QUICK! Pick the grapes!!! (...but don’t squish my squashes)

Jane Austen Davis
Our newest garden helper got right to work...
mostly though, she just enjoyed being
outside for the first time EVER.
(What a lovely way to spend the afternoon!)

Muscadine Grapes
First Harvest:  Summer - 2019

Hard work in the Houston heat = NAP
(Just ask the handsome Bret Sr.)

Washed and ready to juice!

It looks crazy, but it's incredibly efficient!
No picking off the vine, just wash and get to it!

It was amazing to see the gradual gradation in color
change as more jars were filled. 

Nearly a dozen in total from a SINGLE grape vine.
LOVE  IT.

DON'T  SQUISH  MY  SQUASHES...

The best way to keep squashes un-squished?
Tie them up with pantyhose from the dollar store.

GREEN!!!  AND  GROWING!!!
Two of my favorite things about this garden...

Use-It-Up-Wear-It-Out-Make-It-Due-Or-Do-Without-Project:
FAVORITE  BEDSHEETS  REPURPOSED  INTO:
A small rug / A large gathering basket.
Either way I use this beauty, seeing my favorite
bedsheets repurposed makes me HAPPY  :0)

Butternut Squash - 2019
Grown because we eat it.
Well, technically it becomes soup 95% of the time.
Either way... SOUP or SIDE DISH.
"Garden Rule" we've learned:  Grow what you eat.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.

GATHER  UP:
2 onions
1 bundle of garlic
12 large carrots
2 (1-2) pound butternut squash(es?)
Kosher salt
Coarse ground pepper
Olive oil
Foil
9X13  baking dish - stoneware is preferred

PEEL  AND  DICE  in  LARGE PORITIONS:
carrots, squash, onions and garlic.
Place in a large mixing bowl;
mix thoroughly with:

1 TABLESPOON Kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

ADD  ALL in a large heap into your baking pan.

Cover with a DOUBLE layer of foil.

BAKE at 450 for 60 minutes.

ADD  to  your blender:

2 cups water
2 TABLESPOONS Better Than Bouillon Chicken Broth
1/2  of the roasted vegetables
(cooled or hot out of the oven - it does not matter...)

REPEAT.

ADD  ALL  pureed veggies into a large stock pot.

THEN  ADD  and  MIX  thoroughly:

2 cans evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Simmer on a MED to MED-LOW heat until bubbly. 

Serve with toasted Natural Yeast Bread.
***  A Davis family favorite when paired with mini-meatloaf.  ***

LINK TO BREAD: Baking with Natural Yeast - Basic Loaf

Hot. Humid. Houston. - Summer Garden 2019

Jeremy THE CAT has his rainy day routine nailed!
Step 1:  Nap on the chair.
Step 2: Nap on the chair.
Step 3: Maybe wake up for a minute,
then nap on the chair.

A rainy summer day is always appreciated!
The garden needs it, and then we get to skip
the sprinkler or watering can...

FIRST  YEAR  FOR:  Butternut Squash

Growing vertically can be a little tricky -
We've learned to tie up cantaloup and heavier
growing produce with a little help from the ladies
pantyhose selection at the Dollar Tree.  

Cucumbers do not need supportive leg-wear...
They do need to be eaten daily however as
there are usually 5-8 ready each morning this year!

Rain we needed...

And then a little more than what we needed...

The handsome Bret Sr. has often said that the
hardest thing to grow in HOT. HUMID. Houston are tomatoes
They get fungus from the wet and heat;
then the birds start pecking as soon as they turn red...

TOMATO LESSONS LEARNED:
#1 - trim your leaves away from your garden bed.
#2 let them turn yellow/orange outside on the vine,
then bring them inside to turn red.

The bliss of eating a tomato that actually 

TASTES LIKE A TOMATO 

is best enjoyed on a BLT or BLTA.

Basic Bread Loaf - Baking with Natural Yeast

Life’s A Peach... Spring To SUMMER Garden 2019

Napping in the 7 inches of space between
the BBQ grill and strawberry bed!

...Thanks for "helping" Jeremy!

It's always a race to get these off the tree before
the birds start to peck at them...

A gathering apron is something I am grateful for now,
and now wish I'd had one as a kid!

YOU HAVE BOTH HANDS AVAILABLE(!!!)
for picking: blackberries, tomatoes, peaches,
apples, or whatever was in season and my
mom needed extra hands to pick!

Tropic Snow Peach Tree - "free-stone"

"free-stone" means the pit pulls away 
from the fruit when fully ripe.

ESTIMATED  POUNDS  OF PEACHES
OFF  ONE  TREE  for 2019:
75-80  lbs.

We had hoped to can these lovely peaches this year...
However - our outdoor fridge runs a bit too cold
this time of year, and they froze in the fridge!

In the end they were peeled like an apple
and frozen for green smoothies
(or maybe a pie???).

Gluten-Free Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler...
baked by the handsome Bret Sr.

This garden bed is my FAVORITE...
and this year a bit of a come-back story
and compost/mulching miracle in one!

Bret Sr.   ...  THANK YOU
for being the Compost KING.  :O)

The first round of kale that was attempted was
from old seed.  It was no bueno...
It could not keep up with our daily (or twice daily!)
GREEN  SMOOTHIE  MAKING  MACHINE

Re-planting midseason, composting, and miracle-mulching
have kept this "green smoothie" dubbed garden bed going
through an extra few months of production.
I'm excited to see how long it will last before burning up!

...I honestly hope we've found a year-round garden bed!
(Houston, PLEASE!!, make it last year round!
It's the least you could do after all the enormous bugs,
fire-ants and humidity...) 

Green  Smoothies

Layer in this order:
2 cups water
4-5 cups washed kale leaves and stems 
1/4 cup ground golden flax seed  OR  old fashioned oats
2 frozen bananas
2 fresh bananas
3-4 cups frozen fruit
Strawberries or peaches or mixed fruit or pineapple
OR - combine a few of the mentioned frozen fruit

No blueberries with kale
no pineapple with spinach... It's nasty

For spinach, switch kale amount for
4-5 cups spinach and use blueberries
or strawberries or mixed fruit  

Makes 3-4 large smoothies 

Optional: 
Add 1 Tablespoon chia seed PER smoothie
Stir into a finished and ready to eat smoothie