Berries Finally!

In the rearranging of the deck to bring in the washer I decided to move the pot containing the strawberry plants up onto the deck rail.

Look at all those berries. I had little hope that I'd get to enjoy them, given how my plant has been plundered by vermin unknown. I found out the little bugger hasn't been dragging them away to eat, either.

This fake stone is in the corner under the location where I'd moved the pot. This makes me wonder if squirrels really are to blame. Two years ago, I had chipmunks brazenly sunbathe while sitting on this. Maybe they were grabbing my berries. Whoever was doing it, hasn't touched the plant since I moved it up onto the railing.

I actually need to harvest the plants this weekend.

I'm going to get a handful of berries, finally, to have with breakfast.

I'm not sure this is where I want to keep the pot, but perhaps that's all that needed to be done. I simply needed to move it up off the deck floor. The next question is whether to bring this inside this fall. It would not produce fruit since there are no pollinators, but it might be kind of cool to have the plants overwinter inside. Buying from Select Seeds was one of the best things I did this year's growing season.

Here's to fresh strawberries from my "garden".

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Evidence

Well, it's quite clear that although the strawberries in the pot on the deck experiment is a resounding success, I'm not the one benefiting from it. I came home from the grocery today and found this on the deck.

I immediately thought squirrels but it's entirely possible it's raccoons. Whatever it is, I'm going to have to think about where to put these next year so I get most of the berries. :::grumble:::

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Strawberry Fields

The three strawberry plants I bought this year have been covered with soft pink blossoms.

It's strawberry time. I was so excited when I noticed there was a nearly ripe berry.

There were berries all over the plants. I was going to get a decent crop, at least enough for breakfast or snacking.

So far, this is the only berry I've been able to harvest. The one in the above photo was gone the next morning. You see there is a divot on this one. It had been pulled off the plant and left on the deck. Squirrels.

I'm not sure how many berries I will actually get. I'm feeling rather defeated. I hadn't considered the wildlife.

I ate this one. These berries are sweet and would be wonderful if I ever got enough to eat. Maybe I need to elevate them off the deck floor, onto the rails, maybe? I need to figure this out because I certainly want to do this again next year.

Beverage:  Raspberry seltzer

Deb

Decking the Deck

Almost everything is planted and the overwintered geraniums are outside. This has been a good week to move them as we've had 3 days of soaking rains and then warm temperatures with mild evenings. The screens were put in the windows yesterday and stayed there all night. When I'm lying awake, waiting for sleep to overtake me, the sounds of the evenings take me back to the summer visits with my grandmother. She was a difficult woman to get along with but staying with her for a week in the summer was always a highlight.

Winning those two large containers sort of imperiled my desire to weed out my pots to just what I'll use because I ordered plants from a company who sent me a catalog this year. That box arrived a week ago on Wednesday.

They are called Select Seeds and one of their "hooks" is that they have heirlooms seeds as well as live plants for sale. I rather liked the idea of spending the money I would usually fork over at a catalog which would deliver. I'd not have to battle crowds for begonias or buy more than I had budgeted for. Because I was cutting way back, this seemed, to me, to be a better use of my time and my funds. I hadn't counted on two 5 gallon containers of plants.

Here's the box of plants.

The Select Seeds plants came in unique containers.

The whole thing is recyclable. I very much appreciated that. The plants were healthy looking even having been left in the box from Wednesday through Sunday, when I planted everything.

I pulled everything up close to the deck and started with the the hanging planters. I wasn't sure what I'd find in the big containers but, to my delight, the plants in them came out easily. The containers had several which draped over the side and I got a couple of sweet potato vines for good measure.

I realized that the dirt in the bottom of the planters was hard so I spent time breaking it up in the hopes that the plants develop a deeper root system. I need to remember to do that every year. Plants always look so droopy when you put them in the container where they are going to go. But after 3 days of rain and a bit of fertilizer, they have perked back up.

I like vines or flowers to trail down the sides of the planters. We'll see how this goes. Did you know that given the right amount of fertilizer and water, that decorative sweet potato vine will actually produce an edible tuber? It's yours if you can get it before the squirrels do.

Gradually, things came together. In the end, I only had to pull out 2 extra pots and I need to go back and get 3 more begonias as I underestimated the size of the pots for the front steps.

The plants I like so well, the ones with dark colored leaves, are lettuce. Once I pulled them from the pots to replant, it was clear what they were. It's getting late in the season for lettuce, but I could, if I wanted, sheer part of them back for a salad. That made me chuckle.

As I was finishing up the planting, the sky darkened and the rain began to fall. I moved all the pots from the railings to the deck floor to prevent them being tipped over by high winds. On Monday, I brought out the geraniums, removed all the dead leaves and bracts, fertilized and lightly watered them. They got drenched from Monday through Wednesday morning.

