finger food, excellent alone or with ketchup or a creamy dip.
WELL-WEEDED PEPPERS
Many of our evenings involve a pan of peppers fried in sesame oil, then doused with soy sauce. Bob is growing shishitos, sigarettas, Craig’s grande and black Hungarian jalepenos, Jimmy Nardellos, bull nose, pasillas, pimentos, and ozark giant bell peppers, all of which he keeps well-weeded.
WATERING
This is the inside of Bob’s brain, or at least a glimpse of how his mind works. Here he has set up an automated system to handle the watering while he’s busy doing other things. Like weeding and mowing. And going to work…
DAY GLO
We can see these lilies from our kitchen window. Camille brought some inside to touch off the blue hydrangeas in a vase and they closed up within a few hours. So outside they stay, big, bright and beautiful.
YOU WIN SOME
The Japanese beetles were all over each other, making more beetles right and left. If you look closely, you will see this is two beetles, not one.
YOU LOSE SOME
Death comes a calling, cleverly disguised as an Assassin Bug.
FREE FLOWERS
These flamboyant pink gladiolus and fluffy blue hydrangeas take no care and bloom year after year.