30!!

Turned 30 today--got sang to twice, 3 different kinds of cake, got to ride a hovercraft (seriously), and tore more perforated judging cards than I've ever seen in my entire life.

Looking forward to the wedding this weekend and seeing some old friends! Can't wait!

Mmmm....

Made Lemony Goat Cheese Zucchini Pizza for dinner (finally! I've been planning to make it since I made the grilled pizzas). Delicious (and if I made it about 10 more times, we might use up all the squash we have)!

Earlier today I went to the Steam Threshing Jamboree at Prairie Village with my Dad. He was on a mission to find a few house things at the flea market, and I just wanted to take some pictures.



A portrait in the Wentworth Hotel (love, LOVE the wallpaper!)



Rolling pins in the Old Madison Hotel--I'd been in both these buildings before, but more of the Madison Hotel was open to walk through. Very neat to see!

We also went to a few garage sales (mark that one off the list!)...didn't find anything that I had to have, but it was still fun (and Dad got me a mini Blizzard at DQ)

Something new (and old)

I've been looking at and reading about using expired film/polaroids/toy cameras to get some interesting pictures and wanted to try it out.

Luckily, I never took the last Polaroid (back in May 2004 when I last used that camera) - so here's my first attempt at using expired film.

Buying more film for the Polaroid may have to wait (it's a little $$)--but it turns out I have 4 rolls of expired 35mm AND 8 rolls of undeveloped film from 6 years ago. I have NO idea what's on the film and can't wait to get it developed (may go drop it off this afternoon--I'm actually not even sure if the drugstore here will develop film...)

I also busted out both of my SLRs--I'd forgotten all the fun stuff I had to go along with my AE-1 (filters, shutter lock, macro lens and wide-angles that won't get eaten up by being digital). I'd really like to load it up with film and head out, but the battery is pretty much dead...so I'll go with the A2-E for now.

Fun!

Pictures from this morning

Sunflowers from the Farmers' Market (there was NO way I was going to bring any more veggies into our house--not until we dig out from under the pile in the kitchen). I think this may be my best $2 purchase ever!



Cooper chilling on the couch

Not sure what my plans are today--feeling like knitting or reading. I need to mow the front yard (but maybe I'll just wait until it gets MUCH hotter to do that) and I already did some dishes, so I'm feeling pretty accomplished.

And another one...

because I used my fire ring tonight =) Would've been a little easier if the dogs hadn't kept stealing my sticks...and now I totally smell like bug spray and campfire (so I really need a shower before bed). There's just something about a campfire though...

I ALSO made grilled pizza for the first time (and I used all veggies and herbs from our garden - zucchini, yellow squash, orange and yellow tomatoes, onion, banana peppers, parsley, and basil) - so, SO delicious. Now if there were just a pizza recipe that called for pickling cucumbers...



A couple websites I used to make sure I didn't mess up too much ;)
http://annies-eats.com/2010/06/24/grilled-pizza/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/grilled-veggie-pizza-recipe/index.html
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/08/grilled-eggplant-and-olive-pizza/

Cross another one off the list...

because yesterday we went to the Palisades!! We took the backroad/scenic route, but once we got there, WOW! It was beautiful, pink cliffs rising up from the river - totally not what you'd expect for Southeastern South Dakota.



Yes, that's John...

Does this make anyone else a little nervous? Just me? (At the time, I was also thinking, "not enough life insurance not enough life insurance not enough...")



John and his friend Peter on more solid ground



Wildflowers growing up through the pink rocks

Definitely going back--I'm thinking a picnic or a camping trip would be perfect!

More pictures from today

Pimm's and Lemonade with the smell of BBQ ribs on the grill behind me. Peter is here visiting and John's got ribs, german potato salad, more of our green beans (eat them so we don't have to find a place to put them!!), and beer/cocktails ready for dinner tonight.



