Weekend Odds and Ends

What good is rain if you don't go play in it?

Monday nights are becoming my night to blog about our weekend adventures. This past weekend was certainly enjoyable and relaxing (indoors, of course).  Being near Phoenix, we're still averaging 110 degrees unless some cloudy weather rolls in...which it did this weekend, YAY!

It is SO rare that we get any rain around here, that when we do get it, the kids have to run outside and jump around screaming RAIN RAIN!  This time we actually got enough that they laid down next to the curb and pretended to be swimming as the water crashed against their faces and streamed by.

You know WHY it rained? Because I was grilling steaks in the backyard. THAT'S why.  Sure, I saw gray clouds...but that doesn't mean JACK where we live.  It came on so quick that I didn't have time to pull all the New York Strips off the grill.  By the time I went back for the last three steaks, I returned to the house soaked.  But the steaks were awesome. Had them with pan fried corn and mashed taters. Mmmmm!

Grandpa Neff's beans.

Right before the rain, Wifey showed me how the beans were doing.  She said they've been at this size for quite a while. I'm wondering if I accidentally planted Oompa Loompa beans instead of Grandpa Neff's beans.  These guys are pretty small.

They've been growing since around March and sure looks like they have a ways to go.  Anybody know when these suckers will be done?   We planted our corn at the same time and it has already been eaten and the stalks have turned brown. These guys and the French Horticulture beans are taking F.O.R.E.V.E.R!

The cukes and watermelon are coming along nicely.  Here's a picture of a little watermelon hiding under some leaves.  We picked one a week ago or so, hoping it was ripe.  We were WAY wrong.  They green up so quick it just makes you want to snatch 'em up and eat up. Guess we'll just have to wait a month or so and see if they get much bigger.

Here's a little watermelon, chillin' under a canopy.

Our pumpkins are kinda doing the same thing.  Although they initially were a green color, they are now a pumpkinish orange color.  We'll be watching them eagerly too.  We love to decorate pumpkins for Halloween and can't wait to try our hand at a pumpkin pie recipe.

I also recently posted how we've been juicing some of our garden harvest after watching a Netflix phenomenon called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross.  We use our own cucumbers mixed with apples, kale, blueberries, beets, peaches, asparagus, collard greens, broccoli, bok choy, celery and just about anything else from the fresh produce section.  We don't use ALL this stuff in one drink but we mix a good six or seven items.

Typically the flavor of the apples overpower the greens and I haven't had a blend yet that wasn't drinkable.  Even though a lot of pulp goes into our composter, we still get quite a bit in our drinks.  You can see it floating around in the glass and taste the little bits as you drink the beverage. We're juicing, on average, twice a day and consuming a LOT of veggies that we normally wouldn't enjoy eating.  If you haven't checked out Joe's movie, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. What? You've never been THAT bored? Oh, come on.

Heavenly juice from our Jack Lallane juicer.

Wifey's birthday is tomorrow.  Looking forward to some good eats.  Probably treat her to some Olive Garden.  I suck at keeping presents hidden though.  Once our oldest daughter gave away one of the presents (which she is infamous for doing), I gave in and gave her both on Saturday.  She is the proud owner of a new Brother Serger 1034D and Presto 23 Quart Pressure Canner/cooker.  That outta keep her busy for a while ;-)  You know you could find inexpensive juicers with Target Promo Codes and get your own healthy drink.

I'm off now to go see what those jokers in Washington are doing about the ill acclaimed debt ceiling crisis.  I predicted  it would all boil down to Obama using politics to go around the Congress and do whatever he wanted to do...like go to war with Libya. 

~OJD