Happy July 4th

The US flag of produce with berries was previously featured so the July 4th Face of Produce features the peas which are currently abundant in the garden.  We planted only shelling peas this year with the hope we could stock the freezer.  We have enough for freezing and to try Jamie Oliver's pea risotto recipe for dinner this evening.

Bruno and Kokee shelling peas.  Kokee loves the pod casings, who knew?

The broccoli is also a success this year, thanks to BT, an organic repellant of the pests that have previously destroyed the plants.

We had the company of Sammy for about a week, but he seems to have found a better home.

Summer in CT

Last night we started the holiday weekend in traditional fashion.  We had a B-B-Q with our friends Eric and Jo, and then went to Ocean Beach in Waterford.  At Ocean Beach we played mini-golf, ate ice-cream, and watched a spectacular fireworks display.  What a great way to start the long weekend!

Happy Canada Day 2010!

In celebration of Canada Day this year we are presenting the "flag of produce".  This features raspberries picked in our garden today at the same time as the Queen was inspecting the Mounties in Ottowa.  We celebrated this special day with a glass of wine, dinner cooked on the grill, and ice cream with raspberries and blueberries.  We hope that you all had a great Canada day too!

HHR Wins the Triple Crown of Berries

We harvested blueberries, raspberries AND strawberries this week.  The blueberries are enormous and for the third year we are keeping the birds at bay with the recycled tulle from Michael and Janel's wedding.  While this breaks the rules of monthly Face of Produce rules, we are featuring Julian, a close friend of Jillian for Junes FOP (Face of Produce for the acronym challenged).  Thanks again to Brenda and Andrew for the plate and bringing a whole new dimension for FOP.

Say CHEESE!

We both spent the week in Merrimac, WI at Devil's Head resort at the Land O' Lakes conference held by the U of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy.  We also spent a brief time in Madison and caught up with Julie Martyn (former resident of the Brown house with Sheri), Mike and Sue Capp (long time friends of both of us) and George Zografi (advisor/mentor to both of us).  It was good to see old friends and colleagues, hike around Devil's Lake and learn a few things too.   Of course we sampled some fine cheese and good down home cooking while staying at Devil's Head.

Bruno and Sheri on the Merrimac Ferry

This weekend was dreary, but the first of the raspberries came in!  With any luck, we might have strawberries (the last few), raspberries and blueberries ripe at the same time.  The cool weather has provided an extended arugula and asparagus crop that we hope will hold us until the peas start coming (we had 3 so far!).  Jillian, our Face of Produce for June, brings peas (2 of 3), arugula, the last of the strawberries and first raspberries.

Jillian

June's Face of Produce

Happy Birthday

On Sunday we celebrated Sheri's birthday staring with tea and yoga in the bright sunshine in preparation for a full day in the garden (weeding, havesting strawberries, keeping plants around the house in check). In the evening we made our first pilgrimage of the season to Watch Hill for dinner at the Olympia Team Room with Jo and Eric. The food was fantastic, especially the desserts and we were reminded why it is a favorite. The skies cleared following a shower during dinner,  inviting us to walk to the beach and up to see the newly opened Ocean House. The photos speak for themselves. It was a wonderful night! Thanks to Mr. Royce for rebuilding that beautiful hotel, to Jack Felber for a wonderful seaside dining spot and to Joe and Eric for being such great friends with whom we can celebrate life's milestones.

Goodbye Percy, hello Pippin....

A few weeks ago we said goodbye to our trusty seven year old PC ("Percy the 'puter"), and welcomed a new Apple iMac ("Pippin") into our home.  We are glad to report that Pippin is now a fully functional member of the family and helping us with our blog, photos, music, emails and numerous other tasks.  She's even house-trained too!  Lets hope that she is as reliable and long lived as Percy  :-)