Another year and another batch of happy geraniums. I also scrubbed the birdbath clean. Lordy was that gross.

What's left now is to move the white geranium on the cat house to the pot where my ancient and spindly white geranium is. Next to the white geranium is a rose colored scented geranium. I'm going to add it to the pot of another of the ancient ones. The geraniums were the plants most affected, last year, by the ground squirrels. There was a lot of open space at the top of the geraniums so my hope is that packing the pots with plants will deter those rascals. I also checked my cayenne pepper stash and we're good for another year.

Finally, I added flowers to the pot by the deck stairs.

One thing I went with this year was upping the fragrance quotient of the deck garden. I know the bees can smell stuff, but I wanted to be able to smell things. So I invested in some plants that emit odors.

In the white pot is a datura. First of all, this is poisonous. Never, ever have it where chewing children or pets or adults, for that matter, would want to experiment with the leaves. That's why it's in the pot at the foot of the deck stairs. My girls don't chew on stuff on the deck. When I got them cat grass, they looked at it and wandered away. But it can't be planted in soil you intend to use for growing stuff. If I decide next year I want to put sweet potatoes in this planter, all the soil has to go.

I've had daturas before. They emit their odor at night when the trumpet-shaped flower, which is huge, by the way, opens. The ones I've had before were white or creamy white. This one is white, silver, bluish white and purple. These can be the size of small shrubs and we used to have some that were self-seeding. We'll see about this one. I added alyssum and a low growing primrose to the pot. They should keep the ground under the datura covered which will mean less watering. The primrose was one plant that looked a bit wilted when I pulled out it out of the box. I noticed last night that it has small flowers on it already.

The geranium is used to scent rose water and potpourri. You do have to actively crush the flower pedals to release the smell. There is a phlox, Midnight Candy, another scented plant. It's a bit different from the phlox I have in the front. The ones in the front aren't scent producers so I have high hopes for this plant.

I like nicotiana, Line Green, and the color of this plant caught my eye. This is another poisonous plant. I have it mixed in with shorter plants and the dark red snapdragons which were in the containers I won. This one blooms in the evening. To go with the nicotiana, I got a coreopsis, Little Penny. The photo shows the blooms to be the size of a penny, but there are plenty of them. I'll need to sheer the plant for a season of continual blooms but I thought the juxtaposition of color between the green and the coppery-red would be striking.

A trailing plant for the pots is the petunia, African sunset. It's the one you see blooming in the box. It's a lovely light coral color. I probably should have purchased more than one plant, but I'm giving this company a try first. Then next year, if the plants do well and look good, I can come back and get more than just one. The verbena I'm holding above is called "Twister Pink". This is another riot of color and I'm all about color on the deck. It's also a trailing plant and it's in the hanging planter.

Finally, for something completely different, I ordered three container strawberry plants. Who knows if this experiment will yield anything but having a handful of fresh strawberries on a Saturday morning in June was too good to resist.

I will move things around come the weekend, when I can spend time putting pots in places, standing back and saying, "Nope. That doesn't look right." I have to bring up at least one other deck chair. I was going to move the cat house to the basement, but with the possibility that it may be used, I won't. The whole desire is to make the deck an inviting space. We'll see how this year's deck garden works.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Kitchen Expenditures

I made muffins over the weekend, fresh strawberry muffins. Warm from the oven, these are incredibly delicious. I could eat the whole batch. Well, I could unless...

they were burnt.

Heavy sigh. I need to get a new kitchen timer. I have one on the stove that doesn't always buzz. When it does, you can hear it on the deck, with the back door closed, it's that loud. I also have one you turn.  It's clicking sound used to get louder when there were 5 minutes left and then there was a sharp "ding" as the timer went off.

Neither one of these is working properly. They won't consistently go off when time is up which leads to the above burnt muffins. The insides are still okay, but, unless you like the taste of charcoal, the outsides aren't real good.

When I replace these, I need two of them. Many times, I have something cooking on the stove while something is baking in the oven. Plus, I have to look at the design. Do I want cheap and functional, retro, digital or whimsical? I'll tell you what I don't want, a timer that costs nearly $80. Seriously. When I added it to my cart and they calculated shipping and handling, it was $89.98. Who spends that kind of money on a kitchen timer when a $5 penguin will do the same thing? That timer better come with a life-time replacement warranty and be tough enough to survive a nuclear blast.

I prefer whimsy so I'm on the lookout for cute, funny, silly but functional kitchen timers. You can leave me a suggestion in the comments. I'm not going to spend over $10 for this. The wind up one I'm replacing I got at Target 25 years ago for $10. I'd say I got  my money's worth.

