and so there was iced coffee, with sticky buns brought back from up north by a dear friend who so generously shared. turns out all it takes to make me feel like I'm on vacation myself is sticky buns and iced coffee on the deck in the midmorning sunshine, listening to the birds and catching up with good people. there's the honey, of course. in recent days, as we've finished up the bottling, it's not been unusual for me to have honey on my elbows, my feet, my forearms.... there is plenty and so I just wipe it up or lick it off as I see fit. it is a sticky, sweet business, to be sure.
and then there are beans- oh so many beans all of a sudden. certainly it didn't just happen overnight, but with our attention elsewhere it definitely seemed so to us. I'll be needing some good recipe recommendations for pickled beans and pickled beets I think. the squash and zucchini are coming on strong, along with the volunteer squashes that seem to be a mix of zucchini and yellow squash and as long as we get them early enough, they are excellent sauteed or grilled.
I made yogurt. it was runny, but after straining it was quite good. topped with pumpkin seeds, apricots and some of that honey, it was more than quite good. and oh my goodness- have any of you read that book? Me Before You? surely several of you have. wow. I stayed up until 2am finishing it, sobbing the last couple chapters, then reread a bit in the morning to try to wrap my head around it some more. I'd been steering clear of tragic novels for the better part of this year and only somewhat knew what I was in for with this one. all the same, it touched me and I quite enjoyed it. and I want to talk about it.
black bean stew. raspberry jam. a large batch of granola. jam on toast with another good book in the morning sunshine. eggs + beets + seeds.
the garden from the deck, flowers tucked in here and there, mixed up garden beds, tomatillos, cabbages, a glimpse of the hives, a girl in the beans.
the kitchen and the garden. two of my favorite places to be.
*playing along with Heather for her This Week in My Kitchen blog hop
Yes, kitchens and gardens are so inner twined this time of year. It all looks wonderful Amanda. I love your flowers!
ReplyDeleteI did read Me Before You and cried my heart out!
thanks, Tracey~
DeleteI'd love to spend a day in your kitchen this time of year, with all the berries and fermenting and such..... you always have such yummy looking things going on!
sob, sob, sob- I hear it's going to be a movie
Everything looks wonderful. And kitchen and garden are two my favorite places to be too.
ReplyDeletethank you, Maria~ they are certainly the best spots in (and around) the house this time of year!
DeleteYour post is inspiring! I totally agree about the iced coffee and sweet rolls and out in the sunshine and catching up with dear people...
ReplyDeletethank you~
Deletebringing in simple, just a bit out of the ordinary day-to-day things really can jazz things up just enough, can't it?
Your food and garden looks wonderful! It makes me so happy to be able to bring good food from our garden into the kitchen. I have not yet read that book, but will have to add it to my list.
ReplyDeleteit is incredibly satisfying, isn't it?
Deletea good read, in my opinion. one of my favorites so far this year.
Your garden is amazing. And I can only imagine how delicious your honey is.
ReplyDeletethanks Marianna!
Deleteit is delightful honey, truly. many thanks to those hard working bees!
Love how you do homegrown and homemade. I read that book. I usually try to avoid sad plots but I forced myself to read it because I know it's be good for me. I'm glad I did. It really makes you think about things.
ReplyDeletehomemade and homegrown feeds my soul for sure!
Deleteyes, I think when a book really makes you think, and feel, it's a good thing. especially nowadays with so many things being instant and without any true communication and connection. oh but I did cry and cry.
Hello! (I just sang that to you in my head. Is that weird?) What kinds of beans to you have? I have recently re-fallen-in-love-with three bean salad but some amish folks where I'm from make it five bean. Really, its whatever-you-have-bean salad and I love it. Here is a good recipe. http://iowasue.blogspot.com/2012/07/home-canned-three-bean-salad.html
ReplyDeleteAre you making the iced coffee yourself? You should be. So yummy and customizable and cheap. I've just discovered this myself and it is fueling a bad caffeine habit. :(
not weird at all~ I hear the way I say things in my mind all the time ;) I like very much that you called yourself out on it, that made me smile big.
Deletethese are indy gold wax bush beans and louisiana purple pod snap beans (a pole bean). we also have some pintos growing, and another green pole bean, but I don't remember which variety at the moment. I'll look at the recipe, thank you!
YES! I'm making it myself, using the cold brew method (with about 1/2 # of grounds per 1/2 gallon mason jar of water) and then straining it out so I essentially have a concentrate. I use decaf (regular makes my heart a bit crazy), and I'm loving it. except that it's been rainy and cold here lately, so I've been back at hot tea in the mornings for now.
Oh my, but I think the beans do happen overnight! At least, that is what I like to tell myself after finding about two gallons worth while I was weeding yesterday. I must say, I am envious of lack of weeds and the height of your bean plants. Ours scarcely reached a foot high this year, but still seem to be producing heavily for their size. We've had strange weather. Tonight is Trial 2 with goat yogurt using a bulgarian culture which, hopefully, will come out thicker.
ReplyDeleteseriously! it's like they go from a few polite little flowers to BAM! beans. these purple ones are a pole bean variety, louisiana purple pod snap beans, so they are supposed to grow very tall. our yellow beans are bush beans and only about a foot or so tall (or, would be if a volunteer squash wasn't, well, squashing them).
DeleteI think the problem with this yogurt batch was trying to spread the cultures over two quarts instead of just one. ah well~
Your garden looks amazing! And thanks so much for the book recommendation, always on the hunt for great reads!
ReplyDeletexx
thanks, Katy! oh, I love a good book recommendation myself~ always nice to have a good long list at the ready.
DeleteI love beans!! You can never have too many if you ask me, seeing your daughter peeking through the plants is just precious! Hope you are having a fun summer :)
ReplyDeleteshe's pretty cute running through the bean 'tunnel'!
DeleteI'm going to make a bunch of dilly beans tomorrow, and maybe some of the three bean salad Amanda recommended up there~
Beautiful photos! The iced coffee looks wonderful! :)
ReplyDeletethank you, Cari!
DeleteWhat beautiful photos. Love the food and books combo, love the innovative way you make your garden beds, and all those tomatillos... love them.
ReplyDeletethank you Andrea~ I suppose often when I'm reading there is tea or coffee or a snack involved. at least it sure seems that way!
Deletethe biggest factor behind what our beds are made up of is 'what do we have lying around?'(a bunch of old dirty bricks, some stones, and some wood) or 'what can we get very inexpensively?' (cinder blocks on craigslist). I do enjoy having a mix of different kinds of beds. and I can't wait for the tomatillos to be ready- we've been out of salsa for a little while now and I want more! (not that we never buy it at the store, of course we do, but..... I want this salsa ;)
gorgeous beyond belief and - for me- something to aspire to out here where nothing looks so green.
ReplyDeletethose books! I've held them both in my hands with plans to read....
much love!
xoxoxoxo
hello there, dear cory~ many, many thanks.
Deletethe green is nice, but man what I wouldn't give some days for your ocean and your lemons and avocados!
Me Before You was amazing, in my opinion, and I've had to put the other down for a bit as we've been caught up in some big projects, but I'm hoping to pick it up again. imminently.
xo
oh! all so lovely! i absolutely LOVE the brick garden beds... may have to have some of that in my future :) i can't believe all you have been up too! straight up amazing!!
ReplyDeletethere was an old brick fire pit when we moved in here and most of those bricks have been repurposed as garden beds or lining paths here and there~
Deleteit has certainly seemed busy, busy, busy!