Augustus...Garden Talk..:(Garlic Confit..Aperol Spritz snack cake, shows.

 

A little Greenjeans chat..no Barbie chat:)

About how I love gardening..getting filthy ..could never have faux nails..

It is my form of exercise..I have the sore shoulders..always..  certain fingers etc..yrs of wear and tear.

But I cannot sit.I love nature love watching things grow..

It's the disappointments..that are hard to take

AND

 We all know.. how I hate rose chafers..you have seen my morbid pics here..They arrive to the parade first and attack upon arrival..

Then the Japanese Beetles arrive and they are also my arch enemies..I have shown you pics..They munch on roses the most ,but daisies too and clematis.They adore grapevine..Last yr I tried those bag traps..it made the problem worse..we did catch thousands I kid you not..but it ATTRACTS them.Never again..for us..

Guess what has invaded my earth..decimating even feverfew..attacking marigolds..basil..parsley..

I had never heard of them

Asiatic Beetles..That live underground and creep up at night to feast on our hard work.

The EARWIGS with our wet summer they are proliferating

I just spent over an hour spraying with Castille soap and water..but often my mixtures burn the plants..all the spraying needs to be redone after a rain.

So it's not all rewarding here.

I just don't know how to handle these critters.

No pesticides..

And truly the air I breathe is too important to start spraying chemicals like Sevin..etc not to mention what it can do to ecosystems..well I am not allowed and cannot..

Anyone have any tips..zone 5?

I thought my tomatoes were AMAZING..and then all of a sudden all these brown spots appeared on yellowed leaves..and they are contagious.No matter how many I cut.. more happen.

The pests and fungus? Insurmountable..Wettest summer ever..and I was crying for rain.Our grass went from jute..to a golf green.

However a breeding ground ..

I let Gooseneck loosestrife invade one parcel of my territory..(Oli calls our home and gardens our territory:)

I am using up last year's garlic..  by making garlic confit..butter..etc..

Ill soon be cleaning and storing my new cured garlic.

Amazing that the one above is one yr old.

Zinnias.. seeds from a wonderful artist..nature itself..saved from my last year's zinnias.

And proof of failures..because of bugs

This is where my garlic was..its a long stretch in back of garage..partial view

I sowed swiss chard..it all came out  beautiful.. ly..until it was gone.

Marigolds..  yes..:(

My parsley..same..shiso ..basil..leaves of zinnias..different eaten parts different bugs..

above my feverfew that was about to rebloom..I get two spreads of Feverfew..obvi down to one..

FORGIVE the horrible IPHONE pics lol.Im a DSLR person.

All I can say re veggies..etc..is thank God for ..

I prepped it all this AM,basket to the left..to plant in October..basket to the right..To eat all year.

I used to glam it up..no need leave some dirt..it protects it:)

Anyone watching The Bear?

Season 2 Episode 6..If Jamie Lee Cutis does not win an award...I will be shocked.

A Small Light is excellent..

Delicious little Aperol Spritz Snack cake courtesy of HowSweetEats.

:)

Pretty cosmos blooming..seeds from Susanhttps://www.instagram.com/the_raspberry_patch/

Tchin! 

Birthdays..

So happy to see my zinnias again:)

These are really called Chase's Dills..Gardenweb forum..you can Google and find.I have been making them for 100 yrs..Lots of discussions re  the pickles there.I don't process after sterilizing the jars and pouring boiling brine over the pickles,all the jars pop and we have never been sick.But you do you:) LOL.

I used to like entertaining..not big groups..a couple or two for dinner.I liked the prep..the camaraderie..then..I couldn't..then Covid..but I didn't stop with my family.

So glad I did not.

My favorite guests ever.

We had a triple bday celebration here Sat and until 4 it rained and was cloudy..

So I did it inside..

The four boys at the kitchen table..

and the 7 adults in the dining room..2 menus..

Susan sent me this.. for the boys... I tried ..and a success.

Read the comments and adapt to YOU.I did and they were perfect.

We don't have Hawaiian rolls I used the Pains Briochés from Costco..same shape ..so tasty..Made 15..

Gone..

For the adults I made a keep on making recipe here.. I started in 2008:) That is how good it is.Not. A.Speck.Left.On.Plates.

Instead of a charcuterie board..I made ind tasting ones..

Some of the hds.. I had chips and popcorn..and varied olives..but the main one..this..

I toasted my focaccia,and those little rectangles? Oh so good..Pizza shortbreads .Nuts and cheese and the boys fave sticks..and J's prosciutto..

I made two desserts..one a cake because ..cake is bday right..I sent them home w/ 3/4..

Yet the Fudge Sundae Pie..was all gone..winner winner since the 70's here.I did not get the recipe from there..But my recipe is in a book I made for the girls 100yrs ago..I usually make a bit more mix of the peanut butter ;)

The cake ..everyone raved about Dolly Parton cakes..LOL I don't bake with mixes..I went to the USA in May and bought.NOTHING like home made..hardly coconutty..Would never repurchase.

I have to however give thanks to ANITA..  she creates such pretty toppers with rice paper..I made two balloons..