Beverage:  Earl Grey tea

Deb

So You Don't Have To

Wendy's sent me an email about a new item added to their menu this month. I don't remember how I got on their email list but it's interesting to see how they put a spin on fast food to make it "healthy". As June is the time strawberries start showing up in abundance, I expect to see more places with strawberry infused items. I decided I'd try it out on the way home from the book fair. I like strawberries. I like ice cream. I like shortcake. I like Wendy's value menu. It seemed like a decent enough marriage of items.

This is what I got. Now, granted the photo is blurry but it's because it was 89 when I went through the drive through on my way home. I knew that blob of whipped cream spilling out of the top of the container was not going to be intact by the time I drove a half mile home. If I wanted a photo of how it looks when you're handed the parfait, I had to stop and take a photo in the parking lot. Once I did that, I ate the whipped cream.

So, how it is? Wellllll....It's $1.69 and that's what you get. It's Wendy's vanilla ice cream and strawberry syrup with a topping of real diced strawberries, shortcake cut into squares like croutons and topped with whipped cream. In order to keep the price low, there are no strawberries in the layers below the top. Nor are there shortcake croutons in the middle. By the time you eat the top and get to the middle, it's mostly vanilla ice cream.

The strawberry syrup seems poured down the side of the cup more than layered like Dairy Queen would do with their strawberry shortcake sundaes. In the drive to make this reasonably priced, it's not much beyond the top. For a quick snack and for under $2.00, it's adequate. Just don't be expecting much after you eat the topping.

So, there you have it. It's not horrible and, if you wanted one, there really isn't anything to compare with it at this price range. I won't be ordering it again. I think I should make real pound cake and cover it with real strawberries dusted with sugar to make real syrup and cover that with real whipped cream. It would probably cost the same and be ever more satisfying.

Beverage:  Huckleberry tea

Deb

Not Breakfast

And here is another in my random series of "I'll Eat This So You Don't Have To".

I know you're asking yourself, "Just what the heck is this?" It's brand new from Life Cereal. This is Quaker Life Strawberry Crunchtime Multigrain Cereal. Yeah, try asking for that when your significant other says, "We're out of cereal. What do you want?" I needed cereal and Target had these for $2.50 a box. There's probably a reason for that price. It's called, "These aren't selling. Let's see whom we can foist them onto." Well, me, for one. It's Life. It's strawberry. It's cheap.

It's not tasty. It turns the milk a strawberry quick color and the sugar leeches out into the milk. I don't like sugared milk. They got soggy much too fast and the "multigrain" part is so far down the ingredient list, I feel like they added it because the corn they used happened to drive by wheat and oat fields on the way to the processing plant. Strawberry flavor? Well, yeah, but it's that synthetic strawberry flavor.

Now, here's the marketing on the box. "Just 6 grams of sugar per serving." That is less than a box of Fruit Loops or Cap'n Crunch or many other cereals directed at kids. Kids aren't going to care. It's got fiber! Kids don't care. It's got vitamin B6. Again, kids don't care. Parents do and, although the giant strawberry on the front of the package is designed to capture the child's eye, the marketing is strictly to the parent. "Put this on your morning table and feel good about kid's cereals."

I poured out a bowl and the first thing that struck me was, "This looks like Kaboom." Who remembers Kaboom? It was for sale until 2010. Little pseudo-clown faces with marshmallow circus animals. It was another version of Lucky Charms, but not as sweet. I loved Kaboom. These are the red clown faces from Kaboom. There is an apple cinnamon version of this cereal I'll have to try so you don't have to.

Save your money. Go get a box of Cheerios or Kix, slice in some strawberries and serve that for breakfast. Or get your child eating oatmeal in the morning. You don't need a cereal ostensibly for kids that is marketed to adults. I will be eating this up and never again allowing it to darken my doorway.

Bring back Kaboom. Really. It was far better.

Beverage:  Lipton tea

Deb

Easter Breakfast I Ought to Do Again

Weekend breakfasts tend to be oatmeal or the hot cereal Carole and David gave me for my birthday. I eat dry cereal during the week. It's just faster and more filling. If I would organize the oatmeal the night before, I could have oatmeal, but that lends itself to more leisurely eating than I have the time for during the week.

Weekends, I like to get inventive with breakfast. I have time and desire. Saturday, I had hot cereal but Sunday, being Easter, perhaps put me in the mood for something more. I thought about pancakes. I really wanted chocolate chip pancakes, but the search for a recipe didn't yield anything. I stumbled upon something I hadn't made in years, a puff pancake.

It is, essentially, crepe batter poured into a cast iron skillet and the whole thing baked in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. The batter puffs up, hence the name, before deflating to a skillet-size dense pancake. This recipe has instructions to make applesauce with it. I had the applesauce in the cupboard so I just made the pancake part. It's a bit sweeter than another recipe I have.

Once the pancake was baking, I decided I needed muffins. I haven't felt like baking much because it's been painful to stir batter, with the twisting motion of my wrists. But, one of the benefits of medication is the reduction of the pain. So, I got out the strawberries I bought for this occasion and made fresh strawberry muffins. They are so good.

