Garden Death Match Poll

Vote for your favorite in the first round of an Herb Smackdown between 16 of the most popular.  Tonight we start with two heavy hitters.  Basil vs. Oregano.  The eldest spawn was so impressed by the scientific thought process and time we put into the bracket, he insisted we post a picture.

I guess this means he has gotten over the broccoli debacle and is reading the blog again.

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day.  Farmer Ted mowed the backyard while I got my tan on with my new toy, the Miststand.  Hell Yes.  You hook this bad boy up to the hose, and get treated to a continuous spray of fine mist.  Perfect for laying out on the back deck in the heat of the summer when you don't have a pool, creek or ocean handy to jump in.  Then I dragged Ted to cram ourselves into the Apple store in the King of Prussia Mall with the rest of the planet.  I dread the Apple store.  Why subject the poor man to that?  Because my piece of shit iPhone wasn't working properly.  Again.  I figured Father's Day at 5:30 would be a ghosttown.  Boy, was I wrong.  It all worked out for him though.  We ended up getting our Growler on at Wegman's on our way home.  Peel and Eat Shrimp and Steamed Clams were for supper.

We have exciting new GrowDammit developments...

Tonight for dessert, we had a Growdammit Fig with balsamic vinaigrette.  I'm not going to post a pic b/c the vinaigrette doesn't pour fluidly, rather it drops out of the cruet.  It's yummy, but pics of it on a plate look like blood splatters.

Next...I'm sure we'll come up with something.  The Dragon is back from his weeklong sojourn at the house with air conditioning.  He has a lot of patrolling to do.  And yes, you read that right...our house does not have central air.

It wasn't me.

Did somebody step on a duck?  Who let out the barking spider?  Okay, so I have a pair of farting flip-flops.  Sometimes they make a flatulent sound when air gets between the sole of my foot and the top of the flop.  I swear.  Anywho, the Wannabes love potty humor.  We also have a remote control fart machine.  I highly recommend you get one too.  It's a great social experiment.

One time in Disneyworld, I was hangin' with my friends the Badelves and I put the receiver in my bag and let the Badelf spawnette have the remote.  She went to town with it.  I'm sure we offended people, but hey we had fun.  Another time, we were walking around downtown Charleston and the eldest spawn (who was about 8 at the time) put the receiver in his pocket.  Just watching people react was a whole day's worth of entertainment.  They either act like they didn't hear a thing.  This is great.  Or, they laugh.  The best is the look of revulsion...at the 8 year old.  I just love watching people.

Alright, enough of the fluff.  Today saw the Wannabes make what is now a weekly field trip to the Home Depot.  Tomato cages were on the list.  We also are pleased to announce the addition of the youngest spawn's Bog Garden to the GrowDammit Farm.

Tonight, the eldest spawn decided he needed a break from his weeklong vacation at his grandmother's pool and came home to spend some time with "us" (e.g., his PS3).  To celebrate, Farmer Ted got his grill on.  The man can cook.

Those steaks smelled so good, I almost became a carnivore again.  I had a stuffed pepper instead.  We also had Growdammit Lettuce for a side salad.

Next.  We have a couple of Guest Garden features on the horizon.  And, I still owe you a poll for the Herb Bracket.  Alas, my ass is parked with a glass of wine on the back deck and the bracket is upstairs so the wine wins and no poll tonight.

GrowDammit Curry

Last year I was at the garden center and they had curry plants that were half dead and on major sale, so I bought two.  I really bought them on a lark b/c their leaves were a really pretty soft shade of green.  For contrast, I put one in the perennial garden and one in a container with other flowers.  The one in the container did not over-Winter, but to my surprise this year the one in the garden came back.  Tonight, we decided to cook with it.  I read online that it really doesn't replace curry powder or paste in a dish, but if you saute it in a bit of oil before you cook your aromatics it adds a nice flavor to them.

Prep...

The herb on the left is the fresh curry, on the right we have some thai basil that was generously donated to the GrowDammit garden along with a delicate, edible marigold by our friend good friend Jill.  Thanks Jill!

And without further ado, dinner tonight...

GrowDammit Curried Shrimp

Eat your hearts out.  Farmer Ted's getting good with the expensive ass camera don't you think?

Next...I promised you a poll.  Still working on it.  And, a Mohawk for the eldest spawn.

Have you seen my Wiener?

Dog that is.  Here is a day in the life of Rufus.

And here is the Dragon "on patrol," which is what he would like us to believe he does all day.

Without fail, every time we pull into the driveway he runs to greet us and then makes a beeline to the groundhog hole.  Not sure what happened to good ol' Phil, but he hasn't made an appearance lately.  The neighbor down the way said something about trying to trap it.  I'm going to go with that scenario, and not ask any questions.  Still...Twinkletoes wants to remind us that he's on top of things. Real or imaginary.

