June 29, 2010: And the Winner Is....Momma_S!

I had a lot of responses to my offer of Mr. Granny, but nobody wanted him except Momma_S, at Gardening With Care. Congratulations Momma_S! I'll stuff Mr. G. into one of those Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes, and ship him right off to you ;-)

Here is Momma_S' winning comment:

Since I won't be blogging much over the next week, I'm doing double duty & catching up on everyone's blogs tonight... This is the best one YET! I read through the first couple comments before the tears of laughter hit! I'll take Mr. G, but only as a substitute grandpa, since I've never had one... Grandpa's are allowed to turn up their noses... ;-)

I almost chose to send him to Robin, The Gardener of Eden, who said:

When you feel like that...don't you just want to sell Mr. G for a nickle and give change??



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I've been gone all day, so I didn't get photos of the garden as I'd planned. When I got home, late this afternoon, there were beans to pick, and iced coffee waiting for me at neighbor Pat's. It's a good thing I looked over the garden on my way back from Pat's patio, as I discovered my cucumbers, which are planted in a bucket by the fence, are loaded with blossoms and as dry as a bone! I'd soaked the garden yesterday, but the large leaves of the broccoli were deflecting the water away from the cucumbers. They were terribly droopy, so I pulled the broccoli (it had already been cut, and wasn't producing enough side shoots to be of any importance) and set a sprinkler by the cucumbers. I hope it isn't too little too late, as they are the only pickling cucumbers I planted.


Yesterday I pulled the first of my beets. This was not a good year for them, germination was poor, and they came under attack from birds and leaf miners. A year ago, I was harvesting so many I had to can pickled beets. This year I can't pull enough at once for a meal for two. Most of the beet greens had to be disposed of, due to major leaf miner damage, but the newer leaves were untouched and lovely. Although we don't care for the taste of them, our pet rabbit adores them, so they are included in the harvest weighing. The small broccoli leaves also go into Cookie's dinner bag.


Broccoli, beets and greens.


Our garden dinner last night was delicious. I marinated some thick sirloin steaks in a mixture of soy sauce, ketchup, olive oil, crushed fresh garlic and lots of pepper, then grilled them until they were medium (for me) and medium rare (for Mr. Granny). I baked the two biggest Kennebec potatoes, which were dug on Sunday, and topped them with real butter and freshly snipped chives. The green beans (picked on Sunday) were very lightly steamed, then tossed with minced shallots (from the garden) that had been sauteed in butter until softened. Seasoned with salt and pepper, they were delicious. The usual large garden fresh salad, and glasses of orangeade complimented the dinner. We had a late dessert of pineapple sherbet, topped with a few raspberries. No pie was served.


Monday's garden dinner.


15 comments:

  1. I just love a good iced coffee. It's almost better than hot coffee some days.

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  2. Granny, if you do end up giving Mr. G away, and need someone to share dinners with, would you consider adopting me? You know it's hard to cook meals just for one. Besides, I like my steak medium rare just like Mr. G, so you wouldn't even have to change your cooking habits! Seriously, I love reading about your meals almost as much as I love reading about your garden.

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  3. What a wonderful dinner...I think that you should have served pie :)

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  4. Ribbit, she puts creme brulee flavored creamer in it, and it's awesome. I don't want to know how many calories. I know she's lonely, and we enjoy each others company. My dogs get a bit of exercise, chasing after her puppy, too. It's all good.

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    LOL, thyme2garden, I'll draw up those adoption papers right away! Of course, I've already adoped Ribbit and Dan, so you'll have to share ;-)

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    Robin, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of refusal!

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  5. Adopt me too! Please!!!! :D

    Yum!

    I have steaks thawing in the fridge for tomorrow night's dinner and I may have to marinate them per your post before grilling.

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  6. Granny, I'm (reluctantly) willing to share you as your third adoptee. But you know what they say. The third time's the charm. ;-)

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  7. LOL, Kitsap, I'll adopt you, too!

    That marinade is:
    1/4 cup olive oil
    1/4 cup soy sauce
    1/4 cup ketchup
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1/4 tsp ground black pepper

    Combine all ingredients except beef in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.

    Marinate the steak, refrigerated, for at least 3 hours, turning occasionally. Wipe meat dry with paper towels, then brush oil on both sides before grilling.

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  8. LOL! Too funny, Granny. I wonder if I'll have to sign for him, or if they'll leave the box on my doorstep...

    "No pie was served" Ha! Green beans with shallots and butter sounds delicious--so does your whole meal!

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  9. I love how you mention that no pie was served! Hahaha. Our beets are doing terribly as well. The first round of beets were completed destroyed by some kind of bug, and the blazing heat. So I planted new seeds and they are sorta taking off. I harvested one today and it was sooo tiny. Will keep the others in the ground to grow some more. We shall see.

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  10. Momma_S, I tried to get Mr. Granny to pose for a picture, wrapped in package tape, with a bow on his head. He refused. He has no sense of humor.

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    meemsnyc, most of my remaining beets are way too small to harvest. I planted more the other day, maybe I'll have better luck with them.

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  11. Granny, I have to stand firmly alongside Mr G. Pillsbury pie dough? Come on, that is enough to kill an elephant. Maybe Mr G wrinkled his face at the thought of that crappy dough ruining your wonderful filling?

    Okay, I'll get my coat...

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  12. Oh Granny you always make me laugh. I'd have you adopt me too, but you might get mad when I turn my nose up at iced coffee. I never could learn to drink coffee. The froofroo Starbucks lattes I drink, but not real coffee, even flavored with a yummy creamer.

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  13. Now TIG, those pie crusts might be a tad salty and a bit crisp for my liking, but they're not too bad when one is in a rush. No, it was definitely the filling the Mr. was fussing about.

    Just go get your coat. Now.

    ;-)

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    Daphne, I'm not a big coffee drinker, just one cup in the morning, that is half skim milk and some sweetener, and I'd never had iced coffee before (not even a froo-froo Starbucks), but this stuff is actually pretty good. It's so filling though, I'm not hungry for my dinner after I've had one. I wish she served earlier in the day.

    I'll still adopt you. You can go work in the garden while I'm having my iced coffee.

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  14. As long as you feed me pie regularly, I'll be happy ;>

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  15. Well... I'm with Daphne. I don't drink coffee even the froofroo from Starbucks. My grandfather told me when I was young that I was too young to drink coffee. So therefore it is my secret weapon for not getting old. If I start drinking coffee, it means that I am getting older. (Do you think it will work?)

    Now... my husband and I are trying to decide what we want for supper. (I had supper planned but they had to change) and reading your blog about your supper seems so unfair (and mouth-watering) when this girl is starving!!

    BTW... I have always lived in the South and I don't drink sweet tea either!

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