Blueberries, yay!
Jul. 13th, 2008 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoSince I did all the animal chores yesterday while Gary was at a Civil War re-enactment event, he was kind enough to offer to do my share today.. I took him up on it, and used the time for gardening and cooking. Did some weeding and cultivation of stuff already planted, then put in some other crops for fall harvest, including beets, chard, mustard greens, and arugula. I also discovered that blueberries and red raspberries were ripe and ready to pick. A lot more of them than I expected, in fact, nearly a quart.
I happened to look up from the garden a couple of times to notice what looked like honeybees buzzing around some wild grapevines near the fence. This seemed odd because we've been seeing very few honeybees, in part due to the widespread incidence of CCD here in the midwest. Finally I got up to investigate, only to discover that they weren't bees at all. They were Japanese beetles. Ugh. I haven't seen so many of them in one place before. They were eating the grape leaves, about which I don't care really. But when I went to pick blueberries, I discovered that they've been eating some of the blueberries as well. That I definitely find objectionable. I won't spray anything on food plants, but I may "treat" that grapevine.
Blueberries and raspberries from the garden, along with rhubarb from a friend's garden and apples from the freezer went into a bumbleberry pie when I got back into the house. That particular combination is one we really like. To be accurate, it should also include blackberries but those are not yet ripe.
Dinner ended up consisting of boneless chicken breast marinated and grilled over charcoal, served with blueberry salsa and a tossed salad of fresh romaine, tomatoes, and Vidalia onion combined with spinach-filled tortellini pasta. We had red wine. I know, you're supposed to have white with chicken but we like red, so tough. I also made blueberry iced tea.
The blueberry salsa was a new idea, based on several versions from the internet, and it was spectacularly good. I had actually bought blueberries at the supermarket yesterday specifically for this purpose (they were on sale this week) so I used those in the salsa and kept our own for the pie and to have in muffins later this week. Don't make faces at me. Blueberry salsa is really, really good. It's also good for you (full of "anti-oxidants".)
It contains fresh blueberries (some chopped up, some whole,) sweet red pepper, chopped sweet onion (I used Vidalia, but a sweet red would add more color,) a minced up jalapeño, minced cilantro leaves, fresh squeezed lime juice, and a little salt and pepper. It's purple, not my favorite color as some of you know, but I forgive it. After all, I like grapes and eggplant. It was deliciously zesty with tortilla chips and went very well with the grilled chicken. I'm sure it would work with pork too, or even just drizzled over beans and rice. The blueberries lend sweetness and fragrance and actually blend well with the onion and the hot pepper.
We weren't the only ones to have a "gourmet" dinner, I guess. It's not unusual to see signs of mice in the dead of winter here, but we've not had them in summer before. However, while I was cooking, I just happened to glance over at a stack of measuring cups by the sink and... there was a mouse sitting on top of it watching me. I calmly reached over and picked up the top measuring cup by the handle. The mouse stayed with it, and I eased my way toward the door to toss him out. About half way there, he decided to bail and leapt to the floor, landing right in front of the cat. "Well, that's the end of you, mousie," I thought. The cat remained still, and stared at it. I guess mice that fall from the sky are suspect. Sarah the Polish elkhound, unfortunately, has no such scruples and never misses a thing. She was there in a flash, grabbed Mr. Mouse, and dashed out the dog door. By the time I got to the door, she was (ugh) chewing vigorously so I think that was the end of mouse number one.
Number one? Yes, there was another. While we were eating, the cat woke up and dashed into the corner behind a side table. There was a brief scuffle, and he emerged with a second mouse in his mouth. Gary jumped up and grabbed him, carrying him to the door and putting him out, still holding said mouse tightly. We figure that one became cat dinner. I feel only slightly sorry for the mice. I don't bother them outdoors, but I don't like them in the house. When they come into a house that has two active cats and two active dogs, they make a serious error of judgement.
Gonna be pretty stiff tomorrow from all the stooping and bending, I'm sure. But we really, really enjoy fresh stuff from the garden, so it's worthwhile.
I happened to look up from the garden a couple of times to notice what looked like honeybees buzzing around some wild grapevines near the fence. This seemed odd because we've been seeing very few honeybees, in part due to the widespread incidence of CCD here in the midwest. Finally I got up to investigate, only to discover that they weren't bees at all. They were Japanese beetles. Ugh. I haven't seen so many of them in one place before. They were eating the grape leaves, about which I don't care really. But when I went to pick blueberries, I discovered that they've been eating some of the blueberries as well. That I definitely find objectionable. I won't spray anything on food plants, but I may "treat" that grapevine.
Blueberries and raspberries from the garden, along with rhubarb from a friend's garden and apples from the freezer went into a bumbleberry pie when I got back into the house. That particular combination is one we really like. To be accurate, it should also include blackberries but those are not yet ripe.
Dinner ended up consisting of boneless chicken breast marinated and grilled over charcoal, served with blueberry salsa and a tossed salad of fresh romaine, tomatoes, and Vidalia onion combined with spinach-filled tortellini pasta. We had red wine. I know, you're supposed to have white with chicken but we like red, so tough. I also made blueberry iced tea.
The blueberry salsa was a new idea, based on several versions from the internet, and it was spectacularly good. I had actually bought blueberries at the supermarket yesterday specifically for this purpose (they were on sale this week) so I used those in the salsa and kept our own for the pie and to have in muffins later this week. Don't make faces at me. Blueberry salsa is really, really good. It's also good for you (full of "anti-oxidants".)
It contains fresh blueberries (some chopped up, some whole,) sweet red pepper, chopped sweet onion (I used Vidalia, but a sweet red would add more color,) a minced up jalapeño, minced cilantro leaves, fresh squeezed lime juice, and a little salt and pepper. It's purple, not my favorite color as some of you know, but I forgive it. After all, I like grapes and eggplant. It was deliciously zesty with tortilla chips and went very well with the grilled chicken. I'm sure it would work with pork too, or even just drizzled over beans and rice. The blueberries lend sweetness and fragrance and actually blend well with the onion and the hot pepper.
We weren't the only ones to have a "gourmet" dinner, I guess. It's not unusual to see signs of mice in the dead of winter here, but we've not had them in summer before. However, while I was cooking, I just happened to glance over at a stack of measuring cups by the sink and... there was a mouse sitting on top of it watching me. I calmly reached over and picked up the top measuring cup by the handle. The mouse stayed with it, and I eased my way toward the door to toss him out. About half way there, he decided to bail and leapt to the floor, landing right in front of the cat. "Well, that's the end of you, mousie," I thought. The cat remained still, and stared at it. I guess mice that fall from the sky are suspect. Sarah the Polish elkhound, unfortunately, has no such scruples and never misses a thing. She was there in a flash, grabbed Mr. Mouse, and dashed out the dog door. By the time I got to the door, she was (ugh) chewing vigorously so I think that was the end of mouse number one.
Number one? Yes, there was another. While we were eating, the cat woke up and dashed into the corner behind a side table. There was a brief scuffle, and he emerged with a second mouse in his mouth. Gary jumped up and grabbed him, carrying him to the door and putting him out, still holding said mouse tightly. We figure that one became cat dinner. I feel only slightly sorry for the mice. I don't bother them outdoors, but I don't like them in the house. When they come into a house that has two active cats and two active dogs, they make a serious error of judgement.
Gonna be pretty stiff tomorrow from all the stooping and bending, I'm sure. But we really, really enjoy fresh stuff from the garden, so it's worthwhile.
