Repreive from the Heat

We have been having some rain and a reprieve from the heat.  It hasn't been much help to the garden, though.  Tomatoes have stopped ripening and just hang on the vine.  At least the ones that escape the birds, voles and rabbits.  I guess water has been hard to come by for everything.

Last week I weeded the strawberries, crabgrass was taking over.  They rewarded me by setting blossoms and fruit.  Looks like we may get a dozen more berries.  The green beans are coming out today and the bed will be prepped for a new crop.  Maybe turnips.

The okra, which had been thriving in the dry heat is now slowing up and spending more time setting blossoms.  More to look forward to.

I have been baking - made an anniversary cake for my neighbor and a practice cake for my nephews wedding in October.

My neighbor and his wife grow roses and daylilies around their house.  This was their 56th anniversary.

This will become a multi-tier birch sweetheart tree with autumn leaves accenting it.  Not perfect but at least in the right direction.  These are both 6" cakes, which is a perfect size considering how dense and rich they are.  the garden cake was a devils food pound cake with a filling of chocolate fudge, iced in vanilla buttercream lightly scented with orange.  The birch log is vanilla bean sour cream pound cake with a sour cherry filling, vanilla buttercream.  Each cake will make 12 generous slices.

green tomatoes and jalapenos

Do you know what you get when you puree 3 quarts of green tomatoes with 6 of the atomic jalapenos we grew this year?



Drain cleaner.



This was a failed attempt to make some tomato-jalapeno puree to use in chili this winter.  I was going to freeze it in portions but this stuff would have melted the plastic bag.  It had core melt-down written all over it.  If we had any bugs left in the garden this would have had them packing up and taking the evacuation option.  The small taste I had by dipping my little finger into the slurry has not only seared my mouth but I think my fingernail melted.  Two gin martinis have not erased the heat.