The youngest spawn graduated from the 5th grade yesterday.  He still has a week of school though.  Hello cruel world.  He's seriously pissed.  He reasons that he's done his time, graduated and made the honor roll.  Isn't that enough?  I told him to run for the School Board.

On the GrowDammit menu tonight...

Pea Soup

It was delish.

Last night...

GrowDammit Stuffed Shrooms

Next...Farmer Ted is starting to learn how to use the damned expensive camera we own.   And, the herb bracket poll will start.  I'm hoping this will eclipse March Madness.

Shoplifting

No, not us.  We may act unseemly, but that is some low-rent shit.  We were leaving Wegman's tonight after getting our Growler on and food shopping when we spied two cops going through a Walgreen's bag of  one sobbing woman.  I just can't think of justification  to commit a crime.  Bribery?  Robbery?  Is the possibility of going to jail really worth the crime?  When my dad was first in the SC State Senate a bunch of legislators were taken down as part of an FBI sting.  Taking $1,000 bribes.  These people went to jail.  Ruined their lives, their businesses, their families...for $1,000?  Crazy.  And, people are so brazen.  We were in Target a few weeks ago when Ted saw a woman breeze through the clothing department with a dress in her hand, put it on over her clothes and walk right out of the store.

I must confess to shoplifting once in my life.  I was 5 or 6ish, and my grandmother and I were in the Red & White on the Isle of Palms after church (at the Holy Cross) one Sunday.  I wanted a piece of penny candy...I think it was Bazooka, or maybe Double Bubble.  Marie said "No."  I wasn't taking "No" for an answer, so I grabbed a couple pieces in the checkout line and shoved them in my pockets.  We got back to the grandparents homestead on Oak Harbor Boulevard and my grandmother wanted some answers as to where I got the mouthful of gum I was chewing.  Next thing you know, she marched my little ass back down to the Red & White to fess up to the manager.  Thinking back, I'm sure she called him in advance because he was NOT nice at all about me stealing and even talked about calling the police (my grandmother was the clerk down at City Hall).  I'll tell you what, to this day I wouldn't even consider taking something without paying for it.  I even feel guilt if I get home from shopping and have something in my stash that I wasn't charged for.

What the hell does this have to do with gardening?  Nothing, but we did get our garden on today.  More weeding and mulching.  We planned next year's garden, and some movement and logistics of this year's that need to happen.  I got a mani/pedi, and Farmer Ted took a nap in which he dreamed that Obama moved into the hood and they sat around and shot the shit.  Apparently, I got home from the salon right as he was asking about the White House Garden.  I'll let him fill you in on the lack of security.  Oh, we paid for all of our groceries.

Next...Cold Pea Soup and 5th Grade Graduation.

Feeling the Burn

We finished mulching the gardens around the house today.  We're hoping the aches & pains are worth the effort.  I think it looks awesome.  We mulched around the entire house, but the perennial garden is the prettiest.

Tomorrow we mulch the orchard and weed the veggies.  Maybe we'll finally get to the Wienergate video highlighting the Dragon's antics whenever we pull up in the driveway.

To the Batcave

Ted has installed amber light bulbs in the fixtures hanging over my kitchen sink.  He likes them b/c they give off what he calls "softer light."  It's what I call the Hannibal Lechter Lair Look.  Oh well, he likes them.  He's the one up at 4am.  He fixes my kids breakfast and lunch, so that I get to sleep in.  He gets to keep the creepy lights.  We have at night taken to referring to the Kitchen as the Batcave.  Ted will bust out  w/ "Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na Batman!"  We found a small plastic Batman figurine that has taken up residence in the Dining Room window.

I have never had a bat inside my house, well this house anyway, until last night. Go figure. We're chillaxing on the deck, listening to tunes, watching the fireflies, wondering why we haven't really seen any bats.  The next thing you know, the youngest spawn comes flying out of the house yelling to Ted that there's a bat.  We look in the windows, and sure enough a bat is flying around.  Inside.  Ted opens the slider to the Kitchen and out flies the bat.  Straight for me.  Okay, the eldest spawn informed me after he stopped laughing hysterically at me that it wasn't really flying anywhere near me.  I also learned that if I'm ever attacked at home, it won't do any good to scream.  Not one neighbor took even a mild interest in my welfare.  Thanks neighbors.  Rufus Dragon took no notice of the bat either.  His ass was parked in the A/C, and I don't think even a big ol' ham would've roused him.

The Dragon beating the heat.

Salsa Verde:

5 or 6 tomatillos
a couple of hot chilis (serrano, jalapeno, poblano - you can stick to one type or mix them)
a couple of garlic cloves, unpeeled
cilantro
white onion
lime
salt

Roast the tomatillos, garlic and poblano at 425 degrees until the skin of the tomatillos start to blister and peel.  Let cool and take the skins off of the tomatillos, garlic and peppers.  Core and de-seed the tomatillos and peppers.  Throw that into a food processor or blender with the rest of the ingredients, and pulse until it's the consistency of salsa verde.

