All in one day's picking. The bell peppers are on, but not all ready yet (very late harvest year). Those pickling cucumbers can hide so easily, even after making a thorough attempt to check for any. The chickens were happy with their treat, and the kitchen was busy again.
Both went into meals. The kale went into a breakfast, and the beans went into a dinner.
The English type (will have to look up the actual name) cucumbers we planted are about between 11 and 12 inches long.
Two large cucumbers went into making a cold salad with some cherry tomatoes from the garden, along with some fresh parsley, dill and peppermint.
We have been pretty creative in consuming the cucumbers. Needless to say, I am finding some nice salad recipes that we are really enjoying.
Canning season officially started this late month of August - sweet pickle relish. We did not get enough of our cucumbers last year to can this, but we did have enough already canned to last 2 years. We were down to the last 3 jars, so this is a blessing. We use it to, no only as a condiment, but to make chicken salad, tuna salad, homemade tartar sauce, and more.
A bit of our lemon balm was dehydrated for tea making. I'm in the process of starting more plants (for our soon to be designated garden area for perennial weeds/herbs).
I also ground some dehydrated lemon balm for a lemon balm powder. A "first" time for us to make the powder. I'll use it for baking, smoothies, and possibly other uses. Possible uses: salad dressings, pesto (fresh is best I think though), desserts, infused honey, infused sugar (just a thought), iced tea, and more.
I used some garlic scapes to make compound butter for cooking and grilling. It is a "first" for us to make and try.
I followed the instructions and blanched the scapes first, and rolled it all into waxed paper to freeze first, then later slice and store for easy access.
Everything else garden related seems to be coming at us all at once. I'm just taking a deep long breath and taking it one day at a time. Every day there is garden goodies that need tending to - hot banana peppers, sweet corn, green beans, cucumbers.....you get the idea. It is a blessing.
Although, the heat is returning for a bit, we have really enjoyed the much cooler weather. It has been a delight to work outdoors, go for walks, read on the porch, grill outside dinner, and so forth. Early morning sunrises are the best, and enjoyed, as you cannot get that moment back.
Unfortunately, we are going on a 10-day plus stretch with no rain. The garden is suffering, so days are spent watering, which takes day off canning, freezing or other needed work done.
(this one was for our travel/camping tea-pot)
A larger amount of do-dads today require so many charging cords (trying to eliminate those with solar charge when we can), and one morning I decided we needed some "cord keepers" to keep things organized. I crocheted us two to try out, and see who well these snaps will last. I used no-sew snaps for the first time. I had cotton yarn in my stash, so that is what I used. I need about three more, but I am hoping the snaps hold out. If not, I will be switching to the sew-on snaps.
Book reading has really slowed down, so no new granny squares for our book blanket. I have added a few titles to my reading list, and (gulp) purchased two more books.
On the news front, a local food pantry distribution closed it's doors earlier this week, do to lack of food to provide those in need. I offered our extra produce one year, many years ago, and they refused it.
It's been one hum-dinger of an August already, and no camping trips planned to offer some R & R yet. A busy garden season is a grand happening, but it does tend to rob me of my self-care time. I'll be working on that this month.
