Frog Log

From A Word A Day, one of my favorite virtual visits, other than the sprouting community of "ladies food blogs". More on that later.

At a time when the bounty of summer produce is starting to pour from our gardens into celebratory meals and gatherings, consider this:

Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good. -Alice May Brock, author (b. 1941)

And here's something mighty tasty to do with that good garlic.

Beet Caviar - adapted from a Khazakstani dish
Boil one large or two medium beets until tender; remove skins
Grind one-half cup walnuts (may toast them first but not necessary)
Mince 2-4 cloves of garlic, depending on how "good" you want this dish to be!
Grate beets and mix everything together with one-quarter to one-third cup mayonnaise.

Serve as a dip or spread with some good crackers. Incredibly tasty, addictive and good!

Whew -- last post published July 9 - not good! I'm afraid I'm too busy working in the garden to stop and write about it. Since the last post we started a CSA, and now 25 beautiful boxes of produce march off to market each week to be picked up by the shareholders. It's fun; I didn't realize how invested I would feel in these good folks who trusted us enough to plunk down a major chunk of change that assures them they will eat our veggies each week. Confession: I enclose a one-page "newsletter" with each box. So if I am able to write anything, it goes there. It's not the same as blogging; I play it pretty straight and try to literarily behave myself (no commentary from Spike...yet).

We have also gained an excellent helper, Elizabeth, since the last post. She pedaled into our farm life from Ohio and has pitched in mightily from the get-go. As we move into full swing, we find seven or eight part-time helpers each Friday making salad and helping bring the harvest in.

And we need all the help we can get as Holler Fest (August 22-24) looms. It's fun making up a three-day music festival in the middle of the garden intensity...I think. Talk to me on August 21.