Kitchen Garden Goodies

Boy, I love this time of the year. There’s nothing better than going into the back yard for homegrown veggies and herbs. Tonight I found lots of mint and a Sugar Crunch cucumber to make some spa water, sweet basil, yellow squash, Sunchocola tomatoes, Tweety sweet peppers, and Mariachi hot peppers. Oh yum, time to make something for dinner!

There’s a New Butterfly in Town

In my last post I talked about the back porch and how I eat breakfast and dinner out there. Well, while eating dinner tonight, I spotted this large beauty on the magenta-colored butterfly bush and had to grab my camera before the opportunity flew away.

I really need to get a field guide on butterflies and moths. I think...yes, I think, this is a type of Spicebush Swallowtail. I have seen Spicebush Swallowtails in the garden before, but this is the first time I have seen one this year. Mostly I have seen the Cabbage moths and Tiger Swallowtails.

The funny thing is, I was just talking to my friend Doug at work about Spicebush Swallowtails. We were looking at pictures of them as caterpillars online. They look like cartoon characters. I think it would be neat to see one in person, however, I must admit I prefer the butterfly version.

Doug takes amazing macro photos of insects and posts them to his instagram. He posts a new photo every day. He is in Florida this week and has three particular butterflies he is hoping to see and capture digitally. I really hope he succeeds!

The Back Porch: My Place of Solace

I have mentioned several times in my blog about having coffee on the screened-in back porch in the morning or about having dinner out there in the evenings. It is my place of solace and peace...unless the neighbors are out. The neighbor on one side likes to blast bluegrass music and the neighbor on the other side has a noisy kid. But in the mornings, when no one is outside yet, it is heavenly. I sip my hot coffee, look out over the garden, think about this and that...usually my mind wonders to the garden, though. Feeling good about what has been accomplished so far, but noticing what still needs to be done. Taking note of what is looking good, as well as what isn’t looking good. But generally, I am just enjoying the view.

I see many creatures in the garden each morning. Several types of birds (including hummingbirds and woodpeckers), the neighbor’s cats, butterflies, bees, dragonflies, and more. Margaret Roach’s June 23rd podcast was about how the yard can be a “living landscape,” and mine certainly is just that. From the worms in the soil, to the birds and bats in the trees (just spotted a bat the other night), these creatures find THEIR solace in our gardens.

My own cats also find peace here. They love spending the mornings on the porch with me. Looks like Molly has spotted one of the neighbor’s cats here...

Here she has her eye on some birds...

This is Molly and Izzy’s favorite place to be, as well as mine.

It has taken me nine years to get to the point where I feel fairly satisfied with the garden. It is such a great feeling to be able to sit here and enjoy the results of all of those years of hard work. A gardener’s work is never done, though. There is weeding and more projects always on the horizon. But we all need time to sit back, relax, and feel good about the little slice of heaven, the tiny place of peace, we have created. After all, this is why we garden.

The Mysterious Yellow Mushroom

While I was drinking coffee on the screened-in back porch this morning, I spotted this yellow thing sticking out of the pot of my Haworthia (right corner).

I had to get a closer look. What the heck was that thing??? Time to get out the macro extension tubes for my camera...

Ah-ha, a mushroom! A very brightly colored mushroom, at that. I had to look it up. I had never seen this before. It turns out these yellow mushrooms are called Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, aka Lepiota lutea, the yellow houseplant mushroom. After some reading I discovered that these can pop up in old soil or pots with bad drainage. Well, this Haworthia has been in this pot with no drainage holes for two years now. Guess that will do it. I don’t water it much at all knowing it doesn’t have any drainage, but I guess there is enough moisture in there to cause this mushroom to sprout. As it matures, it will change to more of a cream-colored, umbrella-like mushroom. Right now, I gotta say, I think it’s kinda cute. I even feel like giving it a name. Seriously, look at it. Look at that color and those little fuzzy things on top. It’s absolutely adorable.

According to the all-knowing, powerful internet, the only way to get rid of these things is to repot – if using the same pot, clean it with a bleach solution, and use all new fresh soil. However, from the sounds of it, they may come back. It sounds like it would be a good idea to get rid of it before the umbrella top forms that releases the spores. Poor little Freddie. I guess I have to get rid of him before he turns into a bunch of Freddie Juniors. It was nice knowing you Freddie. Thanks for introducing me to something new.

Recipe from the Garden: Tomato Salad with Corn-Tarragon Vinaigrette

Tonight’s dinner consisted of Hunter’s corn on the cob, a baked potato, and this yummy Tomato Salad with Corn-Tarragon Vinaigrette – a recipe I had gotten from my mom (she got it from the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper). Some garden ingredients include tarragon, arugula, and tomatoes. I used my Sunchocola cherry-sized tomatoes.

