Hand in Hand

This is a Hunt's Bumblebee, according to a quick internet search. There were a number of them, just relaxing on the corn stalks this morning. These next two pictures are both praying mantis. I'm unsure of the type.  This one was neat. I only noticed it when it moved. Talk about great camouflage.  

 One of the nicest things about gardening, is seeing how many little creatures enjoy the fruits of your labor as much as you do.

Maybe you're a fan of vegetables, maybe not. If you've not had zucchini, you've most likely seen it in a grocery store. It looks similar to cucumbers. It can grow much larger, though.  Most people pick them when they are young and tender. Maybe about 6" long. This is a nice size to slice lengthwise and grill or bake. The easiest way, and probably the tastiest, is to make zucchini bread. In my house, we make chocolate zucchini bread. The family insists that it's cake, but whatever. It never lasts very long and they're eating veggies. Here's a recipe that I've made. It's quite good. I do peel the zucchini and shred it before using it in breads. I find the texture almost melts into the bread that way. No big chunks or weird textures.  You can also sautee, roast, grill, stuff and bake, shred and mix in......lots of options for how to use zucchini. It takes on the flavors you add to it, so play around with it.  I like to shred it and bag it with about 2...

I decided to grow corn this year. It's amazing to watch it grow. It starts out as this tiny seed. Then, a small green sprout pops up from the soil. After a few days, it's inches tall. As the weeks go by, it's all of a sudden knee height. More time, and as you stand there watering, you realize the stalks are taller than you. Now, it's a waiting game to see the cobs start. Now, if you've never heard of the Three Sisters method, it's a traditional Native American way of planting. The Three Sisters being corn, beans, and squash. The corn supports the beans, while the squash provides shade and weed control. Here's a link to read more in depth, if you'd like.  I planted Black Beauty zucchini and some melon seeds that I had saved. I did not plant beans. Mostly because I was curious to see how the squash and corn would do.  All in all, I would say it was very successful. The squash have done fantastic. It provides shade, which helps hold the moisture in the gro...

 Quick note: I wrote this during the spring, just so it makes sense with the temperatures.  A few mornings ago, we woke to 4 degrees outside. Today was 31. Since the temperatures are keeping me inside, I turn to my mail to find something good. Oh, lookie here! Seed catalogs!!!! This is the time of year that these catalogs start rolling in. I have had the Dixondale one for over a month, though. So, I get to flip through the pages and dream about this seasons garden and the, hopefully, bountiful harvest. If you aren’t familiar with Dixondale Farms , they are a great company to order your onions starts from. Their website has plenty of information to help you choose the right onion variety for your area. As well as info on storage potential and fertilizing/growing care. Don’t mind the mess, I only added to it. This was the onion starts that I had ordered a few years ago. 3 varieties with 1 bunch of each. Each bunch was supposed to have about 50 onions. I ended up with closer to 7...

 I’m all for barbecue chicken, but I think this recipe needs some work. 😁

 Part of gardening is actually finding ways to enjoy all your hard work. Here, building yourself a seating area. For this project, I wanted a place to sit that wasn’t on the back porch. A place I could have my coffee, but away from the house enough to not hear the tv or whatever noise was happening inside. We went to a landscape business that carried different flagstones and blocks, not just pots and gravel. We found these landscape blocks that we liked. Bonus, they were marked down to clear them out. (Hint: look for markdowns or clearance blocks if you don’t have your heart set on a specific style.) Since we went into this with a vague idea of what we wanted, our options were totally open. We liked the shape and the price, so purchased about 55 of these blocks. They were about 8″ wide by 12″ long. This whole area ended up being about 7′ at its widest and maybe 12′ long. A helper is always a good idea. First step is to mark your spot and clear out the grass. Fill in with sand and p...

 Some days you want an easy snack, but not necessarily just cheese and crackers. So, you head to the fridge to see what you have for leftovers. We made pizza last night, so we had chopped black olives in the fridge. Hmmmmm…..tapenade! If you aren’t familiar with it, tapenade is basically a spread/paste made with olives, capers, and a few other ingredients. If you search online, you’ll find a lot of different recipes. Some are more intricate, while others are simpler. For this throw together tapenade, we’re staying fairly simple. Black Olives (pitted) Green pimento olives (pitted) marinated artichoke hearts capers olive oil champagne vinegar dried thyme garlic black pepper I used what I had on hand. If you have lemon juice, use that instead of vinegar. No thyme, you can use parsley or even oregano. Only one color of olives, that’s fine. I’ve even seen comments about adding sun-dried tomatoes. This is a pretty forgiving spread. A food processor is handy, but I used a small blender. T...

 Finding your style depends on a few things. We’ll keep it simple to begin. Let’s say you are new to gardening. Do you have lots of room for plants or just a small spot? A yard or just a patio area? Are you wanting to plant a garden for food to eat, flowers to enjoy the sight and smell, or trees and shrubs to take up space or block a view? For this example, we’ll say we have a small patio type area. We would like to grow tomatoes and maybe some lettuce and herbs. A few flowers to brighten up the area would be nice, too. First step is to find pots for your plants. You can go to your local department store garden center or a local nursery. Even 5-gallon buckets will work. A 5-gallon bucket can handle 1 tomato plant, for example. So, keep that in mind for size. Lettuce and flowers can be planted in smaller planters that can be round, oval, oblong, and even square. Then you’ll need to find potting soil. Easy to find bags of soil at the same places you’re finding pots. The options norma...

  Welcome. My name is Lanae. I’m here to share about gardening and cooking and all that goes with that. For me, and plenty of others, these things go hand in hand. Gardening has many types and styles. It isn’t just veggies or herbs. Let’s try growing okra or cantaloupe or loofahs. Maybe something you’ve never tried before. Make it an adventure. I enjoy cooking and eating. Kitchens are meant to be fun. Making chocolate from scratch on a whim? Why not? We can have detailed recipes or dishes that come from a wild idea. It’s good to play with your food. I plan on sharing things I’ve learned about gardening and cooking. Mistakes, failures, successes, lucky breaks. Occasional antidotes and silliness from daily life experiences. I hope you find something helpful, maybe the motivation to try something new, or just get a laugh from it. Either way, let’s learn together and enjoy the fun. See you around!