My Veggie Garden

I'm always a little late in getting our veggie garden growing. I admire people who start their stuff form seed in the dead of winter. I used to try that, but my cats would nibble on the young plans. Now I put in plants from a small, local grower.

I love fennel. I have this one because it is beautiful and makes me happy. When I run my hand along its airy parts it comes out smelling a little like licorice.


The early morning light makes this tiny parsley plant look wonderful.


Now that the weather has turned hot (104 degrees yesterday - broke a state record) the tomatoes are happier. They like it hot and sunny.


These are volunteers. They've been going since before we bought our house 20 years ago.


Ethan wanted to try growing potatoes. I was not sure how happy they would be. It turns out that they love growing in our gardens. They look completely different from what I expected. I thought they would be light green and viney, like sweet potato vines. These make me happy.


This bush in the front yard has beautiful, striking color.


This is the most successful plant in our veggie garden. It was planted by the birds, I think. I know it is something from the squash family, but which member has yet to be disclosed. We will know soon.


The tiger lilies turn their faces to greet the sun each morning, smiling at the day.


The trumpet vines put on a pretty face to greet you as you enter our front door.


The tiny squash is already setting up blossoms.

For some reason, I am a much better flower gardener than vegetable gardener. It may be a timing issue. I was when my husband unexpectedly did a bunch of tilling yesterday morning before it got hot. It was such a help in getting our veggie garden back into respectable shape. Those pesky weeds had set up camp.

Green Haired Paleo Girl

Ellie has decided that she needs to make herself more unique. She dyed some of her hair green, which was pretty, but only lasted one day.

When I asked her if she was bummed that it washed out so quickly she shot back that she does not waste her emotions on things like that.

My husband is worried that he is going to become fat. He looks at his father and older brothers and wants to move away from where the road took them. Ellie is also very conscious of what she eats. They have decided that we will embark on trying out the Paleo diet. It is essentially a diet that does not include carbs, dairy, beans, grains or sugar. The two of them decided to follow the 30 day diet as prescribed in the book about the diet.

Here's what we had for our meals yesterday and today. So far everything was tasty:

Dinner on Saturday was Salmon with Pecans, Roasted Green Beans, a bit of apple and a side salad.

Sunday:
Breakfast 2-4 eggs, almonds and a small piece of fruit and/or berries;
Lunch - Chicken Fajita Salad.
Dinner: Rotisserie Chicken, Roasted Broccoli with olive oil and garlic, side salad.
-------
Grilled Salmon with Pecans and Rosemary
From: The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf
(1 serving)

Coconut oil (to oil the pan)
1# Salmon
2 tsp Pecans, chopped
2 tsp Rosemary
Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place foil on a baking sheet, add a bit of coconut oil to help reduce how much the fish sticks to the foil. Place salmon, skin down, on the pan.
Sprinkle on the pecans, rosemary and salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes, being sure that it is cooked well and flakes easily with a fork.

------
Roasted Green Beans

1# Green Beans, cleaned with the ends removed
1 TB Olive Oil
1 tea Thyme

Coat the beans with the olive oil and thyme. Place on a foil covered pan and roast for 20 minutes in an oven heated to 350 degrees.

--------

Chicken Fajita Salad

1 TB Olive Oil
3/4 cup Onions, sliced
1# Chicken, boneless, skinless and cut into strips
1/2 tea. Cumin
2 tea. Oregano
1 cup Bell Pepper, diced
1-2 Tomatoes, diced
1 Avocado, diced
Red Leaf Lettuce, cleaned

Add the olive oil to a hot skillet. Saute the onions until soft. Add in the chicken, spices and peppers. stirring often to distribute the spices and even out the cooking.
While that is cooking, place the red leaf lettuce, tomatoes and avocado in a bowl, toss. Top with the chicken and veggie mix. (If this is being packed for lunch, be sure to place the chicken and veggie mix in its own container, while the salad part has its own container, too.)