There was an Exploding Yogurt, a Flat Tire and a Fire Alarm! Stories from the Road!

An Heirloom Tomato, Basil, Chive, Feta, Olive and Pine Nut Salad

This salad saved my day on the bus ride down to Chanticleer in Wayne, Pennsylvania.  We had a box dinner later in the day that was very good, but it was a sandwich and I just didn't want two sandwiches in one day.  So The Herbal Husband made this salad and I topped it with a bit less than a tablespoon of Paul Newman's Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette.  It was excellent and got oohs and aahs from the bus riders.   

So Bonnie had an exploding yogurt go all over the front of her while we were waiting at a rest stop on the PA Turnpike about one-half hour from Chanticleer.  So near and yet so far.  Once they got the right equipment, the tire was fixed in a hurry.  I'll talk about the fire alarm in my post about NYC.  Here are some photos from Chanticleer.  We did make it there later in the day.  Chanticleer is billed as a "Pleasure Garden."  They really plant great containers.  I hope you can see that from my photos.  I'll let them speak for themselves.

Lots of herbs in containers and lots of other plants that I don't know.  They were in the courtyards and even around the grounds.  My fellow master gardeners were astounded that I didn't know many plants other than herbs.  Sorry, I have just let most of that knowledge go away and now that I'm 60. . ..  Oh, you know it's true!  I'll have Part Two of the Containers of Chanticleer tomorrow.  Was in the herbal kitchen this afternoon making purple basil vinegar, chopping chives and drying sweet marjoram.  Will share that in a post later this week.  Lots to talk about.  Rain coming tomorrow.  Hope the cinnamon and sweet basil holds up!  Need to make some jelly and pesto.  Hope you had a great day.  Talk to you later.

Where Do I Begin, Herbally Speaking? Harvest Your Herbs!

Well, just got back from a bus trip to Chanticleer Garden near Wayne, Pennsylvania and then up to the New York Botanical Garden and the High Line in New York City.  It was a wild and crazy trip which I will tell you about in the coming days.  Right now I want to get you moving to harvest your basil in whatever way you wish.  I thought it might be OK with a couple of 40 degree days, but we have had more than that!  You can process it in a blender or food processor and freeze it in ice cube trays with oil or water or put it in vinegar of apple cider, white wine or red wine.  It just doesn't dry well.  You can also make jelly like I do.  I need to cut my cinnamon basil at the least and make it tomorrow.  Then I hope to cut some of the sweet basil and hopefully some of it will hold on a bit longer into the season.  I just want to get you thinking about ways to preserve it now that the season is winding down!  Tarragon is also another herb that can't be dried, but can be preserved in vinegar.  You can use the preserved tarragon just like you would use fresh.

You also should think about drying any of the following herbs:  lemon balm, lemon verbena, mints (every kind), anise hyssop, thyme, sage and lovage.  Once they are completely dry you can place your dried herbs in plastic bags, jars or plastic containers.  I would label and date them so you know what each item is.  You can cut some parsley and put it in a plastic container and freeze it.  Parsley will stand a light frost.  You can also chop up some chives in a container and use it this winter for eggs and baked potatoes or for just about any recipe that uses onions.  I like the flavor because it is a lighter onion flavor.  Well, I have been busy.  Hope you are all well.  Talk to you later.

A Gift from the Southwest!

Gosh! What Could Be in This Box from the Southwest?

Five Star Chili!

This is Just a Small Part of the Bag!

Well, we got a surprise in the mail from our friends in the southwest.  New Mexico to be precise.   New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment and for something else, chili, red or green.  It is a big part of the food there.  You can't have your food without it or on the side.  The choice is just red or green.  Since I have had GERD for 13 years, I can no longer eat chili, red or green.  I am making hot pepper jelly this afternoon and I will share the recipe once I get it jarred later on.  Always like to get the kinks out for you before you make it.  We shared the bag with our neighbors and they were very happy.  The Herbal Husband is going to make some hot sauce as well.  So thank you Rich and Rosemary for the generous gift of chilis.  The gift that keeps on giving.  If you know what I mean!

The coolness of fall is here.  We are going to be in the 40's tonight!  Yikes.  I have to get the basil harvested.  Basil doesn't do 40's very well.  Although I think we will only have one night, not consecutive nights.  Probably a good thing.  Getting ready to go on a bus trip with the master gardening group and my herbal friend, Bonnie, so I may not be blogging until after I get back over the weekend.  Got a few things to do before I can go.  The Herbal Husband will hold down the fort!  Hope you have a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Road Trip for Tea at The Village Herb Shop!

You Wrote A Couple of  Language of Flowers Books, Kathleen!  A Tussie Mussie is the Perfect Birthday Gift!

Here is my dear herbal friend, Kathleen Gips with my birthday gift to her, a tussie mussie!  She said she doesn't get this gift often!  It is just perfect if I have to say myself!  Her birthday is tomorrow, but why wait, we celebrated today as you will see later.  Bonnie and I went up for our second quarterly tea at The Village Herb Shop.  Here is the menu.

It was an herbal harvest theme with apple overtones!  The first course was squash soup and a scone.

The second course was chicken salad on zucchini bread with bee balm petals, pimento cheese topped with apple on pumpernickel bread and savory mini cheddar biscuit with ham and corn relish.

The third course was dessert and featured apple pecan pie, concord grape streusel bar and caramel apple cake.

Of course, we had to have a different tea with each course.  There was Orange Blossom Oolong, Granny Green Apple Green tea and Caramel Black.  The one I liked the best was the one that was served during the last tea as well, the orange blossom oolong.  We also got to make an Herbal Harvest Rub for meats and vegetables.  It comes in a cute metal tin.  I'm thinking of making some extras as giveaways for that giveaway I'm going to do in the coming days!  Hope you had a great day.  We sure did.  Her next tea will be a Peppermint Stick Tea Party in November.  Unfortunately mint and chocolate are on the menu so I won't be going up.  Kathleen is doing a class on lovage that Bonnie and I are going to do October 12 and repeated on the 13th.  The Village Herb Shop is really decorated for Halloween at the moment.  So if you are in the Chagrin Falls,Ohio area, it is definitely worth the trip!

Hope You Had a Fabulous Day, Dear Kathleen!

It has cooled down since we left this morning.  Hope you have had a great day.  Talk to you later.

Have Never Had This Happen in the Herb Garden!

Is that a mushroom in my thyme?  Yikes!  This summer has been very strange.  Very hot and dry and then it's just wet enough to grow mushrooms in the thyme!  That's all I have!  Getting ready for the final push of grape jelly tomorrow.  I think I have five recipes to make.  It will be another long day.  I'll share with you the package we received from our friends in New Mexico today.  Hope you have had a great day.  Talk to you later.

A Week of Birthday Celebrations!

I am a very lucky person each and every day I wake up.  You see at 29 I was in a bus accident that I might not have survived, but it gives you a new appreciation for life.  So this week I turned 60 and was very happy to do so!  The Herbal Husband let me celebrate all week.  It started last Tuesday when he made a lovely tomato, basil, avocado and feta cheese salad for lunch.

Then it was off to T.G.I.F Friday's for my birthday dinner and a free dessert!

Had my favorite the petite sirloin.  The Herbal Husband had his favorite the Jack Daniels Chicken.  He had already had a bite!

The free dessert was strawberry shortcake.  You will see a pattern emerge later in the post.

Had to share this one!  It wasn't all fun and games though.  I did make grape jelly and raspberry jam.  The sunflowers are continuing to flourish in the garden.

And a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived from our dear friends in Uruguay.  Roses, daisies and asters.

I am truly blessed and lucky.  Even the bee balm rebloomed during my birthday week.

I ended the week with two more occasions to eat lots of calories!  We started Friday with lunch at Panera.  Then The Herbal Husband and I got dressed up (He even wore a tie!) and we went to the Grand Concourse.  An old train station turned restaurant.

We had a view of the river and trains as they passed by.  We both had the Martha Vineyard Salad and then I had one of my favorites, crab cakes.  I even took one home and had it last night for dinner!  I topped off dinner with key lime pie.  And then our waitress, Sarah, came with a surprise of a personalized menu wishing me a Happy Birthday!  It was a great night.

And yesterday I spent lunch with my two best girlfriends at The Cheesecake Factory!  I had a sandwich from the SkinnyLicious menu, the Turkey, Avocado and BLT sandwich!  It was delicious.  With a bit of green salad on the side.

And then Oink, Oink!  I had the strawberry shortcake with some help from my girlfriend, Miss C.  The shortcake from the Cheesecake Factory reminded me of my grandmother's.  She was a great baker.  Maybe that's why I like to bake as well.  I had to leave some of it behind.  It was a little too much!  I got to make wishes for both candles though!  So I'll have double good thoughts this year.  All in all it has been a great week.  Thanks to everyone who made it a very special birthday.  I also hope to live a few more years (maybe not 30), but when it gets tough or too difficult, I want one of those easy buttons so I can just check out if necessary!

If you are in the U.S., I hope you are safe and dry from TS Isaac's flooding.  Have a Happy Labor Day.  I'll talk to you later.

Stink Bugs Are Lurking!

I just wanted to alert you that if you have a stink bug infestation and you have a lemon verbena plant, this is probably what you are seeing in your garden.  Last year I wasn't paying attention and it really damaged this particular lemon verbena.  The one that came back from the ground.

Those darker brown cuts are the damage they do.  First it is the four lined plant bug in spring and then comes the Japanese beetles in early summer and the stink bugs are overlapping both of those pests!  It may be very bad before they come along with a parasitic wasp that will manage them!  Stay away from my lemon verbena!  A great day in the garden here in the 'Burgh.  Inside making grape juice for more jelly!  Hope you are having a great day.  Will share my birthday adventures in the next post.  Talk to you later.

Grapes Everywhere!

Our grapes have ripened.  Again, a bit early!  On Saturday we made grape juice and yesterday I made 53 glasses of grape jelly!  It was a long day and just as I thought I was done, I found one more container and had to make one more batch.  I have found over the years that trying to keep the juice passed one day doesn't work.  The juice crystalizes and becomes grainy.  I leave you now with a photo of one of my jelly jars.  It is my favorite of all of the jelly I make.  I have more grapes coming.  So there will be more jelly to make!  The stink bug has started to attack the same lemon verbena it did last year! Agh!  More on this later!

We are off to the movies later.  Don't know what we are seeing.  Is that blind faith or what?  Talk to you later.

Another Brief Bee Hive of Activity!

We were out in the garden the other day and were thinking about pulling out the arugula, but we just couldn't because of all of the bees that were swarming around.  It was fun to watch all of the activity so I thought you would enjoy it as well.  A beautiful day here in the 'Burgh.  Made some raspberry jam this morning.  Dusting books and bookcases this afternoon.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.