world's tiniest acorn (and a tiny pinecone)

OK, I didn't check with Guinness but it's the smallest I've ever seen.

sunday at the wedding

Our friends' daughter at her wedding yesterday; lakeside setting with a family of swans gliding in the background.

urban garden

Kids and weeds aren't the only ones who can thrive in less than ideal circumstances. Lots of black eyed susans have been sprouting up in our driveway. Our neighbor's canoe seems to be a permanent fixture there, too.

me and my shadow

fruity whole wheat scones for a rainy day

It's been pouring all night long and I'm ready to bake some scones. This recipe was originally inspired by Ellen who said her inspiration was the Pentimento restaurant that used to be in Cambridge many years ago. The scones are mixed by hand in a bowl and dropped onto a cookie sheet making them an easy breakfast treat. Because of the oats and whole wheat flour they are more satisfying than a muffin.

1/3 cup milk (lowfat is fine)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
10 T. melted butter
1 egg
1-1/2 cups white flour
1 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 peach, roughly chopped
1 cup blueberries
3-5 strawberries, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together the 1st four wet ingredients until thoroughly blended. In another bowl sift together the dry ingredients (or if you can just sift it right into the bowl of wet stuff). Pour the oat combination into the wet ingredients and blend with a wooden spoon. The batter will be very stiff. Once it's almost combined you can add the fruit, stirring or cutting it in in a slicing motion with the side of the spoon. Scoop out 12 equal handfuls and place on sheet. Bake for 10 minutes and keep checking until scones are slightly golden and a little browned. Cool on a wire rack. Best eaten same day.

Almost any variation of fruits work: banana/pecan, date/walnut, apple/date or anything that's in season.

cat's eye view

What the kitty sees when she looks out our bedroom window.

birthday

Scenes from a low key birthday: walking Dusty at Fresh Pond, bike ride to Museum of Natural History "Looking at Leaves" exhibit, soda and croissants with my daughter, garden flowers from dinner with family.

rock shopping

The need for pavers on the side led me to McVey Stone on Arsenal Street in Watertown. Virtually around the corner! I've been there several times just for fun and to hunt for decorative rocks to place in the garden. Rocks have many virtues, such as needing no care whatsoever, but especially useful is the contrast they provide when placed near a low growing plant or flower.

side of the house

Since the side of our house gets the most sun, I decided to pull up the grass there and make as much room as possible for perennials. To create an inviting path amongst the flowers I set in bricks that had been left by the previous owners while pondering where I could get paving stones without having to drive to the suburbs.

Sergi Farms flowers

Arranging the flowers from Sergi's can be a little more of a challenge. At first I plopped them together into a single vase but then they seemed happier in their own little homes.

Sergi Farms

It seems crazy but less than a mile from our house is an actual farm, Sergi Farms. We usually go for the corn at the end of the summer or to cut flowers. We made our first trip of the season last week and picked up some Italian zucchini ('very sweet', they said) and fresh green beans, then traipsed through the fields and cut dahlias and zinnias.

sculptures at the Arsenal

Javaberry

Given that the closest pinkberry is over 200 miles away in New York, our favorite ice cream this summer has been Celebrity Pizza's javaberry soft serve that comes highly recommended on chowhound. Yesterday we checked out the sculptures in the "Nature in Balance" exhibit at the Arsenal so we could at least have a nod to having done something cultural for the day.

green vinaigrette

As much as I love to cook I confess that at times I haven't wanted to be bothered making homemade vinaigrette. But I've been won over with this easy method that seems to keep the dressing blended longer than when in a bottle and allows for individual servings rather than dressing the whole salad at once. Preparation involves finding a small container (Kmart's Martha Stewart line has a nice collection of pyrex ones with pale green lids), pouring in about a

1/2 cup of olive oil
approximately 1/4 cup or less cup red wine vinegar,
garlic red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

and then shaking it to blend. When serving reshake it and use a spoon to drizzle it over your salad. Vinaigrette recipes usually call for more olive oil and less vinegar but I like the dressing a little tart.

Now for the exciting variation: instead of using vinegar, try green jalapeno tabasco sauce, a milder version of regular tabasco (available at most groceries). Because it contains vinegar and it's relatively mild, green tabasco is perfect for a vinaigrette. This particular discovery is courtesy of Larry and is a variation of the recipe that comes with the bottle of green tabasco sauce. This is good over green beans (they say 1 lb. cut up into 2-inch pieces; we used about a lb. and a half).

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 green jalapeno pepper sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed, or chopped and smushed with large knife handle
1/2 t. salt

Put into container, shake it up, pour it on.

17 years old

Alex turned 17 today. Happy Birthday, Alex!

black cosmos

Yes, there is such a thing as a black flower, though this one looks more maroon than black. I used this image to make tiled wallpaper for my computer that ended up looking like pop art.

today's beauties

What's blooming in the garden today: