Credit Due

They really look like they know what they're doing.

Broccoli & Tomatoes doing their thing.

So much green, so little time.... This sucker was hotter than the average

jalapeno.

No instructions necessary for this pole bean plant. It just winds its way up and around the little post. A lot energy in this quiet little spot.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake and other edibles

A grape vine cookie. For the hell of it.

A little coffee cake for a bleak morning in Northern Michigan. Was really moist and creamy. I sent one over to Lewiston for Bonnie and Robert Hendry. My sister Patti was going for a visit and thought they might like a sweet. Turns out I was right.

Okay, okay, it's not really a piece of cake. I found this rock and it looked like a piece of cake. I painted it and then found a little one that looked like a strawberry. It's damn cute.

Can't Forget About The Blueberries

I picked blueberries for 3 hours in the woods behind my cottage in Grayling, Michigan. The berries, actually called "huckleberries" (I'll be your huckleberry - Val Kilmer), are real tiny. If you have a case of OCD, consider yourself gifted on the days you pick the berries. I'm not kidding. You could pick for days on this property. I normally can begin the last week of June, but this year they took their time and didn't look ready until the third week of July.

I had so many options for what to do with all these berries. I've done this before and made jam, pancakes, muffins, and of course ate them out of hand. But this year I made a giant blueberry pie. I used a sturdy sweet dough. This pie is heavy. It took nine cups or so of blueberries. I took it to a "Christmas in July" party and it went over well. The little that was left was enjoyed as breakfast, I'm told, by our friends Mona and J.P. in Grayling. He is now back in Iraq, only home for a short time to attend a funeral. I was honored to feed them.

The Garden is My Baby

You know how some people always have pictures of their kids? They make you look at them and expect you to think they are so cute. I am so weird. I didn't do much of that when my kids were little. If my kids were there in person, sure, I'd expect you to comment about them. But I didn't want to put you in the uncomfortable position of having to pretend like you cared when I pulled out a pic of them in their absence. WELL, times have changed. So has the content of the pictures.

It's ironic that while all this lovely stuff grows in the dirt (manure even), it looks so fresh and clean in the pictures. The colors up against the darkness of the soil is so lovely. And I know that I don't put anything in the garden outside of a fertilizer so those babies are good for eatin'. I do just pick stuff usually while I'm out there weeding (by hand). Even my girl, Natalie has spent hours of her summer weeding and helping out the plants. We consider the weeds to be thieves of our nutritious soil. The birds,too. But who can blame them all for wanting to feast? It is pretty pure stuff.

I love my garden. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for every beautiful thing that is grown in it. I think that everyone should have a garden. To feel gratitude every single day is better than falling in love. I know that this blog is supposed to be about sugar, and I still love that too. However, the magic (I know it's science, but magic more adequately describes the emotional connection) that occurs when the little seed becomes something that nourishes my family and my friends still brings about something childlike and new in me. I wish I could start a neighborhood garden in the areas that need it the most. No one would ever be hungry.

I Think I Need A Peach Tree...and other things

On my way home from Traverse City, I bought these Michigan grown plums and peaches. Christian was getting frustrated with me because as soon as I walked in the door I just had to take some pictures. I knew that they wouldn't last long on the counter and since I fall in love with beautiful stuff, I really NEEDED to get a picture of them right NOW!!!

The peaches were so ripe that they smelled like a scented candle. The juice would just pour out of them as soon as you touched them. Jeff was driving in to town and took one with him to try on the way. He ended up getting juice on himself and Margaret's car. Sadly, he had to throw some of it out the window because it was just too juicy to eat while driving.

I made the tart below with some almond cream (frangipane) and then the peaches. Normally I would boil them for a minute to loosen the skin but I couldn't chance them getting any softer. I peeled them with a very sharp knife and then quartered them. I put them in a pot with some vanilla sugar, almond extract, a touch of cinnamon and a little bit of butter. I only warmed them and then spooned them out one quarter at a time. I arranged them and topped them with some raspberries. I baked it for about, oh I don't know, until it looked ready. It was tasty. I took some down to The Two Track bar in Grayling and it was enjoyed by some of our friends there. The other one was devoured at the cottage.

It's a berry good start

The first of many strawberries, I hope. There are ten strawberry plants. We have put in a garden at our cottage in northern Michigan. The season is short and the weather is peculiar. I have had to study up on the particulars of growing anything in that part of the state. This plant is actually 4 weeks further along now and I have put it on a bed of mulch so that the tiny fruit never have to touch the ground. They are picky!!

In my garden, I have also planted the following:
Peppers: red, yellow, orange, jalapeno, banana, poblano
Onions: Green, Leeks, Shallots
Herbs: Basil, Oregano, Cilantro, French Tarragon, Texas Terragon,
Parsley, Thyme, Spearmint
Strawberries, Watermelon, Pumpkin & rhubarb
Carrots, Beets, Broccoli, Cauliflower
Red and Green Cabbage
Tomatoes (5 types) & Beans
Zucchini & Cucumber
Lettuce: 3 types

I just spent the last ten days there tending, weeding and planting additional plants. I would have taken newer pictures but I (oops!) forgot the camera. I will be back there in nine days so there will be pics definitely then.

Having a garden is so hopeful! I recommend it. I also love the idea that I can feed my family even if I can't get to the store. I think I was born a few decades too late. I am thinking I should have been a farmer's wife....

Kids gotta have the sugar

This has been a week of birthdays...for 6 year olds. I feel like a drug pusher grooming my future customers.














I think it's strange that 6 year olds ike "high School Musical" enough to make it their party theme. I mean, they're 6. You're a teenagers by the time you get to high school. then again, my ninth grader can't stand the movie.