stuff about artstuff.

Unexpected Gifts from the Garden.

That is, a terribly neglected garden.

I suppose before going any further I have to admit that somehow I never got around to the fall cleanup of my garden beds.  The typical stuff that respectable gardeners do automatically after their last satisfying harvest.  Cut down spent plants, mulch, tuck everything away for a neat and tidy winter so it will be composted, fresh and ready again in the springtime.

All I can say is that I was in denial when fall came.  We never really got summer around here. I was like a little kid who can't keep my eyes open or my head up but fights to the bloody end to avoid going to bed.  No, I'm not tired!  I'm not finished yet!  My 11 tomato plants are taller than me and I've only harvested 3 ripe fruits! 3!  It's not over, it's not!  It's not! Noooooooo!

Kicking and screaming and refusing to accept it, fall and winter happened anyway.  They always do.  I normally enjoy working in the yard in the wintertime, even in the cold rain I'll be out there planting bulbs or doing whatever needs to be done, muddy and soggy and happy.  But not this winter.  The disappointment that was The Summer That Never Camewas still too fresh.  I really seemed to take it personally and I simply couldn't deal with it.  So I put on my clutter-blinders and vowed to get out and do some early spring cleanup when I was feeling a smidge less bitter about big, dumb winter.

Alright, the beds are still quite sad looking.  I know, it's March.  And my first early plant sale is in a couple weeks.  But I returned home a few days ago after a week and a half away, and saw something interesting.

I had been noticing something leafing out the last month or so, maybe an old cabbage or something, I hadn't really focused on it before.  But as I hurried past to get back into the warm house the other day, there it was, practically glowing.

The Romanesco broccoli I never got last year.

I'd planted a couple varieties of cauliflower and broccoli early last year and was pretty excited about them.  Nothing seemed to be happening until tiny buds appeared the week before I went to New York for Surtex.  By the time I returned from the show, they had all bolted and gone to seed (must have been that one day of sunshine we had in May) along with all my other early-season greens.  Sad, tall, weird Seussian flowers, all of them.

I'm not sure when this one decided to sprout back up again.  I wasn't paying attention.  But it was a smart one, growing so vigorously while all the slugs and bugs and little green worms are asleep under their rocks.  The flawless, perfectly-intact leaves span a couple feet wide.  Even after a long warm saltwater soak, not a single tiny critter floated out of this.

And it was delicious.  Crunchy-tender, and so sweet it made my mouth water.

This funny little flower the size of my fist fills me with that pre-season hope that this will be the year.  The year that the sun shines, that things grow and thrive.  I will sprout, plant, and nurture - relying on faith and hard work.  Spring is coming soon, the season of new growth, rebirth, and hope.

Nice to be reminded that even in a neglected garden, we can find unexpected gifts.

Double Carroty Goodness.

The other day I saw this beautiful juice on Pinterest and it reminded me once again how, pretty much every week or so, I talk about digging out the old juicer from it's dusty grave in the back corner of the bottom kitchen cupboard, and trying to think a little bit healthier.  I vowed that this time, I would actually do it.

Then instead we at mac and cheese for dinner two nights in a row (true story).

But I had bought myself a ton of organic carrots and the most gorgeous giant knob of ginger (love this time of year, the ginger is so fat and pretty) and was not going to let this stuff go to waste.  I didn't follow her recipe as much as I was inspired by her ingredients (I'm sort of that way in the kitchen, careless and haphazard with no rules).

This is so refreshing and invigorating I can't stand it.  A real burst of sunshine on a cold, grey winter day.  After making it for myself a couple times, I adjusted amounts of each item and came up with my perfect combination:

This is about a pound of carrots, one sweet meyer lemon (peeled), one small orange (peeled), and 2-3 fat 1" knobs of fresh ginger.  I really love ginger - but when I gave Husband Guy a sip he sort of made shot-of-whiskey face so if you decide to try this, you might want less ginger in yours.