(Soon to be) Pickles and peppers...we're getting buried in pickling cucumbers



Yep, turns out they're supposed to be orange...couldn't let them sit on the vine any longer...might turn some into an spaghetti sauce (orange sauce?)...or else I better get busy eating them as snacks and putting them on salads

Another update

Our first yellow pear tomato harvest from earlier this week

The garden is doing good - John has two Brandywines turning red, and I'm starting to think my cherry tomatoes are supposed to be orange....hmmm

Still getting yellow squash and the zucchinis are still growing

Garden update

Whew - crazy week with John's birthday and my first Achievement Days here(it went great, and I totally caught a greased pig - 3rd place for adult women! =)).

Got some pictures of the garden yesterday evening...



An overall picture - the Brussel Sprouts got eaten up, so we're not sure they're going to work out, and something has eaten/killed the base of the zucchini plant (so we may only get one zucchini).

Otherwise everything else it doing its thing. We haven't been home to cook so there's a pile of veggies on the counter inside (and a huge amount waiting to be picked and brought in). I looked at the green beans, but decided I didn't even want to go there (guess I'll have to today)



Not red yet - but close. John also has a habenero that's finally turning orange (one of the million that we have growing!) and two red cayennes.



He also got stakes for the tomatoes - so now they're not quite so tangled up and crazy.

John's 27th birthday

We celebrated with dinner at Rumors Bar (John, me, Mom, Dad, and Erin). They have a new cook and the "best chinese in the area" so we tried the Chicken Lo Mein (not bad!)



After dinner, we came back to our house for presents, cake, and chocolate ice cream (homemade by me!). John got coffee-related gifts (and Scheel's gift cards).



Cake and ice cream--you guys can forget about my first ice cream success--this is it! I've learned my lesson-when in doubt, use an Alton Brown recipe...

Garden - end of July

Still waiting on tomatoes





My second ever harvested squash



The first two banana peppers of the summer

We're starting to have more veggies than we know what to do with - cucumbers and green beans coming out of our ears, beets and squash waiting to be cooked...John's already canned one set of pickles, some pickled beets, and made refrigerator pickles (with green beans, carrots, and one or two cayenne peppers - which he accidentally gave my dad thinking it was a green bean - oops!)

Garden update

Everything has gotten HUGE! At the beginning of the summer, I was afraid we wouldn't end up with any veggies. Now I'm wondering what we'll do with them all!



The tomatoes are knocking over their cages. We keep propping them back up, but it seems like a losing battle. We're going to be buried in tomatoes when these all turn ripe. And it's getting closer--as of this week, some of my cherry tomatoes are turning yellow/orange.



The first squash I've ever grown (!!!) with one more yellow squash and two zucchinis on their way.

Beets!

Our second beet harvest (I missed getting pictures of the first one)

Busy week--been working on the house (who knew getting baseboards would be so exciting?), traveling to Huron twice for 4-H events, clothing swap on Thursday, and John went to an auction on Wednesday and got us an awesome loveseat (now more than 2 people can sit in our living room!)

Garden update!

Everything keeps getting bigger and taller! We've just been watering, and John dusted the brussel sprouts and beets with Sevin to keep the bugs away.

John also harvested our first beets and onion for dinner last Sunday! The beets were good, and the onion was little (but we were all out and he needed it for the pasta).



Turns out we just weren't looking hard enough for the Brandywine tomatoes. There are a bunch of them--just hidden down behind all the leaves.



We also overlooked these huge cucumbers until two days ago (were too excited over the pickle-sized one on the front of the plant to look any farther).



Our beans are doing great--and the squash is still doing okay. I'm concerned we may lose them all (again--UGH powdery mildew!).

Mmmmm

Yesterday, we went to Downtown Sioux Falls, particularly the Market on Phillips, to check out their Crazy Days sale. John had fun getting wine, cheese from Italy, and a huge bottle of capers.



This was our after-shopping snack, enjoyed on their patio (John loooooved it, but next time, I want the cheese plate ;) )

Ice cream success!!

