Pickled Pink

Been a busy bee the past couple of weeks.


We picked strawberries at Stokes Berry Farm last week and I put up two batches of strawberry rhubarb jam. I'm trying to reign in the canning bug that caused me to can WAY too much jam last year. I think I may do a batch of peach later this summer, but that absolutely must be ALL that I do.

This past weekend at the Hyde Park Farmer's Market I could not believe the beautiful plump beets that Eaton Farm had at their stand - I don't know if I've ever seen beets so nice. In hot pursuit of my ever-loving beet obsession, I snatched up five bundles and canned a batch of pickled beets yesterday. Hopefully five pints will last us for a year...

The heat, rain, and humidity has made the garden go ape lately. I'm not sure how I'm going to keep these tomatoes in check - I guess that's what a gardener craves, though, right?


Compare in less than a month:

25 May


21 June

The kale is looking so purty, the pepper plants are blooming, but the peas are about finished for the year. Believe it or not, I actually gleaned a nice little amount of peas from three or four plants; if only I had more room to plant a whole row.

Last week I harvested some gorgeous lettuce mix and then planted the summer cucurbit crop - cucumber, zucchini, yellow crooknecks, and acorn squash. My vigilant watch for cucumber beetles starts NOW. I will not abide another summer of spoiled cucumbers.

And rounding out the pack are lovely whimsical herbs. I just made up a batch of ranch dressing for lunch using Greek yogurt, cider vinegar, s&p, and chopped dill, parsley, thyme, and oregano. Who needs Hidden Valley anyways?

I have plans for several play days in the near future - another trip to Stokes for black raspberries, an order in at Rousters for fresh Michigan tart cherries, and another naughty foray at Greenfield Plant Farm.

Ahh, summer!