When I told Husband Guy I was going to make this juice, he said, "and you can make muffins with the pulp."  Oh yeah, I used to do that.  Back when I used to make juice.  Back when I used to bake.  And make stuff.  Wow, I used to be practical.  And nice.  Hmmm.  What happened to her?

The thing I've always loved about baking muffins is that unlike other baked goods, it's not an exact science.  Again with the careless, haphazard kitchen style.  Crumbs at the bottom of cereal boxes, random fruit, jam, sauces, seemingly unsalvagable items from the pantry and refrigerator can make the yummiest muffins - as long as I include those few key ingredients (I suppose this is where a real baker would remind me that proves there is actually science to muffins) and as long as it's a "muffin-batter-like" consistency and I don't overbake them, they are almost never icky.

I don't know about you, but I'd say "almost never icky" are pretty good odds.

And these turned out way better than icky.

They are gingery and sweet and moist.

And like most things, even better with a dab of melting butter.

They taste like a ginger snap and have crunchy edges and soft insides, with fresh tart little bursts of blueberries all throughout.  My mouth is very happy right now.

If you care, this is what I did, sort of:

Carrot, Ginger, Citrus, and Blueberry Muffin un-recipe:

Aside from the dry ingredients, these measurements are guesstimates, and I cannot be held responsible if your muffins are weird.  Just being honest.

In one bowl, I mixed up most of the fluorescent orange pulp from the juicer (looked like a little over a cup) picking out large or hard chunks of peel and citrus seeds with 2 small beaten eggs, about 1/2 to 3/4-c honey, and about 1/2-c fat free plain yogurt.

In another, I sifted together 1 cup unbleached white flour, 1-t baking powder, 1-t baking soda, and 1/2-t salt.

I mixed the wet and dry ingredients together with a spoon.  Using juicer-pulp makes a stiffer-than-most muffin batter, but the pulp releases the rest of its moisture while baking so it all seems to work out. 

Then I added about 3/4-c frozen blueberries (left from the 6# I picked one warm afternoon last August, yum!) and filled 12 muffin cups.  Squirted a drizzle of honey on the top of each before baking.  Baked them at 375 until the house smelled like muffins and they had a nice crust on top.  I have no idea how long that was, I was playing around on Pinterest again while they were baking.

I know, I could never be a food blogger.  I'm even worse at saving and sharing recipes than I am at following them.  But that's ok with me, I am going to go devour another of those muffins right now.

And I'll be making more of that yummy juice tomorrow.

They Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

I recently discovered something wonderful.  Ok, I didn't actually discover it myself, I stumbled on a link on Pioneer Woman's cooking blog.  But I am in love with it.  A website that combines 2 of my favorite things in the world:

They Draw and Cook.

For decades I've been fantasizing about creating a fun illustrated cookbook.  Or four.  Or seven.  But, like many creative fantasies, they've never made it past the sketch-and-outline-and-take-lots-of-notes stage. 

Yet. 

Some of you might not know that in my life before Art Licensing, I cooked, managed kitchens, and catered; discovering and inventing new recipes has always been a favorite hobby.

Although, admittedly, these days my foodie-ism doesn't often go far beyond becoming distracted with a project here in the studio, subconsciously opening the Interwebs and trawling Tastespotting until I find myself mysteriously teleported to the open refrigerator, where I stare blankly into the steamy brightness searching for a single item I can douse with BaconSalt and shove into my piehole before returning to the project from which I was originally distracted.

I used to cook for a living and dream of drawing.  I now draw for a living and dream of cooking. Why not combine the two? Duh.

This website is just way too fun and I have developed a serious internet-crush on it.  And one of these days, I will have to force myself back beyond the single-item-with-BaconSalt creative rut and make some real food, and art, to submit myself.  Once again, I will keep you posted.

In the mean time, go check it out and enjoy the fun illustrations and cool recipes that are on there now!

Bon appetit!

Goodies and Snacks

Well, goodies of the greeting card variety.