Tomato Salad with Corn-Tarragon Vinaigrette

For the Vinaigrette:
1 ear fresh corn, shucked
3 T. Champagne vinegar
1/8 c. minced red onion
1 T. minced fresh tarragon
1 t. honey or to taste
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & cracked pepper

For the Salad:
3-4 lbs. tomatoes, mixed colors, types (grape, cherry, heirloom), whole if small, sliced if large
12-16 oz. arugula, rinsed and drained
Cubed fresh mozzarella and/or avocado (optional) (I used mozzarella balls)
Fresh basil leaves (this is my mom’s addition)

1. For the vinaigrette: Cut a thin slice from the thick end of the cob for a flat base. Stand the cob on that end in a shallow bowl. With a sharp knife, cut corn off the cob. Reserve.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, onion, tarragon, honey, salt and pepper to taste. Blend well. Stir in the reserved corn. Adjust seasoning, adding extra honey, if desired. If not using at once, cover and refrigerate. Whisk or shake the dressing vigorously just before serving.

3. For the salad: In a large, shallow bowl, combing the tomatoes, arugula, and mozzarella and/or avocado. Toss gently and dress with the vinaigrette.

(My notes: I don’t like soggy salads, so I add the dressing at the last minute and don’t use a ton of it. Also, I cut the avocado at the last minute so it stays fresh.)


This salad is what turned me onto arugula and basil together. I absolutely LOVE that combination of flavors. I also love the sweet, fresh, un-cooked corn in this recipe. I had never eaten raw corn before and it turns out it is a great salad ingredient. The dressing is mild, but tasty, and lets the flavor of the other fresh ingredients stand out.

I make this meal, or a similar one, for myself and Brian about once a week or once every other week in the summer. Sometimes instead of the salad with greens we do a caprese salad.

P.S. In case you haven’t noticed, I love cheese. I think cheese shows up in just about every recipe that I have put on here. I am a cheese freak, a cheese-aholic, life just wouldn’t be worth living without cheese. It’s a wonder I don’t have a cheese blog. But Madame Fromage already does a fabulous job of that.

The Kitchen Garden in July

Hard to believe July is almost over. Goodies from the kitchen garden in July included the first of the cherry-sized tomatoes, lettuces, sorrel, basil, parsley, garlic chives, cucumbers, and yellow squash.

It has been great having both the Red Rubin and the Sweet Basil. I have found that a really great salad combination is arugula and basil. The flavors go together so well. Also in this picture is Sorrel, which I love also in salads.

This adorable little pepper is a variety called Sweet Tweety. It should turn yellow, hence the Tweety reference.

Speaking of yellow, I have two Yellow Squash plants. I have gotten a couple of squashes so far, but they looked like they were getting powdery mildew just like last year. I sprayed them with an organic spray and hope that stops the spread of it and will save my precious plants.

Look at all of those squash blossoms. I can’t remember if this is the Yellow Squash or the Acorn Squash.

I had several Sugar Crunch Cucumbers in July and even used some for making dill pickles. Hopefully they turn out well.

Still enjoying Gourmet Mix and Caesar’s Favorite lettuces.

Yet again, the blackberry bush has tons of little berries, but not fully formed berries. Actually, this is looking more like a raspberry bush here. I’m sure the birds are enjoying these.

When Brian saw my Solanum quitoense (naranjilla) plant in this blue pot, he said, “Wow, that looks dangerous.” Dangerous-looking indeed. This is supposed to form a citrus-flavored fruit. Will be interesting to see if that happens.

It is a really interesting-looking plant. I had first seen it in the Burpee Kitchen Garden at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and thought it was the coolest plant. I love the dinosaur-like, thorny leaves and the purple stems with little hairs.

Some things I’m hoping to harvest in the coming months: Acorn Squash and String Beans (on right in this picture). The plants look nice and healthy.

More Canning Fun: Boozy Canned Peaches

July seems to be canning month for me. I’m hooked now. I had planned to do my canned peaches last weekend, when I had also planned to do the dill pickles – but ended up not having time for either. In my previous post, I mentioned doing the dill pickles. Tuesday I did the canned peaches because it was obvious they were ripe and I didn’t want them to go bad. Yet again, I used a recipe from Marisa McClellan’s book “Food In Jars.” The recipe is called “Boozy Canned Peaches.” The ingredients are yellow peaches (obviously), water, sugar, and bourbon. I bought bourbon that wasn’t the cheapest, but also wasn’t the most expensive. I can’t wait to try these.

The only thing about Marisa’s book is that I can’t seem to find any information about how long to wait before you can open your canned goodies. Googling around, it is my best guess that these will be ready in a week or two...????

For more of Marisa’s recipes, check out her website.

P.S. No, I don’t actually grow peaches. I used “Jersey Fresh” yellow peaches from my favorite local farm market, Hunter’s.