It's been a terribly crazy summer, with the emphasis on terrible, I have to say. My beloved father in law passed away on July 20. After a fragile beginning to the summer, his last few weeks were just hell. For everyone. Each day now brings something new --- a new emotion, a new memory, a new problem, a new something to take care of and try and deal with.
One of my saving graces has been the vegetable garden. It's a place for me to relax, be outside, connect, do some thinking. Even though the Japanese beetles are eating the green bean leaves and cucumber leaves, the vegetables have been really outstanding. There's another bug that I can't identify, but it's not doing anything to the veg so I figure just let it be. And I'm pretty sure it's deer that are eating the carrot tops and pepper plant tops, but who cares? Let them enjoy. I pulled out all the arugula (awesome, huge harvest) and Japanese eggplant (2 little ones that were great on the grill) and put in cabbage, red kale, and swiss chard. The cucumbers are growing like they're on steroids. So far we've put up 2 gallons of pickles and eaten who knows how many fresh out of hand in slices. Pepperoncini and banana peppers are pickled and jalapenos turned into schug (see below). Picked the first white eggplant today and purple sweet pepper. Lots of baby yellow and red peppers starting and the green beans are finally coming in to their own. Oh, and the corn. We got about 6 or 8 ears in all,it was really fun to watch them grow to over 6 feet tall. The tomatoes are very sad this year, but hopefully a last ditch effort with Miracle Grow will boost them into place.
So I guess the old saying is true. With every death, there is a birth. A renewal, a growth, a happiness that can come out from the dark.
Schug (Spicy Israeli condiment)
Take as many jalapenos as you can handle. The last batch I used about 20. Wash, stem and seed them to your liking. Throw into a food processor with bunches of mint, basil, cilantro, or any combination thereof. A clove of garlic, a little salt, and olive oil to make it smooth. Delicious, completely addicting, and can be frozen. Use it on anything -- scrambled eggs, yogurt, bread with cheese, grilled chicken or meats. Thank goodness my jalapeno harvest is still going strong.