Once again, you'll find a few of my card designs just around the corner from your Two Buck Chuck! This season I've got 4 in the mix:
There's a birthday card, a friendship card, a get-well card, and a blank one.  All printed with soy-based inks on a nice heavily-textured recycled stock.  It looks a lot like the watercolor paper I like to paint on, so it's a perfect fit! They really do sell nice quality cards for a great value, not unlike the rest of the yummy products the store is so famous for.
Like my favorite super-addictive crunchy salty snacky roasted seaweed, mmm.  Salty and crunchy has always been my weakness, and this stuff - wow.  Seriously just as satisfying as a big old fatty bag of greasy chips.  I would not lie to you about something as serious as salty snacks.  This funny looking green stuff satisfies.  Oh yeah.
Anyway, I strongly suggest you pick some up.  Oh, and some cards, too, while they last!

Happy Holiday Kitchen!

It's less than a week away: that day of turkeys and pies and goodies and fixins' ... oh my.  The big kickoff to the Holiday Eating Season.

My favorite holiday recipes tend to be scattered far and wide: folded pieces of paper nestled in a particularly wrinkly and stained section of one cookbook or another, cute recipe cards generously shared by great cooks hidden between others cut from old newspapers, magazines, and cardboard packaging, all shoved into a not-so-attractive folder that I may or may not know where to find when the time comes; many that I'd love to try are bookmarked on favorite food blogs ... hopefully I will remember to check my bookmarks when the perfect occasion pops up to wow festive guests with what I was sure at some point would be the most fabulous dish of my dreams.

Wouldn't it be cool to have a place for all the holiday-type recipes you've loved for years or are dying to try?

Well ... check this out!
The clever folks at New Seasons have created another gorgeous recipe binder to compile all those holidayish goodies in one super-organized and beautifully-designed place.
I had a blast drawing all the little goodies for this one (remember this?) and it's so cool to see my art made into such a nicely done product - once again! 
 

With cute recipe cards, pretty pages, fun stickers, practical pockets, even little recipe cards with coordinating envelopes ... what a thoughtful way to share a favorite recipe with someone you love!

You can find these now at Sam's Club, Costco-Canada, and BJ's.  Enjoy!

PS:  Many of you have been looking for refill pages for your binders.  The manufacturer of this product doesn't sell refills for their binders at this time, but I've designed coordinating downloadable PDF pages you can print yourself, available in my Etsy shop!  You'll find a "La Cuisine" Recipe Binder refill set there too !

Ssshhhh! Top Secret!

Do you know someone moving into a new home or having a birthday?  Or are you just one of those amazing people who keeps cards and goodies on hands for any old occasion that may pop up?  (I've always envied people with that particular flavor of organizational skill).  How about this: are you on your way to a housewarming or birthday party this weekend and need to pick up some wine or snacks to take?

Well, if you answered "yes" (or even muttered a vaguely pleasant "hmmm" to yourself) to any of those questions, this is the post for you.

This particular licensing partner prefers those who work with them don't advertise their name, but because I love you - my dear and loyal blog-readers - I want you to know where you can find my designs! 
So ... I'll just say that next time you're out stocking up on Two-Buck-Chuck, wasabi peas, and dangerously-addictive yogurt-covered pretzels, take a peek over at the little greeting card rack on the end of the aisle and you'll find some really cute cards, including a couple Beth Logan designs.

And since it is, well, that store ... you know you're getting a great quality product for a smokin' deal (their cards are a whopping 99 cents a piece and really are nice!). 
Here's a closer look at the 2 designs available now (with more coming soon, but ... well, that's kind of top secret too). 
And here's a coincidence: both these images are also currently available as garden flags by Toland Home Garden.  So while you're out, swing by your local garden center ... or, you can find both designs right here (with free shipping while it lasts!).

So now that you've finished reading this top-secret message, you must destroy it; I suggest chewing up and swallowing it, much like I just (accidentally) did to half a bag of those darn little soy-sauce flavored rice crackers I just brought home.  Must.  (crunch crunch)  Close.  Bag.  (crunch)  And.  (crunch)  Put.  Away.  (crunch crunch crunch)  Step.  Away.  (crunch)  From.  (crunch)  The.  (crunch crunch) Crackers...

