Johnny Jump-Up

I found this little hold-out in our yard last week. Despite several freezing nights it was still adding cheer to an otherwise dreary corner of the garden bed.

Make it Hot Hot Hot!!

Tony is heating things up tonight! He is cooking up some hot sauce as I type this. (I'm in the kitchen right now and my eyes are watering).  He also made a few shrubs-- one made with habañero peppers. He decided to use up our extra lemons and limes and made some citrus shrubs as well.

As far as cocktails,  he's thinking some sort of pineapple vodka combination with a splash of habañero shrub would be tasty. I'm excited to try the lemon shrub with whiskey and a twist. See my previous post on shrubs to get the detailed instructions. We're still using a ratio of one to one with these (one cup vinegar per cup of produce), but Tony used white balsamic, instead of apple cider vinegar, for the habañero.

Any ideas for the lime shrub?

Cooking for Baby: Butternut Squash

Iris had her first introduction to solid foods recently. We decided to start off with butternut squash and she was a big fan.  I've given a run-through of how we cooked, served, and stored the squash here for those of you that are interested.

To Prepare: Cut the butternut squash length-wise and scoop out the seeds. Set each half on a baking sheet, flesh-side up. Cook in the oven at 350 for about an hour and a half. Check at one hour as oven times vary. Run the squash through a food mill or other food processor until the squash is completely pureed. We have an OXO Good Grips Food Mill and it worked pretty well but does have several parts to clean.

To Serve: Add some milk to the squash. This helps to make it even more mushy (easier to eat) and more appetizing to the baby as it will have a more familiar taste. We first used our fingers to give her the food, as suggested in one of our baby books, but Iris was just as willing to open up for a baby spoon. You'll note in the pictures that we were using our regular dishes. I have since purchased some plastic (non-breakable) children's bowls and spoons. She was really grabbing at the dish.

To Store: Put the remaining mashed up squash into an ice-cube tray or specialized freezer tray.  We used the Green Sprouts silicone baby food freezer tray. There was exactly enough squash to fill all the spaces. After the squash is frozen pull out the cubes out and put them in a freezer ziploc for easy retrieval. The cubes should keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

The Deck Continues: Part III (The end is in sight)

Here are some more pictures from this past month. Tony and I are both back at work now but thankfully we've had some dry weekend days and progress is being made. Today the second flight of stairs is going in...

Try This! Pumpkin Spice Waffles and Whiskey Pecans

We recently tried Trader Joe's pumpkin spice pancake and waffle mix and that stuff is AMAAAZING! We topped our waffles with some whipped cream, whiskey pecans, and maple syrup. The whiskey pecans recipe came from the October/November issue of Bust Magazine, which I purchased because Mindy Kaling was on the cover. We used the left over pecans on our salad the next night. They would probably be great on anything. I would highly recommend checking out the pumpkin spice mix...I think I'll be purchasing several boxes on my next trip as this is a seasonal item. If you try this out...omit the syrup-the Pecans and whipped cream have enough sugar on their own. 

Happy (four month) Birthday Iris!

The Deck Continues: Part II

The deck is coming along. Tony is working night and day on it. His diligence and energy is impressive. His dad has been a huge help as well! I got to help build a railing the other day and it felt so great to contribute to the progress! We've still got more railings, stairs, trellises, planter boxes, and benches but I'm confident that will come together in good time. Here are a few pictures of this last phase.

Ladies in Red

My favorite garden store was giving away free lady bugs that were a little past their prime today. I let them go in our yard this afternoon. I'm hoping some of them will find some delicious buggy snacks and decide to stick around through next year.

Flowers from the Garden: The Last of the Black Eyed Susans and a New Favorite

I am intent on enjoying these last few summery days although we have technically started the fall this year. My garden has a few more blooming plants. The black eyed susans- one plant is back from last year and has tripled in size and I got a few new plants in the ground this month in hopes that they will also come back big next summer. Another, my new favorite, the purple butterfly bush- which has been growing like a weed. Technically some varieties of the butterfly bush are considered a weed and are not even allowed to be planted in certain states. But I find them to be lovely, and this bush is filling in the corner of our lot (and my flower arrangements) quite nicely.

The Deck Continues

Tony and his dad have been working tirelessly on the deck project! A few pictures below...

Deck Footings

We poured the concrete footings for the deck last week. Tony needed a fourth man so I jumped in to help out. Unfortunately this meant that I was not able to get any pictures of the cement pouring process. Here are a few pictures after the cement was poured :)