Senior Sea Kayaker

@liamsaunt Those mare's tails (cirrus intortus to be precise) in the first photo do not bode well for upcoming weather. Time to batten down the hatches.

Egg salad on toasted croissant, garden tomatoes, blueberries, V8 and coffee.

Yesterday's dinner: NY striploin (half as I prefer a 4 oz./120 gm. portion), beans with mushrooms, tomato, lettuce, feta and basil salad. Peach livened up with homemade apple habanero jelly. All veg, except mushrooms, from the garden. Enjoyed with a glass of Cote de Rhone.

Last evening's dinner: Broiled beef rib bone (and and few NY strip bones thrown in to gnaw on) with Montreal Steak Spice, garden beans with mushrooms and a grilled tomato stuffed with blue cheese, herbs and breadcrumbs. Glass of Cote de Rhone to accompany.

Simple breakfast this morning. Homemade hummus on toasted WW English muffins (with a little hot sauce), tomatoes, the last of the cherries with Greek yogurt, V8 and coffee.

No. I really need to quote from the recipe rather than memory. Apples plus the apple cider plus 1.5 L. water. Sorry.

I just pushed as much juice as possible through the sieve as it would be eventually be filtered through cheesecloth. As a child of parents who grew up during the Great Depression I can't abide wasting food. I suppose repurposing the apple pulp to make applesauce or apple butter would avoid wasting it. Post how your version turns out. Cheers.

Scotch bonnets should work fine. The original recipe came from "The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving" by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard 2007. The apples I used are an old variety that were, according to my BIL, most likely planted in the 1930's. They are about 20 cm. in diameter and very sour and tannic. They're not crabapples though crabapples would work. I used a Kg. of the apples, cut into about 6 pieces, including the cores, seeds and stems. Cooked for 30 minutes with 125 ml. apple cider vinegar. Strained through a coarse sieve, added 375 ml. sugar and 3 chopped red habaneros, then boiled, as per the recipe, for 30 min. It took an additional 30 minutes of boiling to get to a gel stage. Then strained through cheesecloth. The result was good. A very hot pepper jelly with a strong apple flavour. It's worth doing if you've got access to free apples. We've access to so much that they feed the deer (and get them drunk). Otherwise it's a waste of apples if you're buying them. Hope this answers your question. Cheers.

I've grown mushrooms from inoculated 'bags' of substrate for awhile. All you really need is a spray bottle to mist. Two to three dollars at most.

Unfortunately I was ill for two weeks and when I finally got enough energy to do some work it was obvious what the problem was. I do have another two areas of kale planted and they are surrounded and interspaced with alliums. We'll see what happens.

We've got quite a few old apple trees on the property. Most are in the once pasture wooded areas. I tried something different by cooking down a Kg. of the apples with some apple cider vinegar, strained it, cooked it with sugar and a few habanero peppers. Once it reached the jelly stage I strained it through cheesecloth and ended up a very hot habanero jelly.

My garden has been almost pest free except for my kale and only kale. Finally ascertained it was cabbage worms. They didn't touch the collards, chard or lettuces. The photo shows the extent of the damage. Eaten to the stalks.

Pickerel cheeks! I'm envious. That's usually the shore lunch cook's treat.

@Smithy The photo is of the pruned basil prior to stripping off the leaves, washing and blanching. It takes a few seconds for the basil to wilt in the blanching water and is then immediately shocked, the liquid squeezed out and formed into a 'cigar'.

Shasksuka: eggs, tomatoes, mild and hot peppers, garlic, green onion bulbs and finished with green onion tops and zucchini blossoms. Enjoyed with toasted English muffins and coffee.

Blanching wilts the herbs making them easier to pack but primarily to permanently inhibit any autolytic or other enzymes present. Since they are used for cooking the texture is not important and the flavour is much better than drying.

I just toss the washed herbs into boiling salted water for a few seconds (it'll wilt) then shock in cold water. I compress and roll in a square of parchment then wrap in cling film. As for basil, parsley, coriander. Herbs like chives and garlic chives just get rolled and frozen. Herbs such as sage and oregano I just dry.

One method of preserving herbs (which I call 'cigaring'). Pruned basil blanched, shocked, wrung out, rolled into a 'cigar' and frozen. Whenever some basil is needed I just slice off what I need. Garlic chives. I've already done dill, italian parsley and coriander.

I've been under the weather for about two weeks and am finally able to get some work done. Bush beans done for now (I've another 57 plants due mid Sept. so now it's yard long pole beans. Also picking a lot of chard, some tomatoes, cucumbers, a few fish peppers and lots of herbs. I've had luck planting purslane (pictured in a planter in potting soil) and also in on of the beds. I'm hoping to move this indoors in the fall. Oregano in the same planter. Deck planters (some of which will be eventually be moving inside): summer savory, chives, basil, Thai basil and coriander. Fish pepper on the left. Purple long beans (which have been attracting hummingbirds). And finally some apples from one of the trees. Replanting chard, lettuces, bok choy, mustard greens, daikon, watermelon radishes, French breakfast radishes and hailstone radishes.

A few recent dinners: Chicken and dumplings. Chicken and mushroom pot pie with hasselback potato (sloppy presentation that in no way affected the taste). Hummus, egg, pickled herring over toasted naan with a tomato, pickled red onion and purslane salad.

Eggs with green onion, fish peppers and zucchini flowers over toasted naan with tomatoes and cherries.

Mussels steamed over a sofrito of tomato, onion, garlic and sweet and hot peppers. Finished with chives and basil.

Guessing there's lots of opportunities to resupply food and beverages along the route. Especially beverages 😊

Bush beans picked this morning. They're well on their way. Good thing as these are the last of the snow and snap peas (picked less than ten this morning and it's obvious the plants are almost done). Some baby purslane to add to a salad. First tomato with colour.

The weather here has taken a turn for the better. Mid 20's C. daytime and mid teens at night. Hot food has become palatable again. Last evening's dinner of grilled steak, sugar snap peas, baked sweet potato and a mixed lettuce, tomato, peach and feta salad. Cold Keith's on the side.