PS:  When I posted this, I forgot there are actually 3 designs in stores now, not just 2 (I know, Spacy Blogger, sorry) so watch for the fabulous girls on the beach, too!  The card rack seems to change every few days so if you don't see them on one trip, chances are they'll show up next time you're there...  

Another Summer Quickly Passing

Hey, look what I just found.

Just returning from vacation; my desk completely hidden under the stacks of stuff, I'm only partially through 200+ new emails in my inbox, not to mention the Volkswagon-sized pile of bags and storage tubs in the middle of the living room waiting to be unpacked, put away and/or thrown in the laundry (quite literally an elephant in the room) ... well, what do you know but I seem to have written a couple posts last month that never made it here (really, I was nearing burnout, my brain was not in the best shape ... I'm not sure why they were just sitting here but they were) so, in the spirit of "better late than never", and while I am busy catching up with the present, here is a little taste of the recent past:

Already the middle of July - how does this happen so fast? 
My little garden has always been lazier than most in the neighborhood; it tends to run about a week or two behind than the rest. While most others I see around here are nearing the end of their blooms, my daisies are just now popping open.


 
Although the season has been mostly cool and grey, one little artichoke shows promise. 
The salad garden is thriving

 
and the salads are delicious.

I wish I could just make this last longer, make the world turn more slowly and soak up more of this before it's gone.  I hope you're enjoying every little drop of summer and all it has to offer wherever you are.

Everyone Loves Samples.

I've told you before how everyone in the house gets excited when packages arrive on the porch.  I suppose we all enjoy them in our own, extreme sorts of ways...but this.  This has to win some sort of prize.

I wonder who this could have been?  It doesn't seem to fit any of these mouths that just happened to be here on my desk; if only we could find a mouth that fits perfectly...

Busted. 

Nice work protecting us from that mean little box sitting by itself on the porch.  Fortunately the samples inside were well-packaged with a good barrier of packing paper...and we all know who loves that part the best.

Me, well...I'm happy when the packages hold beautifully-made products featuring my art, like this pretty little Confirmation card for Lawson Falle which was in this particular box.

And then there was this box which arrived the following day.  I was pretty excited because I knew what would be inside...

My new recipe binders by New Seasons.

Some of you may recognize the cover art from my set of kitchen prints produced by Image Conscious a couple years ago. 

I am so pleased by how these turned out.  I have been gushing about this to the amazing design team at New Seasons ever since I got my first proofs.

And the binders themselves...well, see for yourself.

I am loving this product! 

Along with cute recipe cards and full pages ready for printing straight from recipe websites or food blogs (and protective pages for the finished cards to fit into)

there are also several pages of really useful stuff ... ingredient substitutions, cooking and baking tips, ideas for grilling or using herbs, all neatly organized into one place.  Pretty neato.   This would make a great gift for that foodie you know who is constantly collecting new recipes, or someone just starting out on their own in their very first kitchen!

Hey what's that?

Um, excuse me. 

Anyway, as I was saying, there are neato tips and info ... all in one place right at your fingertips, and every inch embellished with fun little designs by yours truly. 

Um, what is it Flossie?

Really, right this second?

You can't just wait a minute for me to finish...

No, please don't...no, not here...oh come on...

Oh now that's just cold.  Really?  Your bottom?  Oh man. 

I give up.

Ok, well ... you get the idea.  I love this product, and I'm so excited to share it with you.  They'll be coming soon to a retailer near you (I'll let you know as soon as I have more specific info on that!) they're available now at all Sam's Club and select Costco stores across the country, and I promise that if you purchase one, yours will not have been touched by cat's bottom.

PS:  Recipe Binder Refill Page Update!

It's true, the manufacturer of this product doesn't sell refill-pages at this time, but until they do I think I have found a solution for you!

