Deconstructing a Garden

I let my southern roots show by making grits for breakfast. There is no recipe, just an approximation. For a single large serving bring two cups of liquid to a boil (half milk/half vegetable broth) and add half a cup of grits. Salt and pepper to taste and cook on medium low heat until the texture of ground corn begins to show. Add one tablespoon of butter and then half a cup of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese. Stir until every thing melts and the dish comes together. When the grits are soft, they are finished.

I’m taking down the third garden plot because I need a place to store tomato cages over winter. This was a hot pepper, fennel, eggplant and tomato plot. Fennel is coming back to life so I may get enough for a stir fry or two. To preserve the ground cover for another year, I cut the plants off close to the ground, remove the staples, and lift it off gently to get minimal tearing. Reusing assets like ground cover is a key economic factor in gardening.

Looks like we’ll get a hard frost over the weekend. It’s about time. I rely on cold weather to suppress garden pests. In addition, I already have enough hot peppers and kale to last until next year.

A local farm had a bumper crop of specialty pumpkins this year. Everything was priced half off over the weekend. I bought a large Casper pumpkin for pumpkin bread. I’ll bake it all and freeze it in amounts to fit the recipe. What they don’t sell will be fed to their cattle. Cattle enjoy eating pumpkins, apparently.

That’s all for this life in Iowa. Thanks for reading and make it a great day!