Ras el Hanout Chicken

The first thing we made in the tagine was chicken and vegetables. Actually, John made it. I chopped veggies. We didn't follow a recipe. We hardly ever do, but here's the gist of it.
Dredge the chicken in the Ras el Hanout. Brown in a dutch oven. Transfer to the tagine. Start stacking the veggies. We used: yellow bells, red onions, garlic, olives, chickpeas, carrots, turnips, red potatoes, lemons and parsley.
Cover and bake at 325-350 for about an hour or until chicken is to your liking.

Sorry for the crumby pictures. I'm still trying to figure out the new camera. I haven't gotten the hang of night photography. There is no photo of the finished dish. By the time it was ready, we were starving. It was delicious and we were very happy with the way our spice blend turned out.
Until next time.....

'Round Here

This week in the gardens:
1. Lettuce. Broccoli. Lemon Balm. And a white rose peaking through the trellis.
2. Clematis in full bloom. I love this variety.
3. Chamomile and Oregano.
4. Solomon Seal.
5. Variegated Ivy.
6. Columbine.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

These pictures were from this past week. The gardens are growing like crazy, despite the fact that we've had zero rain. I've been watering and mulching like a mad woman. I think we're in for a long, hot summer. Again.

From top to bottom we have:

Lavender

Parsley seedling with oyster shell marking. I use oyster shells to mark all of our plants in the garden.

Squash hill.

Dill and green onions.

Garlic blossom opening up.

Here's to a fantabulous week, hopefully with a splash of rain.

Until next time.....

Happiness is.....

Spring!

Until next time.....

Tips, Tricks 'n Recipes From the Garden

I just finished harvesting the last of our eggplants. We've been enjoying fresh ones. I do love them! We recently started growing white eggplants and I have to say that I like them better. They take less time to bake, are sweeter and have less seeds. And we get a better yield per plant.

I put up several quarts of eggplant puree in the freezer, which will be made into Baba Ghanoush later on in the year. To make the puree, I slice the eggplants lengthwise and roast, cut side down, on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until I can easily pierce them with a fork. Cool, peel, puree in blender and pack into freezer containers. To use: thaw and continue with your recipe of choice.

One thing that I am going to try this year is freezing eggplant slices to use in Eggplant Parmigiana. For those I'm going to peel the eggplants (or not), slice 1/2" thick rounds, dredge in flour, dip in a mix of 2 eggs/1T olive oil and dredge again, but this time in breadcrumbs. I'll arrange those on a baking sheet, freeze and pop in freezer bags. This 'should' work. I guess time will tell.

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Super Size It

Wow! What a month July was. I can't say that I remember one like it. It rained more than not. The temps were pretty cool at times too! And our garden has gone wild. It looks great, but almost too great. Everything is huge, like it's been super sized. Take a look and see what I mean.....

This is our Lima Bean trellis. It is so lush that the fencing is starting to buckle under the weight of the greenery. I can't imagine what's going to happen when the beans start to mature. I've trimmed it back some, but there's no stopping it.

This is our Autumn Clematis vine. I've trimmed it with garden shears once, but like the Limas, it's gone crazy. I pounded in two stakes and tied it with landscape rope. It should hold for now. I have cedar poles that I'm going to use to make a new trellis for this plant next Spring. If it can only hold on til then.

And here's those sunflowers that I've been posting pictures of. The sweet corn is over 7 feet tall. Those sunflowers are at least 10 feet tall.

But now it's August and the Dog Days of Summer are upon us. Surely this growth will slow down some. Maybe? Hopefully!

Until next time.....

In The Garden

I went out yesterday morning, while the sun was out, in search of shadows for this week's Shadow Shot Sunday photo. We've had a week of on and off clouds mixed with rain. Love it, especially for July. Here's a few things I found:

Baby Mockingbird. The look on his face is priceless. He did not move a muscle the entire time I photographed him.

Volunteer Sunflower with honeybee.

Sunflower against the bluest of blue skies.

Corn with ears.

Enjoy the weekend.

Until next time.....

In The Garden

A little rain and a lotta sunshine = a happy garden.

Celebrity Tomatoes:

Florida Butter Bean trellis:

Eggplant. I think my White Beauty Eggplant has been out running 'round:

Cayenne Peppers:


Corn Silk:

Parsley:

We've had an incredible Summer growing season, so far; which is really nice after two summers of drought.

Off to tie tomatoes~

Until next time.....

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Things are moving along quite nicely. The tomatoes, although late this year, look fab! They are loaded with green tomatoes. I may have to fry some up.

The cucumber vines are starting to climb, blossom and produce tiny cukes. Soon I'll be eating cucumber sandwiches. I tend to eat at one a day when they're in season.

The Lima beans are starting to run. I never knew that I liked Lima beans until my husband insisted upon growing them. He said that fresh beans tasted nothing like the dried ones that they sell in grocery stores. He was right. Picked green, shelled (by John while he watches football), blanched, frozen and stored in freezer containers. Love 'em!

Now, we're waiting on the rain that is predicted for tomorrow. If that doesn't happen, we'll turn on the soaker hoses. A little sunshine. A little rain. A lot of happiness.

So, how does your garden grow?

Until next time.....

Produce Inspector

Every gardener needs one! Althea got the first stage of her summer cut last weekend. Next weekend we take it down a notch. She loves it. Honest.

Have a great weekend~

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

Onion shading itself.

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Have a great week!

Until next time.....

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The memory of the Spring garden, or lack there of, is behind me now. All that rain, which still continues, is making for a beautimous Summer garden. Here's a peak around the place~
Yellow squash:

Yellow squash and zucchin row:

Pole Lima beans (protected from the rabbits):

Lavender:

How does your garden grow?

Until next time.....