Visit my Etsy Store to purchase and download refill-pages you can print on your desktop printer as you need them!  These are not the exact designs available in the actual binders, but were created to coordinate nicely with them - they match, they're cute, and I do hope you enjoy using them!

What Heaven Tastes Like.

I've always said that it's tomatoes...freshly picked, red-ripe, warmed from the sun.  No question about it.  But I realize that this is Heaven we're talking about here...it doesn't have to settle for one single flavor.  It can taste like any number of things...fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes being my first choice if someday I find myself fortunate enough to be greeted by a smiling waiter just inside the pearly gates asking what I'd like to eat.

It will probably also taste something like Molly Moon's salted caramel ice cream.  If not stopped, I will eat this continuously until I die...which pretty much locks up me not getting to enjoy that Pearly Gates scenario I just described.

I was fully prepared to feast on tomatoes from the garden this year, and I have.  But when I planted 2 little artichoke seedlings back in May (my very first, ever) I figured I wouldn't see anything significant until next year.  I was absolutely giddy when I saw this little bud...

...and once matured, although still pretty small (and I think I left it on the vine longer than I was supposed to) it was still everything I wished it would be.  

That funky little chemical reaction that makes everything surrounding it taste sweeter...artichokes are magic.  Steamed, served with a little melted butter mixed with mayonnaise.  Nothing fancy necessary...done the exact same way I enjoyed my very first one in 1969 when my sister and her friend blew into the kitchen in a flurry of teenage enthusiasm, tossing some funny looking bud onto the counter and squealing that we had to eat this new thing they found...that very hour my love affair with an odd thistle plant began...which brings me back to where I started. 

This...this right here...this is also what Heaven tastes like.

Happy New Year.

Well, it is for me.

I always say that my year starts and ends with the Surtex show. The show was last week and here I am, facing the new year ahead. With a smile, even. Finding real-life under the rubble of my show-prep tornado. Following-up, scrambling to finish stuff I left behind and start exciting new projects discussed at the show. I feel like it was a good one this year. Who knew? I had some great meetings with existing clients, and reconnected with some who, due to the current economic situation, I was afraid I might not get a chance to work with again...but thankfully this crazy industry is full of Weebles (we wobble but we don't fall down). And I made some great new contacts...you never know.

Could be something.

It will take a while to know for sure, but I left NY feeling hopeful and satisfied. Can't ask for more than that. Well, yes you can. Crazy billionaires storming through the aisles throwing wads of cash at exhibitors might have been nice, but really...clients who I like still being in business and moving forward with fun projects...that makes me happy.

This is where it started...I already told you the effect this sight has on the cockles of my heart. And I don't even know what those are.

There it is, waiting for me in the booth. All in one piece. Is there anything as beautiful as that little crate? The moment was flawless, poetic. Never mind the partial bird carcass that kept blowing across the floor into my otherwise empty booth every time a forklift would whish past. Beautiful. Perfect.

The rest of the week is a little bit of a blur.

But somewhere in there, ohmygosh, the best slice I've ever eaten. I realize that's an incredibly bold statement and that I am tiptoeing on hallowed ground discussing slices this matter-of-factly (I'm sorry) but really.

Go here.

Eat this.

You won't be sorry.

The gelato and ices looked pretty awesome too, but I was all about the slice.

So yeah, it was a blur. With pizza somewhere in the middle. And then it was over, displays torn down and the crate repacked and taped up some more.

I watched the country pass below me in that amazing patchwork...Eastern farmland and woodlands, the Great Lakes, the rugged Dakotas and Montana, and finally my familiar mountains, forests, lakes and rivers...and as the sun set, the lights of my own little city.

And then it was the New Year. Just like that.

And this is where it ends.

Back at home with Husband Guy, my furry girls, my little tomato plants, my lilacs (still blooming...another reason to smile). A holiday weekend (pulled weeds for 3 straight days, no kidding). A new week, new prospects, and lots and lots of work to catch up on. And today, a truck pulled up in front of the house with the crate. All in one piece.

