What?? Another blog? Are you crazy, lady?

I must be certifiable. And that is a weed.

http://www.aperturesciencephotography.blogspot.com

its just a little place to share with family and friends
I shot a wedding this past weekend, so those of you who "know" me may want to check it out.
Those of you who don't, may not give a hoot.
Its cool, I love ya anyways.

Hot Momma Refrigerator Pickles

...yes, I would be the hot momma *snicker*

No, seriously, they are a titch spicy...and sweet and tart and crunchy.
nom.


Whisk together:

~1 cup white distilled vinegar
~1 1/2 c. white sugar
~2 tsp. salt
~1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
~1 tsp. celery seed
~2-3 tsp. tabasco sauce

~1/2 tsp. dill (optional, lots of peeps like the dill, I like them just fine without!)

Mix until sugar is dissolved and add:

~3 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
(note: if you slice your cukes up and put them in the frig for a couple days before dunking them in the brine, they will stay crisper for you!)
~1/2 c. sliced thinly red onion (optional)

Unfortunately, I did not have the onion.
All heck and hades blew up in thunderstorms in our area, so I had to hurry up and pick my cukes out of the garden and whip this up for a photo for you.

Oh and yeah, first harvest from the garden! Yay!
It was 4 small cukes, I like them small cuz their crunchy and crisp.

anyway, I ramble.
I usually put all this in a large quart-sized Mason jar, but any container with a lid will do.
Shake it all up a bit and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

I can't tell you how yummy these are with pulled pork, BBQ chicken or, oh man, on a really good hot dog. *faints*
You can eat all the pickles out of the juice and fill it back up with cukes!
Well, unless you have grubby fingers digging out the pickles...cuz, eww.

Fruit Crumble Crisp

Since its summer, we definitely need a go-to recipe for a dyed-in-the-wool perfect comfort food.
And since its me...that would be a dessert.
I didn't have fresh peaches, so I used a 29 oz. can instead.
I promise, it still turned out fab.
You could try apples, cherries, pears, raspberries, blueberries or a combination of several.

This recipe is for an 8 x 8 pan, double for a 9 x 13.

what you'll need kiddies:

3-4 cups of fruit (I used a drained 29 oz. can of peaches and a cup of fresh blackberries)
3 Tbs. flour
3 Tbs. sugar
dash salt

Mix gently and pour into a greased 8 x 8 dish.
Mine happened to be a 7 x 9 Pyrex dish.



Topping:

1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 tsp. salt

mix well, then cut in with a pastry blender or fork:

1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes.

Cut in until the butter is well incorporated in small even pieces.
At this point, your topping will look a lot like crumble!



Pile all that sugary, oaty, buttery goodness on top of your fruit, evenly, of course.
Bake at 350*F for about 40-45 mins.
If you've doubled this, it might take a bit longer.
But, you will see the fruit get all bubbly around the edges and the top will get golden brown and crunchy.
Let it cool a bit before serving.
Molten hot spoonfuls of sugary fruit can be a deadly weapon and we wouldn't want you scalding your guests.
Well, unless you'd rather they not visit anymore.
Its your call.

Who's your baby daddy? a.k.a. Frankensquash.

Okay, so here's the deal.
I google, this is how I know.
When you have a squash vine and you want actual squash to grow, a boy flower and a girl flower must be open during the same timeframe (like a couple hours) to pollinate or the baby squash behind the female flower will die and fall off.

So, yesterday morning I went out to my tiny garden to find a beautiful, yellow, hugamongous zucchini flower open with the cutest baby zucchini behind it.
Much to my horror, no male flowers were open.
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

But...with my little eye I spied an open male acorn squash flower.
{Enter mad Mad Scientist full of evil madness and stuff}
With my mad paintbrush I stole the pollen from the acorn squash flower and brushed it ever so slightly on the female zucchini flower.
It almost felt wrong.

Visions of Ligers and Tions raced through my head.
Doctor Moreau laughed maniacally showing his sharp, yellow, coffee stained teeth and wrung his thin fingers knowing he had influenced yet another soul.

This morning, as you see above, the baby squash is quite alive and hence must have been pollinated. Did a friendly bee happen to bring along the correct pollen?
Will it be a hybrid of some mutated sort?
I will update the abomination as it thrives and grows.

"Feed me, Seymour!!"

How does your garden grow?

Mine grows swimmingly...well, for now.
woo!
You never know when those pesky pesks might show up and want to nibble on your tender shoots and vines. Id rather not have to use any sprays or pesticides, that would kind of defeat the whole purpose, you know?

The lasagna style gardening seems to be for me. You don't have to rely on the soil in your yard, which mine kinda suckled. I think some of this ground was fill dirt because we find little rocks and what not when digging in some places.
Garden plants don't take well to clay and icky fill dirt.
Lasagna gardening bypasses all that and gives you a clean slate, soil-wise.



The neighbor's tree was overflowing with cherries, so I put together some jam this afternoon with the cherries and some blackberries I had in the freezer.

Im nervous, people.
Its still rather fluid, ugh, hope it gels and makes uh...jam.
If not, I'll label it 'Berry Syrup'.
It'll be great for pancakes and waffles, right?
RIGHT??
Jeepies, all that work for syrup.