Made my fave no knead Olive bread..I have shared it here before..

and very good cheese garlic bread machine rolls..never enough garlic butter so out of the oven I brushed them all with more.Also all gone;) The no knead was hardly touched.

Hope some of you like and try some of these recipes..:)

I'll leave you with ..

Another video..

 I love this..

and sometimes I wonder if social media isn't all about this..

my garlic..my flowers..what I bake..

I hope you know this is kind of my journal..where I can come back and search for recipes.. pics(Let's not mention the lost ones)

Share things that work with me those that do not..

..

Maybe I do  brag about these guys..

They light up my life:)

Still Juli..;)

Nasturtiums and the first zinnia:)

 

 

The gardens are flying by..I am seeing Rudbeckias and Black Eyed Susans..That usually means August to me..

I cried for rain..well my dreams came through.

Deluge wise.

I even harvested my garlic a bit early because we had hail warnings and a tornado warning..

So I usually like to harvest after a dry spell but only rain was in the forecast except for the following day.I let it dry a bit outside that day.. 

Now it is tied in bunches.. curing in the she-shed..with a fan oscillating.

It's just so humid here.

I baked amazing cookies from @bakingbossbabe but her Tik tok recipe not IG.They are good.warm they are tops.

My fave daylies..Maggie..looks so happy with Nikko Blue.

Lots of birthdays in my corner of the world..

Oli will be 14..

Max turned 16

Noh..15

And Lucas will be 18:)

My oldest daughter 48..how did all this happen.

I love this pic Lucas' mom took of him..

He ..after yrs..of being a little camp kid..to becoming a camp counselor..has now become a co-ordinator.

Summer job..perfect for college.

This car he is driving was mine..passed down to his mom.

A Volks Cabriolet 1986.

They love it..

Anyway this is Lucas driving home from work with his mom in the car with him.

Look at his arms:) Love marks ..hearts etc..from the Littles at camp.

I have his mom's permission to post..

He is so loveable :)

They all are.

Lucas now has his permanent on his own driver's license.

How time flies.

Juli.

 

Lots of pretty blooms..although not the greatest summer..

I hope I have not missed the peak harvesting garlic time.I like a dry day..

It makes things easier.

Many of you may remember Bonnie Stern ..she's on IG..and showed the butter tart square recipe.. had to make:)

They are good!

La relish de Josée

 I made Josée's relish again..my husband loves it and most of my family  does too..so it's win win:)

I have been making it for 100 yrs..

You can find the recipe here

The reason some looks gold and some looks green..the green are in green Ball jars..:)

I know I left you with a video last time but when I saw this one..

:( I had to share..

THIS ONE

It broke my heart..a lot has happened  in a nice way to that boy..since ..but ohmygosh..At exactly that age..until 14-15 I would say..I was bullied by the popular kids in my neigborhood..the less popular were nicer..but could get roped in..you know..peer pressure..but FAR nicer...Never at school..Just in that clique.

I was bilingual.. and they were anglophones..I've always been bilingual and always will be.I favor none.. I did Primary and elementary school in French ..College in English and started at McGill.

 But to them..I was French.. so French pea soup..French fry..  I was heavier than they were..so Fatty fatty two by four can't get through the kitchen door..Tidal wave when I dove into the community pool..etc etc etc...

Really bad bullying..the kind that even affects your mom.

Imagine that.That bugs me more than anything.

Thank God school and the students there were always just so normal with me.

My life changed and took a dramatic turn..but let me tell you..you never forget.

We all do things we regret..but if you can stop one kid from bullying..you're a Godsend to the bullied.

Even adults bully...

Have a great week..

Take care..:)

So humid.I have fur instead of hair.July..you came so fast.

 

I love Chicken salads in summer..

This dressing was made with Hummus instead of the reg oil or mayo..

Cottage cheese makes an excellent one also all blended together.

In fact I PREFER by far the dressing made with Cottage Cheese.

I add my garlic..capers..lemon juice..worcestershire sauce..a touch of 2 % milk to thin as the cottage cheese is thick...salt..and pepper.

Those are little red beet microgreens above..

 My daughter. sent me this..I was so touched by the idea concerning the restaurant..And of course the buckets..

This very special restaurant

I hope you looked at that video:)

So we finally had rain..which made the rose petals fall everywhere..some were still left..I piked some and made a jam recipe I fond on IG

Strawberry..rhubarb and rose petal jam.

It was made with that sugar specifically made for jams and jellies.

And our delicious QC berries..

A breeze.

I usually make David Leibovitz's strawberry jam or Christine Ferber's blueberry one..

I threw caution to the wind;)

A small lemon yogurt Bundt..I really like this mold I have had forever.

I also like Wilton's Bake Easy..

But it is $77.00 here..LOLOLOL.

Tomatoes are starting.I fear I planted too close for comfort.

Time will tell if they like socializing or not.

Me? Get me out of a party or a crowded room ..

But if they have something real to share..maybe they will be ok;)

July first is Canada Day here..TOMORROW!!

I cannot believe it is here.So soon...

Have a great weekend/week...