Sabbatical

I'm taking a break....it's a really busy time for me. Busy at the diner, busy in the veggie garden and busy in the kitchen.

See you all mid Sep.

Margaret

Basil, basil and more basil

Is there such a thing as too much basil? Not in my world but no matter how hard I try I can't grow it, from seed nor from starters. Enter my kind neighbours, well they are a few blocks away but neighbours all the same. They bought a little house in San Blas, Mexico where they plan to spend six months of the year and run a little bed and breakfast. This will be their first visit to San Blas as homeowners, although they have been going down to San Blas for many, many years. Anyway back to my basil story. They planted basil, lots of basil, forgetting they would not be here in the winter, so I got it all, I'm so lucky and so happy they thought of me.




What to do with it all? I made pesto, but without the nuts and cheese, and froze it.





I usually freeze it in ice trays but I don't have enough trays for all this pesto, but I did have lots of snack size freezer bags.

If I want to make pasta with pesto sauce then I would add the ground pine nuts and Parmesan to the pesto I made but it can also be added to tomato sauce or to sauteed prawns or chicken. This pesto is very versatile and very delicious, and super easy.

Powell River Sunset

Powell River is well known for it's beautiful sunsets and tonight's was stunning.

This picture is taken from Willingdon beach overlooking the fishing pier and the sun setting behind Harwood Island.







Today is Sky Watch Friday. Go to the Sky Watch Friday website and you'll see sky photos from all over the world

Lessons learned

Have you ever researched a topic, spending endless hours on the Internet, reading books and still not really get it? Well that's me and tomatoes.

I've grown tomatoes, quite a few, I've been somewhat successful, but guess what? I hate growing them but at the same time I love eating them, and fresh off the vine? Nothing tastes better.

So what's with my love/hate relationship with tomatoes? It has to do with staking them, tying them, and worst of all, pruning them, I just don't get it.

But then today, walking through a Powell River Garden Club member's garden, I had my moment of revelation. I just asked a simple question, why does your tomato plant have so few leaves....answer? "Tomatoes just need about a third of their leaves to grow"

I could not wait to get home and get myself into the garden.

Before the haircut

After the haircut

Food a-plenty

This is what I gathered this afternoon in my backyard. Amazing!

I have yet to pick the potatoes but they are ready and I'm too tired. So tonight for dinner, buttered green beans, no not all the ones in the picture, some pan fried potatoes that I picked last week, salad which is not from my garden but with cucumbers which I picked yesterday and some boiled eggs. And for dessert? Yellow plums, the blackberries are going into the freezer...more on that later.

Sunset at the cabin

This picture fascinated me because the colour on the water is so much brighter than the sun's rays which are filtered through some high clouds and smoke from forest fires burning in B.C. Coastal areas and in the Interior.

Forest fires aside this was another beautiful evening on Powell Lake.

Someone pinch me...I think I'm dreaming.

Heavenly scent

These lilies are planted around my deck and perfume the night air. I love sitting, with my knitting, a cup of tea on hand ... breathing it all in, enjoying these lovely long nights.

Beetus Giagantus

Common name...big beets. I tried some striped beets this year and they are very delicious and they don't turn your hands red. I only cooked the two largest ones and one turned white when it was cooked but tasted like a beet, very strange. I boiled for quite some time because they were so big, cooled them, peeled them, and then just tossed them in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

...And don't throw out those beet tops, they are fabulous sauteed in olive oil and garlic. I didn't take a picture because I ate them before I had the chance...but trust me...fabulous.