I will be sharing more soon...maybe even a top-secret sneak-peek of my show displays (you never know, it's just that kind of year). But for now, I just had to stop in for a minute and wish you all a Happy New Year.

Simple-Pleasure Food Memory #17

Crackers and butter.

In need of a super-quick afternoon snack and not feeling quite motivated enough to slice cheese (I know) this one brought me back...    

When we were very young, my friend Leslie and I always managed to get into trouble together. It would start innocently enough...but then a perfectly normal game of hide-and-seek would become hide-together-under Daddy's-workbench-until-the-grownups-were-worried-enough-to-call-the-police, and playing "beauty-parlor" with dolls would somehow evolve into a game of chop-our-own-hair-off-at-the-pigtails. One time we decided it would be fun to play "hippie"...we dressed up in fringey tie-dye stuff with lots of beads and stood by the road shouting "peace man peace, yeah yeah yeah" to passing cars. Don't ask why. It sounded like a good idea. Apparently folks were offended that 5 year olds were "protesting the Viet Nam war" in our quiet neighborhood and complained to our parents. We didn't know what that meant. But we never played "hippie" again.

In this same way, one warm July afternoon, a perfectly innocent game of dress-up with some boxes of old Halloween stuff evolved into a game of "trick or treat".  Why hadn't anyone thought of this before? This was a great way to spend the afternoon. We would dress up and parade around the neighborhood in our fun costumes, and here's the genius part: people would give us candy! Of course. Why not?

The response wasn't exactly what we 'd expected. Most neighbors didn't answer their doors. One or two asked if our mothers knew where we were. We weren't sure. Why?  These were the same folks who ooohed and aaawed over our adorable selves on Halloween...why weren't they impressed now? 

Then finally, a nice neighbor lady invited us inside and served us a plate of saltines with butter. What a fun game this was. We should play this more often.  

What we didn't realize was that she was merely getting us off the street before we embarrassed our families any more than we already had. While we were happily munching on crackers at her kitchen counter, our mothers were called and informed that we had been begging door to door in Halloween costumes. In July. When we finished the last crumbs, we were sent back to my house where we got it from my mom...and later to Leslie's where we got it from hers.  

Like a lot of things that seemed to really concern or upset adults, we didn't fully understand why this was bad. But from then on, trick-or-treating was reserved for that one day a year.

Crackers and butter on the other hand...that's just good any old day of the year.

Still Thinking Thankful Thoughts

After a whirlwind week/weekend. The big holiday-season-kickoff. The Artstuff Open House.

So much to be thankful for right there in that little bundle of sentence fragments. Oh boy.

Thankful for sweet friends who send me precious trinkets (that I love-love-love!) in the mail. Thankful for my amazing support-network of family and sort-of-family who is always there to help. Thankful for folks who started out as retail customers at Bumbershoot, art-shows, poster-signings, who have come to the Artstuff Open House since, well, as early as 1991, folks who now feel more like old friends than customers.

And thankful for all the nieces and nephews who impress me constantly, and even better...crack me up.

Thanksgiving morning I was still scrambling with last minute Open House preparations...meticulously cutting fat-quarters... 

 

 

finishing the last of the magnets and cards... 

...I was late to dinner.

There was a phone message from my awesome great-niece Samantha, "Auntie Beth, I just wanted you to know that I left you a Snoopy Thanksgiving dinner - and it's vegetarian." In the midst of all the stuff swirling around inside my head I wasn't quite sure what she had meant, until I arrived and saw the perfectly arranged plate waiting on the buffet, just for me... 
How hilarious is that?! Snoopy would be proud.

"...and it's vegetarian." This not-eating-turkey-0n-Turkey-Day thing has been stumping and torturing relatives for years now...but she was the first to notice that particular detail of the classic Charlie Brown Thanksgiving meal.

HILarious, Sam! I loved it.

