Trumpet Shaped Flowers, Pumpkins, Salsa

Today I noticed some new flowers blooming in the garden, some lovely late summer trumpet-shaped blossoms. Of course we see lots of hummingbirds visiting these flowers, but I also like to watch the bees climb in and tunnel down to the nectar. I looked up why flowers form this tunnel shape, and it has to do with the flowers evolving to direct the pollinators to exactly the right spot in the flower. If the shape is a narrow tunnel, there's only one route to the goods. The bees can't help but get covered in pollen.



The pumpkins are looking beautiful. They are smallish, maybe as large as a volleyball. I've never grown them before, and while the vines are seriously too prickly to handle, the fruit production is very satisfying. These have a lovely network of veins, I wonder if they will eventually become fully orange, or stay lined? These are a variety that can be used for cooking OR carving. Homemade pumpkin in our pies this year.


This is a lousy picture, but the tomatillos are looking like fairy lanterns. I squished one, and there is nothing inside yet. I guess the fruit grows in the protected wrapping. I can't wait to taste one. This is another vegetable I've never grown before.


I made salsa again today. Six large tomatoes including juice and seeds, two jalepenos (ribs and seeds removed because I'm a wimp), one anaheim chili, half an onion, a large handful of cilantro, lime juice, and plenty of salt. This time I chopped it all by hand rather than using the food processor, and I liked the chunky texture much better.


I enjoyed it on a taco salad tonight, while the rest of the family had tacos. Collards from the garden were the base of my salad. (Barbara, if you're reading this, yes, that is the pottery bowl you gave me 20 years ago, I use it ALL THE TIME.)

I also realized my stock bag in the freezer was full, so that meant it was time to make bone broth. I put bones, offal, carrot tops, veg peelings, whatever I've got, in the pot, and cover it with water. I add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to help leach the nutrition from the bones. And today I also added lots of herbs from the garden.



I cook my broth for two days and nights, in the oven at 225 degrees. This causes all of the gelatin/collagen to leave the bones and get into the broth. (The bones should crumble when it's done.) Then I strain it, and we have Italian Wedding Soup (meatballs, greens, and parmesan) or homemade Pho, with pork, greens, fish sauce, and rice noodles. We all look forward to this meal, and there's always leftover broth for other recipes.

Summer cooking, simple and delicious.

Canoeing, Hiking, Eating

We've had a wonderful past few days. Some young friends of ours came to stay with us; they are game for anything, so we did everything! Our first day, we traveled up to Healdsburg and went canoeing on the Russian River. It was a gorgeous day, foggy at first, with the sun breaking through about noon. We took five hours to paddle about nine miles. We stopped several times to swim and float on the rapids. The river had a good deal more water than I expected, which was encouraging, and we didn't 'ground' ourselves at all, but by the end of the route, we were extremely tired and sore. It was a great, hard, exhilarating day.


Today we went hiking, geocaching, swimming, and watched a movie, in between trampolining in the back yard and 'Just Dance' on the Wii. There was beautiful hiking in Shell Ridge, with plenty of rock climbing.


Tonight, I'm exhausted, so dinner is simple. Grilled steak, with the first corn from the garden, as well as some sweet peppers, which will be sautéed in olive oil.


Friends are fabulous, adventures are great, and dinner from the garden is glorious.

Cucumbers Gone Crazy

The cucumber vines have gone completely nuts, producing huge amounts of fruit. I decided to make  a cucumber and tomato salad from the garden, with mint from the herb spiral, and added kalamata olives, feta, olive oil, and lemon juice. I want it to sit overnight and have it for a picnic lunch tomorrow (we're going canoeing on the Russian River), but it's hard to leave it alone that long, it looks so delicious!


The only other plant that is rivaling the cucumber in terms of production is jalepeno peppers. We have SO MANY! What to do with them besides make salsa? Cucumber and jalepeno recipes appreciated.

Outdoor Days

With only a couple weeks left of school, the kids and I have been spending lots of time outdoors. Yesterday we went up Mt. Diablo to Rock City, a trailhead with lots of sandstone wind caves and large boulders for climbing. We took a walk on the Trail Through Time, which has amazing views; but what struck me more on this particular trip was the wonderful manzanita forest. Manzanita is a local treasure, there are so many different varieties, they are an essential part of the Chaparral plant community, very important for local wildlife, and are lovely when blooming. However, I'm entranced by their red trunks.


It was hot and sunny, and I admired the shadow of pines on the sandstone trail.


For a completely different nature experience, today we drove to the Marin Headlands and the Northern Pacific Coast. We visited the Marine Mammal Center, a neat place where they rehabilitate sea lions, harbor seals, and elephant seals that are found injured or motherless in the nearby ocean. They had about 60 sea lions, two elephant seals, and five harbor seals in residence, more than usual for this time of year.  Apparently there is a toxic algae bloom off the Monterey coast. Here's a little more information on that: Toxic Algae Bloom. We watched the keepers feed the animals, and insert IV's in especially sick sea lions. It's an interesting place and they do good work.

Then we headed down to foggy Rodeo Beach to stick our feet in the 66 degree water (quite warm for these parts). The kids ended up soaked from the waist down, but that's part of the fun. There were plenty of surfers and some decent swells, so lots of action to watch as we picnicked.



The dog enjoyed running around, sniffing the flotsam. There were scores of valella valellas, washed up on the sand. Also known as 'purple kites,' they are a creature from the cnidarian group, and they eat plankton. They are quite beautiful, and it's unusual for so many to wash up this time of year - it might be due to onshore winds pushing them onto the beach. They have little transparent 'sails' that allow them to skim across the water. The dog kept trying to eat them, but then spit them out.


There were lots of flowers blooming, stuff that is played out in our neck of the woods already. Lovely naked ladies, in a deeper shade of pink then in my yard, decorated the marsh near the lagoon.


It's wonderful to have the time to enjoy our great Northern California outdoors. I'm so glad we live in a place that has such a variety of interesting areas.