A Lovely Saturday

We only have four more days until Camden heads back to school, so yesterday we headed to Boise to scratch a couple more items off our 'summer fun' list (more about that, later). Camden loves, LOVES a good museum, and he's been wanting to go to the Idaho Historical Museum for a long time. I'm so glad we did it ~ it was wonderful! The boys had a great time and the weather was great. They have also always wanted to eat at Burger King (not sure how they got that in their heads, but a commercial on t.v., I am sure), so we accomplished that, as well. When we got home, we had a relaxing evening and a little swimming in the pool. Can't believe that by this time next week, we'll be back to the grind of the school year.

My garden is bursting at the seams these past couple of weeks, and this has been my standard dinner. Bright red tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of pesto (made from the basil I grew earlier this summer), and some Udi's gluten-free bread on the side. Yum. I think today I am going to roast some more of the tomatoes and freeze some more pizza sauce.

Lemon Ricotta Dip (and some gardening blogs)

My little garden is coming along nicely this summer, but more on that later. This is my third attempt at having a garden ~ the first year, pretty successful, the second year, a big ol' bomb, and this year...I think this is the year that will have me hooked. I am already envisioning more raised beds next year, and expanding on what has been successful so far. For gardening inspiration, I have two blogs that I am just loving right now.

The first is Seed. Sow. Water. Grow. and is written by Angela in Oregon. She includes recipes, and I recently tried her Lemon Ricotta Dip ~ it was fabulous (I called it dip, although it is Lemon Ricotta Spread in the original recipe - - mine came out with a dip consistency but maybe that had something to do with my technique...who knows!). I also made the pita chips, and I can tell you, I will be making this over and over. I just checked to see if I have the ingredients on hand (I do) so I think I'll whip up another batch today. Yum!

The second is Sweat Bread, written by Jordan in North Carolina. She also includes recipes, and I just love seeing what she's growing in her garden and serving at her dinner table.

The only thing I've harvested so far is a ton of basil, mint, and rosemary, and one little cherry tomato! I think in about a week I should have some zucchini, and I already have plans for that!

How Does My Garden Grow?

...I have no idea, really. It must be a horticultural miracle. There is really no other explanation. Steve's known me long enough now that I'm quite certain he rolls his eyes, whenever I bring a new plant home. This is because he knows it will be dead within a month, most likely because I will forget to water the poor thing.

As for gardening - - I love the "idea" of it, but have never attempted it, due to the reason mentioned above. For the past couple of years I've attempted herbs and tomato plants, but have yet to eat a tomato from said tomato plants (the victims of "cyclical watering", causing every tomato on the plant to split open), and my herbs have usually shriveled up and died.

Anyway...I asked Steve to build me a raised bed this year, and after it was completed, I fretted for a couple of weeks, wondering what I'd gotten myself into. Soon, I found myself buying seed packets, as well as some seedlings, and got down to business. I really had no clue what I was doing, but as luck would have it, I have two avid gardeners in my life (hi Terri! hi Kasey!) and they have answered a slew of novice gardening questions for me. The result? My garden is actually growing. Fabulously. I just can't believe it. For some reason, my little garden brings me lots of satisfaction, relaxation, and serenity. I look forward to getting out there each day to weed, water, and check the progress of all of those little plants. If all goes well, maybe I'll have a second raised bed next year.

What am I growing, you ask? Basil, rosemary, radishes, carrots, jalapeno peppers, onions, cucumbers, some assorted flowers, tomatoes, and lettuce. I seriously cannot wait to eat something from my garden...by the looks of things at the moment, it will most likely be a radish. I have a little tomato experiment cooking, and I'll share that with you next Tuesday.