And it was actually delicious...grazing throughout the evening I realized that Snoopy (and Samantha) knew exactly what they were doing when preparing this little feast. 
So this Open House thing...I suppose I should explain for those of you who have not been part of this with me for the past 17 years.

It started when I used to paint furniture and odds-and-ends and sell them at little galleries and shops...it was my big retail event of the year. Shortly after that I began licensing, so it evolved into an annual trunk-sale of sorts with various samples of products...prints, magnets, and miscellaneous other items along with the hand-painted stuff. 

 

Eventually it became the only time I'd get around to doing the handmade stuff, as licensing started taking up more and more of my time.    

 
The face of it has changed over the years but it remains the holiday-kickoff-tradition for me, and still for a surprising amount of awesome, supportive regulars (again with the thankfulness...these amazing folks have been there since the beginning). It's also become, quite often, that one chance I get to catch up with old friends and family that I don't get to see much during the rest of the year. 

So...thanks, everyone. Really. I couldn't do it without you. And for those of you who I missed catching up with this past weekend, I do hope I get a chance to see you at Duvall Flowers this coming weekend! And watch for lots more new items popping up on my etsy store soon, including some of the fun hand-painted stuff that usually only emerges once a year...

And now...now it's time to start catching up with everything and everybody else, and thinking about the Holidays! Happy December everyone!

There You Have It.

That's all folks. It's that time...time to start cleaning up the garden in preparation for the colder months to come. Time to prune and trim and mulch, and time for the last of the tomatoes to come inside.  And today, it was a lovely clear crisp afternoon to do just that. 
I love these colors. And the smell. Oh my gosh. I want to live in this bowl. 
Something needs to be painted these colors, something big. Walls. But that's another subject for another day, another post. We all now know that I have trouble finishing those kinds of things...or starting them, for that matter.

But right now it's about the tomatoes.

What's with all these tomato-posts, Beth? Enough already with the tomatoes.

You think I'm a little obsessive with the tomatoes now? Back when I had my first vegetable garden I started everything from seed. Only I had a problem with that...I was too softhearted to let any little baby plants die when I divided teeny tiny sprouts. So I meticulously and lovingly transplanted every single one. One spring I had 347 tomato seedlings in pots around my house and yard (yes, I counted them). Everyone who came to visit me or any of my housemates was sent home withe several little tomato plants, "well if you don't have room for them give them to someone who does!" 

Anyhoo, this year, just the right amount of seedlings came from the annual Seattle Tilth plant sale, they were pampered and brought inside every night until after I was home from Surtex. 
They thrived in spite of the horrible growing season, and they've been delicious.

Yesterday I tossed some of the largest into a bag and took them with me to visit my mom and we enjoyed fried green tomatoes and freshly baked biscuits for lunch.  Oh yeah...that's good stuff right there.

Now that they've posed for their pictures, they get separated into paper bags, hung in a dry spot...and we should be enjoying them for a couple more weeks.

Then, I'm afraid, the dark months come. The sad, sad time of pale pink cardboard tomatoes...or actual red ones, on the vine, that cost more per pound than a gallon of gas. And even then, they don't begin to compare to homegrown ones. Sigh. I think this is why all the good holidays occur in the wintertime, simply to divert our attention from the mournful sadness that is eating factory-farmed imported tomatoes.

Well, What Do You Expect in October...

...but (sort of) scary looking things coming from the garden.

This wonderful little mutant is a Chianti Rose tomato, an heirloom that's a cross between Brandywine (big beautiful rosy-pink things, have you eaten them?) and "an unnamed Italian variety". At 80-days (kind of pushing it here in our short-tomato-seasonPacific Northwest, especially this year) none of these guys were ready for eating until very recently...and even then, the least-green ones have only been plucked from their vines right before tomato-cracking rainstorms to ripen in the kitchen.

Even on the vine this cross looks to me as if the Brandywines are actually devouring this poor little Italian tomato like some B-movie monster gobbling up helpless victims, but this one seems to have literally done just that.

