The Summer of Cucumbers

It's like Red Lobster's "Summer of Shrimp" promotion...but not.  Has anyone else noticed that it's always the Summer of Shrimp according to Red Lobster?  I wish their food was as delicious as it looks on the commercials.  Damn advertising is setting the public up for disappointment when we realize that butter never splashes as elegantly as it does on TV.

But I digress.

This is the 2nd summer I've planted cucumbers in our my garden.  When I was younger I remember that we used to grow cucumbers and tomatoes in the backyard (and maybe a melon of some kind?), so I thought I'd see what I could do on my own.  Success.  We have about a billion cucumbers.  The tomatoes are mostly still green, but they're growing!  And I have 4 bell pepper plants that have actually produced fruit.  I'm amazed.

The one major issue with our garden is thieves.  I've put up some garden fencing and I attempted to have the cucumbers grow on stakes (fail.), but the vegetables are still within reach of those who want them bad enough.  Here are the culprits:

Ferocious beasts.  

But really, they do go up to the plants and pull ripe and unripe things off.  Felix enjoys cherry tomatoes and Bosco will do almost anything to steal a cucumber.  At least they haven't started eating my herb garden...yet.  

But back to my cucumbers...They grow quickly.  We eat a lot of cucumber-based dinners in the summer.  Tonight I made a Cold Cucumber Soup that was pretty good.  Next on the list is a cucumber-watermelon-mint cocktail.  Mmmmm.


And those are my thoughts on cucumbers.  You just lost precious moments of your life reading this.  I really thought I had a point when I started... :)  

Fall Food

Might as well start the blog up again, huh?


Fall is my absolute favorite season. I love the change of seasons from the scorching hot Virginia summer to the crisp, cool autumn air. I remember the smell of fall from the house where I grew up; it always smelled like leaves. We had so many oak trees in our yard that the grass was almost entirely covered with crunchy brown leaves and acorns from the beginning of fall until winter.
Now, we have a few young trees in our yard now so we have a small taste of the fall leaves without being swallowed up them.


I've been on a kick making fall foods recently. If it's orangey, warm, and pumpkin/squash-ish, I like it. Here are a few of the recipes I've tried...They're all one pot, they taste better the second day, and they're absolutely delicious. (Recipes from smittenkitchen.com-- best food blog ever.)

Winter Squash Soup
Black Bean & Pumpkin Soup
Beef Chili with Sour Cream and Cheddar Biscuits


Enjoy!

The Beauty of Crozet

On my way to the Orchard

A 10 minute drive takes you to a family owned orchard with seasonal strawberries, cherries, and peaches. Few things are better than eating a ripe peach right off the tree, still warm from the sun. I made peach pie and peach muffins, and Jeff made Bellinis with what I brought home. I love summer!