Today gave us one big bowl of romas, the last of the black krim tomatoes
and the first of the bean harvest.
The stores have switched over from summer and back to school merchandise and are filled with autumn, Halloween, and harvest themed products. It certainly still feels like summer but these tomatoes and beans are harvest blessings in my book. Feeling thankful.
This morning I slinked along. Ever so slowly I accomplished all the essential morning chores before I grabbed a cup of coffee and two slices of toast with blackberry jam. Since the heat wave hit I've been battling some serious sinus pressure and congestion but despite the incredible heat little Abe and I headed out back with our morning treats. He sat in his little green chair and I in mine. My tan little boy wore a simple pair of navy shorts, no shirt. He looked like every wonderful moment I can remember from my childhood; sun kissed skin, golden tinged hair, and the look of a well lived summer all over him.
We sat in the hot morning sun listening to the gentle breeze rustle the leaves on every tree. The birds were at work singing their morning tunes as usual despite the unusual temperature. The tomato garden in all of it's splendor spread out before the both of us and neither he nor I mumbled a word as we sat and ate.
I realized in that moment that I was experiencing perfection, pure simple wonderful perfection. A quite hot summer morning just relaxing with my son. Both of us enjoying the fruits of our labor, having fought the blackberry bushes together to collect the treasure. We then turned the fruits into the delectable jam. And now here we were, silent, together, enjoying the treat on such a splendid summer morning right alongside the garden we've so diligently tended to all summer long. These moments don't last long, but in them I find myself overcome with pure joy. I am forced to stop and think, to smile greatly, and to realize again each time, "this is life at it's finest!"
And now I document the garden growth.
First tomato turning red
Pie pumpkin plant in front.
Bidwell Casaba melon in back.
One of two bean plants.
I planted the seeds a little late this year but they should still do great.
One month of sunflower growth.
These are two different plants. The photo in the upper right had corner is the first sunflower sprout just over a month ago.
This year was my first attempt at beans. I chose a pole bean variety and plopped four beans in the ground next to my fence. Only one grew so I sewed two more beans. Something at one of them so I planted one more. In the ended three little plants began to grow next to the fence. These three plants seemed to take forever before they began actually climbing the fence. I wondered if we really would ever have actual beans on these plants. Before too long they took off and my fence AND the neighboring sunflower were covered in beans. Who knew a sunflower would make such a great bean pole? I love the way the plants look on the fence. I might plant more next year just for decoration :)
I've cut the head off the sunflower but I left the stalk and few leave in place for the beans.
See the stalk in there?
Turns out my husband and son aren't very big fans of beans. None the less I'm very proud of these green beauties. THIS is today's harvest alone. I'm planning on freezing most of these today.
Shooting for a no spend day here today, unless I run to the store to spend another $10 on the 10-items-for-$10-get-the-11th-item-free sale. There's a bottle of apple juice that normally costs over $2 and English muffins that normally cost around $3 in the sale. I'm having a hard time justifying not going back today to get a few more of these.
Tonight's dinner was one of the best dinners of my life. Sounds like a bit of an exaggeration but this dinner was packed full of flavor, nutrition, pride, accomplishment, and blissful satisfaction.
Today's harvest
After planting all the seeds, endlessly watering them, watching the beautiful plants grow, and eagerly awaiting all the fruits and veggies tonight is the kind of night a gardener relishes.
Wild goose
Lightly steamed green beans
Fresh sliced tomatoes
Green tomato chutney
and
A wild rose from our rose bush for atmosphere
I am happy! And may I just give another shout out to Frugally Challenged for the chutney inspiration and for letting me know that its recommended to be eaten along side meat. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, the goose didn't turn out gamey AT ALL this time. So, so, so delicious!
Spending rundown today: $0. NO SPEND day 66 for the year. Side note: tonight's dinner cost NOTHING!
My budget for the month is $513.62 which leaves $392.58
Average daily spending for 2015: $18.04
Only for my own reminder I seared each side of the goose in a hot pan with oil, 3 minutes each. Took the breast out, deglazed the pan with chicken broth, turned the heat back on, returned the meat to the pan and cooked the breast for 15 minutes with a cover on (making sure less than 1/3 of the meat was submerged in broth) and turned every few minutes. Then removed from heat and let rest for 5 minutes (probably should have let rest a bit longer).
It's been cold and rainy for a few days now; not good weather for watermelon but so far my one gorgeous melon is holding in there, still growing, and the heat is supposed to return here shortly.
The three bean plants are filling up with beans now. These beans have yet to make their way to a dinner plate as I keep picking and eating them fresh. I LOVE them! The sunflower was planted directly next to them and was decimated by bugs and squirrels but nothing has even so much as touched the beans. Hooray!
On the tomato front we're up to 208 red ripe romas picked from my four plants. One of our dogs picks about 4 to 6 fruit a day with his snappy little jaws. It could just be coincidence but I'm pretty certain the tomatoes help with the joint pain in his hips so I can't bring myself to stop him. In other words I've lost a great deal of tomatoes to the dog which I have not kept track of. I also didn't tally the ones I used for the green tomato chutney (due to the other dog) or the ones that I gave to my neighbor.
We made pizza again today. For the record peeling the tomatoes is worth all the work just to get to see the little guy squishing them all with his hands; again the instructions for the pizza sauce specifically say to crush the tomatoes with your hands. Just being honest, crushing tomatoes in ones hands is the neatest feeling ever. He was skeptical at first but he LOVED helping make the pizza sauce/ squishing the tomatoes with his little hands.
That is today's garden update. Fall is certainly in the air. I leave you with one of little Abe's very favorite songs. He only knows it from the YellaWood commercials. I'm not entirely sure why but he just loves this song:
The sun comes up and the sun goes down
work away, work away
Well clear that acre, stake the claim
Gather up the timber, tie that chain
Cut that line, sand the plain
Sing a little song and do it all again
The sun comes up and the sun goes down
work away work away
Well haul the lumber, lift that frame
Get a little shut eye and do it all again
The sun comes up and the sun goes down
Work away work away