Honey Buttermilk Ice Cream with Homemade Strawberry Topping

Make it. Right now. Recipe at Eat Make Read.

Also--rode the whole bike path today. Great day for a ride and exactly what I needed after a harrowing morning at work.

=)

Corn Palace

We were going to Mitchell to go to Cabela's, so I dragged John to the Corn Palace. It was kind of neat to see a building decorated with corn (though I think John is allergic to the whole deal), but the atmosphere was the best. There were cars in the parking lot from all over (New York, Missouri, Ohio) and big-time vacation feeling in the air. And they were playing "There's a Tear in my Beer" from one of the casinos on Main Street.



I offered to take pictures for a couple guys, and then they took one of us...somehow, acting like tourists made it feel like we were on vacation (instead of just an hour from our house)



After Cabela's, I was starving. John had heard good things about Chef Louie's Steakhouse, so we went there. I was expecting steak fries and maybe a pulled-pork sandwich...then I saw all the white tablecloths, the chandelier, the wine lists...waaaay nicer than we were expecting (thank goodness nice restaurants here aren't all that expensive). John decided it was an impromptu date and we had the best meal we've had so far (barring the meals John cooks). Definitely going back!

On the way home, John saw an SUV with Ohio plates and a buckeye sticker in the back window (Ohio State). He had me grab a piece of paper and wrote "O - H" on it (it's an Ohio State thing). I held it up in the window as we passed the Ohio car. I was too embarrassed to look, but John said the people in the car just looked a little confused.

We were talking about something else when a car pulled up next to us--the Ohio car with "I - O" written on a piece of paper held up to the window! We laughed and clapped and John gave them a thumbs up.

It was so cool to make that connection with another car driving down the road--makes the world seem small instead of so big.

More garden

The rain has slowed down a bit (thank goodness!), but the garden is still going strong. John's cayenne plant is falling over under its own weight. The banana peppers are back. And everything just keeps getting taller and taller.

John is a little concerned that the beets and onions aren't as big as they should be (too wet? soil too hard? sounds like we may need to mix in some sand with it next year).



Our tomatoes have turned into a forest. We may be pruning back the lower branches to help them produce better. I looked for baby Brandywine tomatoes, but I haven't seen one yet.



Looks like we'll have baby beans soon!

In non-gardening news, we celebrated Mom's birthday on Wednesday--grilled steaks, roasted sweet potatoes, watermelon, fresh raspberries out of their garden and Boston Cream Pie. Delicious food and fun times!

4th of July

We spent the 4th at my parents' house--they grilled out (burgers and brats), and John made strawberry and cherry pie (the cherry was his BEST pie ever--incredible).



I documented the crazy pie action...



The dogs were also paying very close attention

For the party, I made David Lebovitz's Chocolate Banana Ice Cream (I also crossed it off my summer list - yay!). Easy to put together but didn't freeze as quickly as I hoped (recipes says "at least 4 hours" and I had 4 hours and 15 minutes--not enough time). We ended up putting it in our ice cream maker to speed the process along, and by dinner it was fine. It tasted a LOT like the generic Bailey's irish cream (not necessarily a bad thing), but I'm not sure I'd make it again. I've marked it off my list, but I'd like to try a couple more recipes before the summer is up (mint chocolate...candied bacon...avocado coconut...etc)

After dinner, John and I (and Callie and Cooper) went out to the lake to watch the fireworks. Despite the smelly lake and swarming mosquitoes (thank goodness for bug spray!!), I'm glad we went out.



When the firework pictures weren't working out, I gave up and took pictures of the tree we were sitting by instead.

Garden update

We have baby tomatoes (either cherry or yellow pear, Brandywines aren't quite there yet)



a not-so-baby cayenne pepper



our cucumbers are going strong



and it looks like our banana peppers are coming back from the brink. Looking at these pictures, we could stand to do some weeding. It also amazes me that the beets and onions have gotten SO big.



And I'm a little bit afraid of how hot all our food will be when all the peppers come out