Headed East

So in a couple of days, TL & I are headed off to the beach, except we're not going west this time, we're going east, as in Florida gulf coast east.

I've never been there. Even though we don't live in a cold climate, I'm looking forward to a little R&R on the beach-with my new book-and the extra humidity that my desert-parched dry skin will soak up.

There may be posts, sans photos, since my portable electronic devices won't do that (or at least I don't know how to add them)

Bon voyage......

Transitions

We have been transitioning the garden this past few weeks. Around here, I grow cool season veggies in the fall/winter/early spring. That means that my little pea-pickers here had their last harvest.

Conference weekend.

The plants are starting to turn brown so I've spent some time yanking them out and I'm waiting for the big guns (hubby) to dig up the soil and plant me some watermelons and cantaloupes.

Oh happy day-the seeds have sprouted!   Squash....

I see a little roma peeking out!

My daily battle with seedlings-it's me or the birds!  The green beans are under their protective cages.

The cukes! I'm anticipating a good harvest for my green smoothies! (this is a never ending hope-I've never had much success with cucumbers-only the crazy long Armenian ones. Trying a new variety this year-cross yer fingers!)

Good luck all you northerners in your upcoming garden endeavors! We had a taste of summer last week-our first 100 degrees....so the rest isn't far behind.....ug

Some transitions I'm not looking forward to......

Just do the Best You Can

This is gut-busting, laugh-out-loud funny. My interpretation of this for me is to Just do the Best you Can! Have a great day!

Peas Please

I picked a HUGE bowl of peas a couple of days ago. To the tune of 5 pounds +.

And here's a wide shot of the rest of them that are languishing in the refrigerator.

Peas porridge hot,

Peas porridge cold,

Peas porridge in the pot,

Nine days old....

(a childhood memory)

It's time to freeze peas!
I feel really sorry for my grandmothers who had to slave and slave to preserve the fruits of their labors so that they could eat all winter. If we had to eat exclusively out of our garden, we would probably starve!

But I learned a few tricks to keep the harvest coming. This works with peas and beans too.
The secret:  You have to pick them regularly.
I don't know if it tricks the plant into producing more flowers, a botanist I am not.
But I usually pick about every other day, and they keep coming!
The little suckers are sneaky though, they are hard to see sometimes and I can miss one and go back a few days later and it's a little "overripe."

So pardon me while I crank up the steamer-
And preserve me a little peas.......

This is NO Joke!

Looks like milk!

Rich and creamy like whole milk!

Makes a milk mustache like milk!

But it's cashew milk!
I've wanted to try this for awhile and because I had a willing guinea pig, we whipped some up.
The verdict:  It's really good, it doesn't taste like cow's milk, but it's very rich tasting and yummy.
My next experiment is to make some yogurt with it-totally dairy free.

If you are off dairy, give it a try, it's super easy.  Here's the link to watch a video on how to make it.
The Spunky Coconut