mmm…I made this with beets from the garden. I pulled some young beets to use their greens for the salad. The colors are delightfully festive! The  recipe is from my favorite veggie cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. If this cookbook isn’t on your bookshelf, you must get it! The information about how to cook veggies to their best is worth the cover price, not to mention the recipes are all fantastic.

After 10 years of owning chickens, our last passed away yesterday. Luna was ten years old in August, and for a chicken, had a pretty good life. We are sad to see her go but glad she and her sisters graced our beautiful garden for all those years. Bye Luna, we’ll miss you.

I went out this morning to walk in my garden~something I try to do every morning with my cup of coffee~and I noticed a ripe tomato hanging from the vine. I went to pick it and saw it was covered with dozens of tiny, red, crawling dots…smaller than a pins head. At first I was aghast thinking they were mites. But upon closer inspection I realized they were baby ladybugs! Have you ever seen a baby ladybug? Neither have I! So I thought I’d take a picture of who’s left after I inadvertently knocked most of them off.

Now, this isn’t a complete surprise since I released a bag of ladybugs about a month ago to eat aphids, but to actually come across the offspring of the bugs that flew away in three day’s time is quite charming.

I hope each and every one of you are doing well. Seems the economy is picking up so I hope that your life is returning to the stability we all new before the crash of 2008. Its been a long road for all of us but I feel blessed that the things that were really important in life stayed true throughout the past few years. Thank you all for following my story. I truly love to share all the little details I see in life, and I love when you share yours with me. Thank you,

xoxSarah

Have you noticed that after a while a terra cotta planter will disintegrate before your eyes? I have lost many a favored pot to the ravages of water and minerals leaching through the walls of the vessel. To prevent this from happening, coat the inside with elastometric roof coating (found at Ace Hardware)~it creates a barrier between the wet soil and the porous terra cotta. A gallon is quite expensive (about $100), but it will last for a long time if all you’re doing is coating pots. It is worth the investment.

We have a wonderful garden and sometimes it grows faster than we expect. One day we think we have it all under control~the next there are dozens of veggie varieties ready to pick.

I quickly gather our bounty and start canning. For this label (pictured) I used the Cricut Expression and the Preserves cartridge.

These make great gifts and the savory ones are especially appreciated during the sweet-sweet Holidays. You needn’t have a garden to make great foodie gifts…Buy local, organic veggies and can for yourself or for gifts. You’ll be a star among your friends and family. Those of you in the cold parts of the country better get on it…soon your local farms will be shuttered for the winter.

Speaking of the Holidays~October is just around the corner and that means Halloween is almost here! I’ll be spending the entire month~starting October First~making fun stuff for my favorite Holiday. Tune in for great ideas leading up to a stellar party!