Well, Bacon Day is winding down. It began before sunup this morning with a few loud claps of thunder and a short downpour of rain. At the first clap of thunder every dog in the yard was at the back door howling to get it. Softy that I am, in they all came, and once calm again, were sprawled across the living carpet like dirty (wet) laundry.

Since I was up early, I decided to make a hearty breakfast for John and my Dad. I did a simple Sausage and Egg Scramble with pumpernickle toast. To a spicy ground sausage, I simply added diced onions and diced rainbow peppers. I seasoned with salt and pepper only, since my Dad is not fond of herbs.


Sorry for the quality of these pictures. The lighting is terrible! I hope to improve at indoor photography as I continue this blog.





My first attempt at scones didn't go too bad! I made Bacon Scones using a basic scone recipe from Ina Garten. I didn't press them out as thin as the directions instructed, and so I had very large scones, biscuit-like because I decided to cut them in rounds instead of wedges. I sent a half-dozen of these scones home with my sister, who said they were better than the bacon biscuits I gave her at Christmas.

The BLTs were a hit! Always so simple to prepare, and so delicious to eat! I used thick cut bacon, and piled it on. I add thinly sliced onion to my BLTs. I learned a long, long time ago that the onion really gives the sandwich a boost of flavor that takes it out of the ordinary realm of BLTs. Lots of mayo, large slices of tomato, shredded lettuce, salt and pepper, and you've got a hearty, delicious sandwich! I didn't have a chance to take pictures of a BLT. They were gone before I could pick up the camera!

I have always loved cooking. For more than 30 years I hosted every holiday family gathering, doing all of the cooking and entertaining. I was always in my element creating elaborate meals for my family to enjoy. After my mother passed away, I stopped hosting the family events, but still enjoyed cooking for my husband. In the last two years, however, my energy level has dropped significantly, and for a time, I wasn't cooking much at all. In the last few months though, I've been pushing myself to do more around the farm, including more cooking, and over the holidays I did quite a bit, ventured into baking, something I've never bothered to try before now. I find that I enjoy baking, and it's much easier than I ever thought. I hope to be doing a lot more cooking, and baking, while the weather is still cool!

Bacon Scones
adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Scones

4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, diced
4 large eggs, beaten together
1 cup heavy cream
5 slices (more to taste) thick sliced bacon, diced large

Mix together the first four ingredients. Add the diced butter.
In a separate bowl, mix together the beaten eggs and heavy cream. Pour these into the flour and butter mix and stir gentle to combine.
Add the diced bacon.
Don't overmix the ingredients. The dough will be soft and wet.
Pour the dough out on a lightly floured surface and quickly form into a round.
Press out to 3/4 inch, cut, and brush with an egg wash (egg and water).
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (longer if the scones are large).

Instead of bacon, you might like to try adding blueberries or cranberries, raisins, or other savory items like cheese and chives, or herbs.

Mixed Blessings

The rain has been falling almost continuous for weeks. Considering, however, the fact that I live in a state that has been experiencing severe drought for some years now, I can't complain. But I will say that the blessing of rain brings with it a fair share of problems as well. Take, for instance, the following problems:

• It won't stay dry long enough for us to mow the grass.
• There isn't enough time for me to work in the yard or garden between rains and other obligations.
• We've got slugs for the first time ever!
• The humidity is uncomfortably high.
  

But, as I said, there are blessings:

• Everything is growing at high speed right now!
• I don't have to be standing out there with a hose trying to figure out how much water to give everything.
• The bird baths are staying full
• The car is staying washed!

There was a brief, non-raining (but still wet) period yesterday, but the sun was too intense and the humidity too high to be out in it for very long. Although the weather report called for more thunderstorms today and through the rest of the week, it was actually dry and comfortable enough to get outside and work on my container garden for a little while today.

I had to do some major rearranging of containers to move old plants out and new ones in.

By tomorrow I will have harvested all the remaining lettuce, though some roots are resprouting and I might leave them out to see what they produce. I do have 3 trays of young leaf lettuce, endive, and head lettuce, and a tray of spinach that I never transplanted. I like clipping the tender young leaves and adding them to the salads I prepare each night. It seems to me to be decadent to have baby lettuce leaves in our salads.

I've planted 3 bush cucumbers in large pots, and put them in the best sunny spot on the deck.

I've also planted 6 sweet potatoes in 2 very large pots, and put them in a sunny spot as well. I really hope we get some sweet potatoes from them, even if they are small.

I've got 2 Sweet 100s tomato plants on the deck, as well as 3 patio varieties of tomato.

I've got 2 banana pepper plants that are 3 feet tall now and filling up with large peppers. They both need to be staked to stay upright. John's working on that for me. There are 2 banana pepper plants John brought me back in March. They wintered over in the greenhouse, and John wanted to see if they'd do anything. I didn't think they would, but to my surprise, they are loaded with small to medium sized banana peppers.

I'm going to give up on the radishes. I planted about 100 in two shoe boxes, and they've never bulbed. I couldn't get bulbs last fall or the spring or fall before that either. I'm learning from other gardeners that this is a common problem. I understand from one gardening friend that this never happens with French Breakfast radishes, so I'm going to try some of those in the fall if I can find them. My radishes aren't a total loss. I've learned that the young tops are delicious in a salad.

I have a large tray with 6 strawberry plants that are now flourishing. There are nice sized strawberries everywhere, still green, but one has turned a beautiful deep red, and I'm waiting for just the right moment of ripeness to pick it and give it to my husband.

This is the first year I have grown Swiss Chard, and I wanted it in containers on the deck where I could watch it. I transplanted 2 in the early spring, and they're tall and beautiful now. I've learned that they will do fine all summer, and I can harvest them a few leaves at a time for meals here and there. They will do well until the very cold weather in winter.

That's it for the veggies in the container garden. Everything else is flowers. I've never tried growing them before, and it's nice to see them flourishing without much assistance from me.
I can't remember all their names, but they are lovely, and I am enjoying them. I often forget they are on the deck, and when I step out the door and see them there in all their color, I am always surprised and pleased.

I've got more than 20herbs now. Most of them are on a table near the deck. It can't hold all of them, so I'll be trying to find a place on the deck for as many as will fit. Some still need to be transplanted into pots. The rain has delayed that project too.

I like having a garden bed out in the back yard, but I also love having a few veggies, flowers, and herbs on the front deck where I can get to them quickly for a small, needed harvest, or a brief visit with nature.