Getting Dirty and Eating Hearty

Yardwork continues to be pretty preoccupying around here, to the point of few posts and lost reading time, among other sacrifices.  This is the season of trying to beat back the weeds while simultaneously sprouting, tending, and planting out in their own time the new, somewhat-fragile little darlings.

We have lots of that going.  Probably a half-yard of weed debris has been contributed to the yard waste from efforts today and yesterday.  Conditions were sub-optimal today, with high possibly 60 and drizzle pretty frequent.  But I got three more tomatoes settled in protective waterwalls, in this case emphasizing cherry tomatoes (red, chocolate, and yellow pear).  Also got some tall sweet peas planted at the base of one of spouse's increasingly numerous trellises.  Got the last half-dozen shallots to earth in a planter on the deck.  Garden time was limited yesterday as I spent some time with mom, including splitting a good share of a decent-sized hemlock they had taken down some time ago, remembering the old saw about firewood warming you twice.  And I did finally make progress on project that had nagged at me, namely thinning/transplanting a too-dense row of mixed lettuce from a month back.  These were wonderfully vigorous starts, but cheek-to-elbows.  I got a score or so of them distributed in odd corners that might otherwise go to waste and was able to share a similar number with ma-in-law.

But that is mostly food-to-be. Peas and fava beans are blooming.  At this point we have harvested merely a few leaves of lettuce and may soon have some kale to go with it.  But our enjoyment of the consuming continues unabated.  Poultry has been prominent lately, son-in-law Sean's gorgeous spatchcocked bird having been previously featured here.  Son Eric treated us to a brined and quick-roasted bird last weekend.  If you are not drooling you may want to consider taking your taste buds in for a checkup.

And I showed off some beans with home-smoked Tasso and New Mexico Hatch chilis I indulged in on a bachelor night in another recent post.

Encountering some stew meat that needed using, Marg was intrigued with a recipe that involved dried cherries.  She is a bit more adventurous in combining ingredients with meat than I tend to be, but then one of Eric's default BBQ sauces also makes use of dried cherries.  I'm more naturally inclined towards the piquant, zesty, tangy, and, frankly, Scoville-metered dishes.  But we teamed up on this pretty well, she with the concept, me with the execution, and I have to admit it will likely grace our table again.  I had lunch leftovers twice and the afterglow was quite acceptable.

My most recent contribution was a breakfast strata, a layered concoction involving toasted bread, a meat course made up of italian sausage, shallots, and mushrooms, and grated Gruyere.  A double-tier of those ingredients, saturated with an egg/cream pudding, properly allowed to meld overnight and baked for an hour or so, proved pretty darn delectable.  Obviously options are numerous, in fact this was my hybrid of two suggested recipes.