Garlic Festival

At the end of September, I went to the Garlic Festival in Saugerties, New York.  This festival is well known in my area and a fun trip for anyone who has a love for the stinky stuff. Personally, I love garlic and grew up eating the stinky but very yummy thing. My absolute favorite part of going was the garlic vanilla ice cream. I’ve never been to the festival before this and was shocked at the weird, but truly delicious pairing. It’s my new favorite ice cream flavor and I can still taste it as I write this. It has this unique sweet roasted garlic flavor that isn’t too strong, but goes absolutely perfect with vanilla ice cream. I sadly cannot remember who made it because I was to involved in the ice cream to find out. Oh well! There’s always next year!

Buzzing Bees

I’ve spotted a ton of honey bees all around my flowers and vegetable garden this summer. They’ve helped me with a great deal of pollination and I now have some awesome vegetables because of their hard work. Bees are so important to have and I’m happy about the amount of bees I have around my garden.

I have a special place in my heart for the little buzzers. I grew up with a fascination for bees and wasps. They’ve always intrigued me and I’ve never been afraid of them. I have a great respect for bees. They hold so much power in their tiny bodies and do such a great service to human kind. They are definitely an underappreciated insect.

Blooms of Summer

When summer starts, the flowers come out! These are all the beautiful mid summer blooms around my yard.

Vegetable and Fruit Blooms:

Strawberry

Strawberry

Onion

Nasturtium

Cucumber

Nasturtium

Sweet Pea

Borage

Sweet Pea

Garlic

Everything Else:

Poppies

Poppy

?

Wood Sorrel

?

?

Chicory

Chicory

Clover

Poppy

Marigold

Marigold

Basil Salsa

 

 

Beware, cutting tomatoes is messy!

I’ve been having a really huge crazing for some salsa, but hate buying the store stuff. It has all types of preservatives and random stuff in it, so I decided to make my own. I came up with this randomly. It tastes fantastic and I would definitely use it at a party or as a snack. It’s good as a side dish with lunch or dinner too.

Ingredients: 

1 red or green pepper

1 or 2 jalapenos (1 for mild, 2 for hot)

6 to 8 vine ripe tomatoes

6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt (or any salt to taste). Pink salt is weaker than regular table salt. Add less with table or sea salt.

1 Tbsp turmeric

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp lime juice

Any chip of your choice and some sour cream if desired.

Instructions: 

1. Grab a medium sized bowl, a cutting board, and a good knife for chopping. For the tomatoes, you want to use a knife with ridges. A smooth knife will be hard to chop tomatoes with.
2. Chop the tomatoes and peppers into small squares. Core the peppers to get rid of the seeds and white parts. You want the juice and seeds from the tomatoes, so add those to the bowl. Don’t worry about chopping perfect squares; all that matters is you get them to about less than half an inch. Add to the bowl.
3. Core and chop the jalapenos into small pieces. Remember, jalapenos are hot! Wear gloves or wash your hands thoroughly after cutting. Add to the bowl.
4. Peel and finely chop the garlic and fresh basil. Add to the bowl.
5. Add right into the bowl the black pepper, turmeric, granulated garlic, cayenne pepper, olive oil, and lime juice.
6. Add salt, mix everything well, pressing down with a large spoon to get the juice out of the tomatoes. Taste and add additional salt if desired.
7. Dip your chip of choice right in and enjoy!!!

Hint: Dip the chip in sour cream first and then the salsa. It tastes delicious!