[chocomouse]

I've been reading in my VT/NH gardening forums a lot this summer about squirrels and chipmunks eating the tomatoes! The comments are that it's unusual, and probably due the drought -- with no rain, no puddles, and no water in lots of usual areas. The suggested remedy is to put out some shallow pans of water for the critters. We have a drought here, but I've not had a problem.

During the off-season, I stash my tomato cages in the edge of the woods that surround our property.

[chocomouse]

Mike, that is what I make from my garden harvest - tomatoes, sweet red and/or green peppers, and onions. I'd never heard it called piperade. I freeze it plain, and add whatever seasonings depending on how I will use it -- garlic, oregano, basil, paprika, chipotle peppers, etc. It turns into marinara, "spaghetti sauce", soup, pizza sauce, salsa. I prefer to freeze rather than can the tomatoes, and I have plenty of peppers and onions ready to harvest at the same time so I add them to it now instead of needing a separate supply in the freezer or fridge year-round.

[chocomouse]

Dinner was pork shishkebobs with peppers, onions, and cherry tomatoes, plus brown rice, and summer squash sauteed in butter with lots of fresh herbs from the deck. Everything tasted better because it was picked and/or cooked in the rain!

[chocomouse]

It's 90* here now, the prediction was for 80*. At least it now cools off a lot at night. I have several baking projects planned for the coming week - rye bread, raspberry muffins, hot dog buns.

[chocomouse]

Yummy looking melon, Mike!

[chocomouse]

I think he got your order, Skeptic, thank you. I have a lot of maple recipes; if you are looking for anything specific, just ask. My very favorite is a maple vinaigrette, a very light, not too sweet dressing for spring greens. I'm going to try a new recipe soon for roasted veggies (such as carrots, squash, parsnips) with warm spices (ginger, nutmeg) and maple syrup. You can always replace some of the sugar in scones, muffins, sweet breads, with maple syrup - and remember to brush a little extra syrup on them as soon as they come out of the oven. Maple is so good in most of our traditional fall foods.

[chocomouse]

Happy Birthday, Mike!! Funny -- you told us you've been married 50 years, but not how many birthdays you've had!!!

[chocomouse]

I just froze 6 quarts of tomato sauce and 4 half-pint containers of tomato-basil soup. I still have a couple of 5 gallon pails worth of ripe tomatoes on the vine, but I think I'll take them to the local food shelf. Between the abundance of berries and tomatoes, I am running low on freezer containers; however, I just found a box of empty large Cool Whip containers that will work. We are done picking blackberries -- too much competition from the yellow jackets and their stings are very painful. I'll pick blueberries once more, maybe a quart, and remove the netting for the birds to feast. Raspberries are just approaching peak picking, and that will continue until we get a good frost, mid to late October most years.

[chocomouse]

We had calzones cooked on the grill. Excellent meal!

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[chocomouse]

I made the KAF chocolate zucchini cake - delicious! Cocoa, chocolate chips, and chocolate ganache topping.

[chocomouse]

We had salads tonight: d'Italini, seafood, and Greek. We dined in the middle of a thunderstorm with heavy winds and rain, but did not lose power.

[chocomouse]

Aaron, if your Weber is big enough, you can still put the veggies on a sheet pan, drizzle with oil and whatever seasonings, and grill them at the same time as the chicken. Just use an old sheet pan (or buy an old one at a yard sale or thrift shop) because it will probably warp and not look so great when done. Or, you could buy what I call a "grill wok", with holes in it, made special for grilling.

[chocomouse]

Major concerns in the Northeast about low supplies of heating fuel, as we approach the winter heating season. But some suppliers are saying don't worry, we're prepared.

[chocomouse]

BLTs for dinner. Easy prep!

[chocomouse]

I have a mess in the kitchen - it's the preserving season of the year! I have salsa started, with about 8 pints of chopped tomatoes draining, and jalepenos, and garlic ready to chop. I probably don't have enough cilantro still growing in my herb planter. I also have about 30 large tomatoes skinned, and ready to process with the stick blender, and then will add diced celery, bell pepper, and onion, and cook down for several hours. I need to get this done today because it is predicted to be 92 tomorrow.

I'm also in the process of making a d'Italini salad, with celery, onion, red bell pepper, summer squash and zucchini, and peas if I can find some in the freezer. Maybe add some sliced black olives, too. We'll have that with grilled pork ribs for dinner.

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