Gator Pam

And for me, Iced Pumpkin Chai Tea Lattes with Pumpkin Cold Foam and Pumpkin Spice.

Did you grow New Zealand spinach, a specifically summer variety? My understanding is summer is generally too hot for spinach (and romaine, good for you on getting a decent harvest) and should be sown for spring and fall gardens.

I believe most countries of the world follow Meteorological Autumn, which starts on September 1st, rather than by Equinox. So, you’re in rhythm with most of the world.

May her memory be a blessing.

Rabbit Rabbit! Rabbit!!

First of the season! Last night our temperatures fell into the mid-40s. I was so concerned of catastrophe as I headed to the garden. But, I was greeted by a couple of nice surprises today. I was certain at least one variety of the several different cherry tomatoes I’m growing would ripen first, especially since one had a cluster slowly ripening over the past week. But, no. Mortgage Lifter for the win! I’m quite happy with a tomato weighing just over a pound to start! My corn then had a surprise for me by having some silks starting to peek out. Now I need to figure out when to start hand pollinating. The proud gardener.

Summer here in the Pacific Northwet had a few summer days, but it’s been very fall like later into the summer and earlier into the end of summer. My raised beds are doing well, but none of my tomatoes (I have nine plants between my two beds) have ripened yet. Both beds with the trellis in between. I’m experimenting with sweet corn for the first time along with tomatoes, herbs, and some greens. The bed on the north side of the trellis. And the one on the south side. This is my first year growing Mortgage Lifter, along with the San Marzano-style Romas I save seed from last year and several varieties of cherry tomatoes. All are coming along nicely, they just haven’t ripened yet. Waiting is…

I should probably post this in the Discuss GottaDeal section, but I want to thank Brad for fixing whatever was causing the Black Friday archives to occasionally show a new post notification when there wasn’t one.. The only way I knew to have the new notification disappear was to go into the forum, open the year listed, and mark as read. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened in a while. Thank you, Brad!

Pictorial update of my two raised beds at Marymoor Community Garden in Redmond, WA. Zone 9a, up from 8b last year. I’m basically treating it as a mixture of both zones. South side of the arching trellis: Purple collard trees Various tomatoes I got for free from one of my gardening Facebook groups Asparagus crown from a deserted plot at the gardens Various herbs and field greens Sweet corn I sowed from seed last month, so it has a ways to go Underneath cardboard towards the front carrot seeds I sowed yesterday North side of the arching trellis: Various tomatoes Various herbs and field greens Another asparagus crown from a deserted plot at the gardens Sweet corn I sowed from seed last month, so it also has a ways to go Under the cardboard towards the front of the bed are parsnip seeds I sowed yesterday

Rabbit Rabbit! Rabbit!! eek! I almost forgot.

Back in June I cut back my rosemary and started 40 cuttings in potting mix after dipping in honey water and Ceylon cinnamon powder. I kept them in a dappled shade area of the porch in a couple of Costco pie keepers with the lids. Of the 40, 17 developed roots. However, 3 are iffy as the leaves are more brown than green, and 2 don’t look to be rosemary. Google Lens says they may be blue tomatoes. Probably a bit late to start them, but I’ll see how it goes. If the other 12 up pot well , hopefully I’ll have a dozen rosemary plants to trade at my first Green Elephant Plant Swap in September.

Again, it’s been discontinued. I was lucky to find one at Big Lots a few years ago.

Notre Dame Bells Ring Out During Olympics Opening Ceremony Here on the west coast of the US, we’re only about halfway through the Olympic Opening Ceremony. But, I think for me, the highlight is going to remain hearing the bells from the Cathedral of Notre Dame for the first time in five years. The first time the bells were heard since the devastating fire. “The Bells! The Bells!”

Instant Pot has discontinued the 10-quart several years ago before I got mine. However, occasionally Big Lots had them in stock, which is where I found it a few years ago after they were discontinued. I use the 10-quart mostly to make stocks, tomato sauce from my garden grown tomatoes, and full size 9”x3” cheesecakes. It would work well for a small whole turkey, say 10 lbs. I think, but I prefer doing either Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey or spatchcocking, so I haven’t used it for that. If you have a Big Lots nearby, keep an eye out for one, if interested. I haven’t heard of them carrying one in quite a while, but I got it there for $79 after a Big Lots 20% off Rewards coupon.

Come on into the GottaDeal Lounge where there is a thread on Instant Pots if you have any questions or are searching for recipes. I’ll admit my most recent model, the Duo Evo Plus, is a few years out of date and I know very little about the air fryer or newer models. But of the earlier models I’ve owned four different ones: Duo, Duo Nova, Ultra, and Duo Evo Plus. I got rid of the Ultra, but now have the Duo in both 6-quart and 3-quart, the Duo Evo Plus in 6-quart, and the Duo Nova in 10-quart.

Bastille Day

I love my Thermapen and Smokex4 from Thermoworks, but while the Smokex4 has good wireless range, neither are leave in without a wire or probe to a base unit. I’ve been tempted to give a Meater+ a try, especially for sous vide cooking. If the Chef IQ is truly comparable, I may just splurge sooner rather than later.

Rabbit Rabbit! Rabbit!! Happy Canada Day!

Rabbit Rabbit! Rabbit!! Sounds like the couples in your family enjoy “us time” during Labor Day weekend. A great way to relax and unwind!

^this^

How I spent my day yesterday: From this… …to this!

I give mine a head start by pressure cooking them in the Instant Pot, but otherwise I do the same. I use potato vodka, so I am comfortable with the resultant extract for Passover. Where do you get your vanilla beans?

Rabbit Rabbit! Rabbit!!

Thanks to a guest, here are a couple of photos from the second night Seder I prepared. Seder plate in the center Ashkenazi charoses in fat upper left Sefardi charoses just to the upper left of the Seder plate White grated horseradish (the strong stuff) to the upper right of the Sefardi charoses Matzah ball soup with carrots, parsnip, and celery Grated horseradish with beets Clockwise from bottom left: Basket of Grandma Bessie’s recipe for matzah meal rolls Platter of white meat roasted turkey Platter of dark meat roasted turkey Turkey gravy using chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s recipe which thickens the gravy using roasted onion and garlic Crockpot holding garlic mashed potatoes (I forgot to turn it on once plugged in, so they were cold by the time we got to them) Crockpot holding matzah farfel “stuffing” (That crockpot was on, so the “stuffing” was warm) Platter of George’s roasted asparagus Hollandaise sauce for the asparagus Cauliflower Tabbouleh-style salad (This really should have macerated far longer for the flavors to meld, but it sufficed) I also finally got the Kosher for Passover adapted noodle kugel made. I think it came out really well! Fresh out of the oven Plated for storage An interior shot showing how the Kosher for Passover egg noodles didn’t quite meld into the filling; it’s a bit chunkier than usual. However, the flavors were spot on if a bit dense in texture. All in all a great adaptation.