Oh, and, in spite of its seasonally appropriate ghoulish appearance...it was absolutely delicious last night with a little salt and pepper. Mmmmm. Me like yummy monsters.

Things That Make Me Smile IV

Alright, suddenly I feel sort of lame.

I've been blogging for 10 months now and, really? This is only the 4th edition of Things That Make Me Smile? Totally lame.

I mean, that's what this whole thing should be about, sharing a little positive stuff, right? I guess we all get caught up in day-to-day worries and stress...sometimes we need a little kick in the behind as a reminder to appreciate little, happy things. And sometimes even when we get those gentle little reminders, we still plod along in our own little worlds. Alright, maybe that doesn't describe you, but it certainly does me. Seemingly oblivious to the rest of the universe whirling around out there most of the time, plod plod plod.

About 2 months ago I received this sweet award from my ever-thoughtful and positive blogging friend, Diane Knott. It is the "Tree of Happiness".

"You have just received the tree of happiness...plant it on your heart, water it with smiles and kindness, feel the aroma of its flowers, savour the sweetness of its fruits and protection under its shade with whom you love." Pretty awesome, huh?  Now this is where I should probably (finally) just give in and throw a blanket apology out there to all my more considerate blogging friends for appearing to be a terrible humbug of a blog-game-ignorer, when in fact, when I see them I think, "oh that looks like fun, how nice of them to think of me...I'll get to that right after I finish (this one thing, whatever it is)..." Plod, plod, plod.

I admit, I am a serial procrastinator. And I suppose I have trouble following rules. But I'll give this a shot anyway: to play the Tree of Happiness game I'm supposed to name 6 things that make me happy, so here goes...totally random happy thoughts, in no particular order:

1. Fall. Yeah I know I've been whining and moaning about the changing of seasons this past month, but really, fall has always been my favorite month and just this week it's been knocking on my brain and reminding me of that fact. I love the colors, the smell of it, the crunch of dry leaves (really, sometimes we do have those here in soggy Seattle). It feels like a fresh start...even more so than spring for me.

2. Garden-fresh tomatoes.  My absolute favorite food. Wipe off the bugs and eat them right in the garden, warmed from the sun, on a summer day. Or, as is often the case around here, begin to harvest the early varieties in September, and ultimately pick the rest while still green to ripen indoors, before they crack from the heavy rains. Either way, there's nothing that compares, absolutely nothing.

3. Flossie's snore. Every now and then, here in the office, the only sounds are the low hum of the computer and the soft little whistle of her tiny pink nose pressed into her furry bed.

4. Crows. That one just popped into my head because I can hear one outside my window. They're hilarious, and I love them.

5. Bright green. Hmmm, I think I need to repaint this room...

6. Walking Molly. It doesn't matter how I feel before we walk, this one is always a mood-lifter. I just can't help it. I may be thinking, but I'm busy. But I need to finish this first. But it's raining. It's too cold. It's too hot. I'm grouchy, what if a neighbor says "hi" and wants to chat? I haven't showered, what if a neighbor says "hi" or looks at me? I'm tired. I don't feel like it. Why now? But only a few steps out the door, her happy little prancing just shifts the mood upward, no matter what. It doesn't matter if it's a squirrel-chasing romp at the park or a quick trot around the block. There's joy in her every step, her every sniff...she even stops and sniffs flowers. That one always gets me. How can you not think that's cute? Lifts a front paw in a graceful curl and sniffs a single blossom. It's greeting-card precious. I say "let's turn here and go down this street." She bounces as if to say, "hey that's a great idea! Why, I hadn't thought of that!" I say "let's cross the street here." and again, I've surprised her with the best idea she's ever imagined. It just always makes me a little happier.

So, there you go. 6 little happy thoughts. If you feel like playing along, share 6 happy little thoughts of your own with me, I'd love to hear them. Or simply think about them, and your smile and positive energy is sure to spread these little trees of happiness and eventually grow a vast forest...ahhh, can you imagine? A whole forest of happiness? Here's wishing you that.