Next...I dunno, but if we have another bat incident I will torch the house and move.  I like bats, but they don't make good bedfellows.

Day of Reckoning

The eldest spawn wants to know what the hell he did to you people?

He actually was a pretty good sport about it.

The Dragon was too.

The youngest spawn made tracks.

We harvested some figs.

Next...Still owe you a salsa verde recipe.  And, we have yet to get the video we need for Weinergate.  Also, considering working on an herb bracket for the next few polls.

Welcome to the World Mallory Margaret!

My little sis' had her baby girl today, and made me a Favorite Aunt for the 9th time.  That's right, I have 9 nieces and nephews (not all from the same sister) and my father has 11 grandchildren.  Having 6 brothers and sisters means that there is usually a baby to cuddle or a toddler to tickle or a snot-nosed brat to tease.  Just kidding kiddos...none of you are brats, so far.

Too bad Blogger sucks, and we can't upload pics right now b/c today was broccoli day.  It's also too bad I'm tired, so anyone who was interested in the salsa verde recipe will have to wait on that as well.

Tonight we're just hangin' on the deck and watching the fireflies.

Tomorrow...more mulch and maybe some pictures and Weinergate "doggy style."

Finally, RIP to my other sister's golden retriever Graham.  You were one cool dog and will be missed.

I have a confession to make...

...about my love affair with Salsa Verde.  I've been all about it lately.  So, we were pretty excited yesterday to add tomatillo plants to the GrowDammit mix.

Even though we harvested a truckload of lettuce yesterday, we still have plenty...

We are looking forward to...

and

and

and

The eldest spawn is NOT looking forward to broccoli week.

These



are really, really good.

New yard art for the wind chime tree...

Next...Farmer Ted vs. the Shitton of Mulch.  And, Mushrooms stuffed with GrowDammit Creamed Spinach.

Bounty

It was a busy day at the GrowDammit household.

The bitter greens and green leaf lettuce saw their final spring harvest today.  They bolted in the heat wave, and were not producing much.  Fear not, they'll reappear in the Fall.  And, it made way for some things to be moved and a couple of additions.

Rufus Dragon was not unchallenged.  A gray cat decided to drop by for a visit.  The Dragon went tearing down the steps to the driveway.  The cat got it's hackles up.  When Rufus saw that, he skidded to a halt.  And then dealt with the situation the best he knew how...

"Maybe if I turn my back on it and act as if it's not there, it'll go away."

Next...What's left growing.  What's new to grow?  And...Hey Eldest Spawn, would you like a side of broccoli with your broccoli?

Rufus vs. the Hornet...

...and Ted vs. the Camera.  This was not supposed to be the subject of this post.  The subject was supposed to be Rufus vs. the Rabbit, Part II; however, Rufus had a different idea.

Farmer Ted spied a rabbit eyeing up the back garden, and since Rufus was nowhere to be found he chased it off into the neighbors yard.  Then, when Rufus showed back up we encouraged him to "go get the rabbit...get him."  Hey, if we say that phrase with "squirrel" he takes off like a shot.  It's Pavlovian I guess, and specific to only one species.  Or maybe, he's just gotten tired of the game (because we like to send him tearing out into the yard even if there isn't a squirrel).  Whatever the case, "rabbit" only earned us a blank stare.  Ted heads out to the backyard to get a picture of the rabbit, so we can blog about Rabbits-2, Twinkletoes-0.

*notice no pic of the rabbit*

Right about then, Rufus heard a buzzing noise.  He rushed over to investigate, and got stung on the nose.  So here's the dog flailing around, swatting his nose.  He's barking at the hornet, gets stung again, flails around some more and then takes off into the yard.

*notice no video of the Dragon*

At least now we know that there's a hornet's nest in the grill.

Next...Irrigation.

A Double Celebration.

My baby is 12 today.  I like having a child with a birthday that sometimes falls on Memorial Day.  It makes me all the more thankful for those who have and who do serve in our military.  Your selfless courage means that the ones I love the most can sleep peacefully at night.

Happy Bday Youngest Spawn!  I hope you enjoyed your weekend long bday extravaganza.

On the GrowDammit front, we did some reorganization.  Some of the colder weather greens have run their course, so those got pulled.  Some stray tomato seedlings got planted to see what they'll do.  The okra, that was suffering due to too much shade got moved to a sunnier spot as did the asparagus and strawberries.  We threw some sunflower, cosmos and gourd seeds in various places to see what would happen.  I have a really pretty perennial garden, but I really want a cutting garden too.  Farmer Ted spent a lot of the day cleaning up my $1 Jag.  It looks great.  (I guess we need some before and after shots.)

For supper, we had blackened shrimp over grits cakes with sides of GrowDammit spinach and collards.

Now...chillin' on the back deck.  Next...will the eldest spawn have to choke down broccoli without cheese sauce for a week?  He implores you to vote.  Actually he wants to stage a protest because "Why isn't pork a choice?"