The recipe doesn't make more than a dozen, even with my history of having more batter than prepared muffin cups. As the strawberries have to sit in sugar to make syrup, I just got them going and had breakfast. The pancake was sliced into quarters, covered with warmed applesauce and I ate up the very last of the bacon I had fried up a few weeks back. Add tea and milk to take my pill and the whole thing was ready in 30 minutes.

There was extra pancake which I brought to work for lunch. The muffins aren't going to make it into Wednesday, I'm afraid. This munchieness side effect of Prednisone has me trying to avoid the kitchen. "Oh look, a muffin!" my brain hollers as I come in for more tea. As good as homemade muffins are, it's not calorie conscious if you eat half the batch in one day.

Beverage:  Huckleberry tea

Deb

Jessie's Fault

Jessie posts to Facebook that she's really craving strawberries on the day I am planning a grocery run.

Somehow, these found their way into my basket, right next to the slice of chocolate cake. Strawberries right now are kind of soft, particularly the ones on the bottom of the box. But they are better than a bag of chips, that's for sure.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Beverage:  Scottish Blend tea

Deb

Sunday baking

April and Perry are coming this weekend! I think it's been a year since we were last together. Perry was getting some training and was in Downers Grove and we got together with he and his friend, Richard, for food and games.

April has a convention in Lincolnshire and Perry gets to tag along.

On Saturday, Jon, April, Perry, Richard and his wife, Lifcha, will come to my house for games and food or food and games or food and food. I'm excited. I haven't had a reason to cook more than tuna melts. The menu is slated to be hobo suppers, raspberry applesauce salad, cole slaw, potato salad, chips and warm blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. We'll have soda and Perry is bringing bottles of his homemade mead.

I got started on Sunday with chocolate chip orange muffins. I had a bag of mini chocolate chips. The recipe was an old one I had never made and, as I really need a grocery visit, one for which I had all the ingredients on hand. They are good but they need more orange for my tastes.

I also made Fresh Strawberry Muffins. This recipe is, essentially, coarsely chopped strawberries held together with batter. There is a hint of nutmeg in them which makes them so good.

April is allergic to chocolate so I think, once I finish washing the muffin tins tonight, I'll make some Cinnamon Topped Muffins for Saturday.

I love muffins. I love to have lots in the freezer. They make excellent breakfasts and two is plenty to have with your morning juice or milk. And they freeze so well.

Now if someone would answer me this, why is it that when I make muffins, I always get more than the recipe says it makes? I stir just until moistened. The batter is still lumpy. Yet, invariably, the amount of muffin batter can be 1/2 to 2 times greater than what the recipe says it makes. The chocolate chip recipe said it made 18. I got 30. The strawberry one made the dozen listed only because I made sure the cups were filled to the brink.

Technically, I'm not complaining because it means I have more muffins than expressed in the recipe. It's just that on days when I go on a muffin baking binge, I run out of muffin tins before I run out of batter.

MMMMMMMMMMMM. I think couple of warmed muffins with butter would be good tonight.

Beverage: Pepsi

Deb

If ever I run out of ideas....

My friend, Patt, sent me the following list...

June is:
• Aquarium Month
• Candy Month
• Dairy Month
• Fight the Filthy Fly Month
• Gay Pride Month
• National Accordion Awareness Month
• National Adopt a Cat Month
• National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month
• Rose Month
• Turkey Lovers Month

I don't know where she got this but this is excellent! So, I'm going to make Turkey Burgers with a side salad and for dessert have chocolate covered strawberries with non-aerosol whipped cream while listening to Frankie Yankovic and his orchestra. On the table will be a half-dozen roses in water as the fly swatter hangs nearby to assault one of those awful bugs.

If you are so inclined to help a cat during the month but don't want the expense of adoption, you could send Best Friends Animal Society , Alley Cat Allies or your local no-kill animal shelter a donation in honor of the month. I have supported Best Friends for years.

I found this while trying to decide what to do about aquariums. "Britain’s leading animal psychologist Dr Roger Mugford said: “It’s a well known fact, that watching fish can have a positive impact on human emotions – especially when feeling tense. This is why you often see aquariums in dentists’ and doctors’ surgeries..." I thought most pets had a calming influence on their owners.

And I guess for the one celebration I haven't acknowledged, I should try to find that guy from last Thursday and tell him I really don't bear him any ill will, take him to the animal shelter and get him a kitty and a bag of gummi fish. Would that work? And Daniel, April and Perry.....

DON'T SAY IT!!!!!!!

(Yes, you can laugh and...oh well...okay, post it in the comments cuz I know it's coming.)

Beverage: Dr. Pepper but with a cough drop, it takes like Cheracol D cough syrup.

Deb