…and cilantro, red bell pepper, green onion, ground coriander, garlic, Sriracha sauce, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.  I thought about tossing in some fresh Thai basil but thought this was flavorful enough.  Maybe next time.  Anyhow, I threw this together for J&A’s midsummer night’s hot dog cookout tonight.

I dunno, maybe 7-9 poatotes, 1/2 bunch of green onions chopped, 1/2 red bell pepper diced, about 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp Sriracha sauce, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped, salt, pepper, curry powder, garlic, and ground coriander to taste.  I know, vague, but sometimes you just gotta take some chances…

The old lady from whom we purchased our house had planted, here and there, several different roses but this one has to be the weirdest.  I think it looks like a deranged peppermint and Anna thinks it looks like a white rose in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I’ll snap some pictures of the others later.  Based on this, they should be interesting.

Just made my regular crust, schmeared on some crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Piled on some basil, oregano, and flat leaf parsley from Brent’s garden, and cheese.  Baked at 500 degrees F.

After some false starts from the tomatoes, all the vegetables are growing well.  One of the Romas and a couple of the peppers even have blooms!  The hops are growing enough to train onto the lines I ran for them last weekend and one is now taller than me.

Erin has been busy planting flowers everywhere: petunias, lavender, hostas, salvia, lilies, phlox, coneflower, and more.

While we’re waiting for our own garden to produce, friend Brent brought us some of the bounty of his own: lettuce, spinach, endive, lemon balm, Greek oregano, and thyme.

Here’s to home gardens and hopefully yours is growing well, also!

Want to dress up your bourbon a little bit?  This is the ticket!

2 parts bourbon
1 part sweet vermouth
At least 1 maraschino cherry
1 tsp maraschino cherry juice
3-5 ice cubes

These are perfect after dinner…

We planted two Catawba grape vines along the back fence today.  Why?  Well, Shopko had them for $16.99 and 25% off so we said, “let’s do it!”  These grapes will be good for wine or jam, as long as the birds and squirrels don’t get them first.

Pay no attention to the neighbor’s nasty can of Behr waterproofing sealer…

Building a rain barrel is easy and you should do it if you garden – especially in Nebraska or any other dry state.

Obtain a 55 gallon plastic drum, preferably not used for noxious chemicals, from the Keep Nebraska Beautiful – Materials Exchange Program at (402) 486-4622 or (402) 486-4562.

3/4 inch brass spigots for garden hoses x2
4″ – 6″ plastic drain grate
1 foot square of window screen
teflon tape

Rinse the barrel thouroghly.  Cut a hole in the top of the barrel large enough to place the drain grate. Wrap the bottom/sides of the drain grate with the window screen and place into the hole.  With a 1″ spade bit, drill one hole in the side of the barrel near the top for the overflow valve. Rotate the barrel 90 degrees and drill another hole near the bottom for the drain spigot.  Wrap the threads with teflon tape and screw in the spigots (leave the overflow OPEN and the drain CLOSED).  Paint with Krylon Fusion spray paint for plastics.

Set barrel upon cinder blocks or some such to use gravity to feed your hose when you water your garden.

You will have to adjust your downspout but that isn’t difficult either, though you may have to use some tin snips (and gloves!) to cut it to the right length.

It takes all of about 20 or 30  minutes.  You can do this!

UPDATE: Last night the barrel was empty.  It rained but officially, the amount was not measureable because it was so little.  Yet, the barrel was 1/3 full which is about 18 gallons of water.  Woo Hoo!

Whether you’re a fan of The Big Lebowski or not, there is no denying the devastating power of the White Russian or Caucasian.

Equal parts vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream on the rocks.

Enjoy in moderation, yadda yadda yadda…

15 oz firm tofu, drained & cut into 1″ cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T packed brown sugar
1 T finely chopped green onion
1T finely chopped cilantro
1 t curry powder
1/4 t crushed red chilis
1 red bell pepper cut into 1″ squares

Mix all ingredients except tofu and peppers.  Then toss with tofu and peppers and allow to marinate at least 1 hour.  Skewer tofu and peppers and grill or broil until browned on all sides.

Serve with rice, soy sauce, and hot chili sauce.

Serves 4

I doubled this recipe and used both red and yellow bell peppers.  It was a hit with everyone, including all the kids!

Thanks to the Nebraska Soy Bean Board for the recipe.

Phyllo & Cheese Tart

1 box phyllo dough, thawed
1 container cottage cheese
1 package feta cheese
salt, pepper, dill, & nutmeg to taste
2 sticks butter

Get out your bundt pan and dust it off.  coat the inside with melted butter.  Drape the phyllo sheets in the pan.  Mix together the other ingredients and fill the Phyllo.  With a skewer, poke at least 20 holes all the way through the ingredients and pour the remaining melted butter over the tart, some will make its way all the way to the pan – perfect!

Bake at 425 F until brown and bubbly.  Let stand at least 30 minutes before cutting.  Can be served warm or room temperature and is good with a little honey.

The cinnamon rolls were made by James and Amy from his mom’s secret recipe so, you can look but you’ll have to find your own recipe…