The BEST very local veggies!

We have had some bitter cukes this year but I finally figured out that they needed more attention, or something. For example, they need to grow in a nice place so they don't get curled up; and get regular watering, so they can fill up nicely with fluid, like this one pictured. Now they are coming along just fine. I forgot to snap a pic of the really huge one, it was about 15 inches. It was late, I was in the midst of several things for dinner (homemade pesto; bruschetta with zebra tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella; pasta; a spicy kale dish; and corn on the cob). So I just cut it up. Then I regretted it, thinking how cute Maya was when she carried it in from the garden.
Ah well, there will be more cukes.

My best tomatoes are these very sweet cherry toms. And I am getting a nice snack-size amount of green beans, which are so wonderful if you steam them quickly in the microwave and eat 'em with dip, or whatever.

You just gotta love summer veggies. I really enjoy having my garden, and have learned so much from it.

About the title...

In case you are curious, the title of this blog is the name of my dog. Well, the name he was given by the kennel he used to go to, before we got a wonderful dog-sitter.

Jack jumps fences. Yes, he does. Well, he did. He doesn't anymore, he's getting a bit old. But in his prime, he could jump a 6 foot chain link fence. He easily scaled out of our 5 foot backyard fence. Anytime he was bored, or saw something fun to go after, he would jump the fence, and we'd have to run off to get him. In the car. He would run further away if you tried to get him in person. Somehow, he still will come to the car. You'd think he'd learn that this was a trap. But maybe to him, it was still worth the short adventure, and attention.

And at the kennel, he jumped out of their play yard, which is quite near a busy road. And he was able to scramble out of the wee space at the end of the dog run that is above the door. They had a tarp or some kind of top to it, so it was just this tiny 1 foot gap above the door. So they had to block his access to the run and just walk him on leash. We were so glad to switch to a dogsitter. The stress of the jail environment was too much for him.

How this connects to this blog.... ? Jack was nimble, Jack was quick...Jack jumping fences was his trick! The metaphor here is that if we are nimble and quick, we can jump the fences in front of us, also. Trick is, to stay nimble and quick. My obstacles and hurdles are actually my stepping stones of progress. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Or sends you to therapy for life... I think I will choose the path of strength and wisdom, and compassion.
Also, the lesson Jack taught me is to give him the attention, to not neglect him... else he would jump the fence, to go exploring and get attention, albeit partly negative, from me.

More to come....

More to come.... check back later. I am migrating some older posts over here so my slate is not quite so blank.

September Fun - Part 2: harvesting fun

Here are a few shots of the kids and the garden, my baby. The garden is really like another child that you have to watch over, feed, water, love....and worry about when you are away from home. And yes, you have to tuck it in at night when the weather gets frosty:

Homegrown carrots!

Daughter wanted to take my photo, she said, "Hold up anything you like." I held up a hot cherry pepper.
Son showing off our first watermelon, which turned out to not be ripe. I picked it too early!
Lady Liberty - I couldn't resist setting this up after seeing this beautiful flame like flower at the end of one of our zucchini.

The Bento That Was Forgotten

pictured above: Vietnamese chicken salad; teriyaki chicken and jasmine rice; orange slices; cucumbers, carrots and ranch dip; carrot and broccoli stalk stars and ducks for garnish.

I made two bentos last Thursday night, but only one was eaten. Husband, amidst such stress at work, forgot to eat his bento. I even called him at 3 PM (because I know him), to remind him to eat it, or to see how it was. I didn't want him to spoil his appetite for our dinner out that night. He admitted that he hadn't eaten it yet. What he didn't admit until during dinner was that he totally forgot about it (even though it was on his desk) and rushed off to make it to lunch before the cafeteria closed.
Arrrrggh....:(

Son, on the other hand, ate most of his bento. I noticed that the juice box was unopened - he said he was too busy eating to ever open it! I could hardly believe it!

Latest lesson: bentos really only are fun to make if the majority of ingredients are totally ready for consumption, ready to pack. I had to cook the chicken that night and that really added on to the time needed to make the bento. I had to do it all the night before, because I knew Husband was going to leave early for work. Turns out, we all overslept, and then, he didn't even eat that bento!

Hummus on Thomas

pictured above: whole wheat English muffin with hummus and lettuce; cucumbers and feta, grape tomatoes, and Annie's Sour Cream & Onion bunnies

bento bento bento, I love you every day
bento bento bento, I love you every way.

bento bento bento, you're the lunch for me
bento bento bento, how healthy we will be!

Bento Beginnings!

pictured above: whole grain tortilla wrap with smoked turkey, American cheese, pesto and lettuce; Banilla yogurt with strawberry hearts; cucumbers and feta cheese, and more strawberries.

I did it! I've done 3 bento lunchboxes in a week! I actually think I could keep this up. And I love it! I would never have known that making lunch is fun. I barely get by with the basics without making Son and Husband lunch...but as long as it is a fun thing to do, I think it might last.

So here's my first one on the latest roll - I made one once before for Son, but this time I'm really putting my heart into it! (Sorry, I didn't realize the visual pun.)

Son is SO excited about taking lunch. He couldn't wait to use the new laptop lunchbox, and it took awhile for me to be organized and start it up, but now I'm totally hooked. For months I've been reading bento blogs, and wanting so badly to be the kind of organized mom who makes lunches.
(See my feed - cookingcute.com - she has links there of lots of lunch blogs.)

Son loved his lunch so much. His friend wanted to try it, and also loved the turkey pesto wrap. He said he wanted me to make him lunches too! Ha! I AM a great mom.