Monthly Archives: June 2011

Two days ago we mentioned sighting Phil Jr. in the neighbor’s yard.  Yesterday we noticed something had absolutely wreaked havoc on the brussel sprouts in the back garden.

Today we noticed something had done the same with the tomato bushes back there as well.

We also found the gap between the fence and the ground where he has been gaining access.  The brussel sprouts are the bummer.  The tomatoes were seedlings that bounced back from the great over-fertilization debacle this Spring, so we threw them back there to see what they would do.  We still have around 25 tomatoes in the front.  I wasn’t telling a lie when I said they were going to be coming out of our ears.

And where was the mighty Dragon?  Probably in the same position he was a few minutes ago when Thumper came sniffing around the apricots.

Farmer Ted threw a brick at it.  Thumper, not Twinkletoes. Don’t worry, he missed.

The only thing the Dragon has chased lately is the hummingbird.  And the mailman.  Rufus vs. the Postal Service.  My mailman is an asshat.  He’s also lazy.  He doesn’t  feel like bringing packages to my door, so he says that Rufus bit him.   I say if my dog bit him, why hasn’t he filed a complaint with the police department?  Now it’s true that Rufus isn’t very friendly to the UPS, FedEx or oil guy. And he has nipped at the substitute mailman, but he’s never broken skin.  The mailgirl, he liked.  Smart dog.  She was cute. Here’s my theory. Usually people who come to the door are friendly.  They bend down and pet him.  Not one of these people he’s gone postal on (boo…hiss…I know) have ever done that.  And he only goes after them as they are walking away.  I think it’s his way of warning them that he thinks since they are unfriendly they are up to no good, and he is keeping a hairy eyeball on them.

While I spent the afternoon in bed fighting a migraine, Farmer Ted was waging war on the aphids. The Tomato Leaf Cocktail seems to have worked.

We see no more wool on the plants.  Later aphids, feel free to not come back.

So, the groundhog is still MIA; however, Phil Jr. made an appearance today.  He was scurrying around the neighbor’s yard, just where we like him.

We are pleased to announce a new poll.  Basil trounced oregano.  Next up, Parsley v. Thyme.

We are also pleased to announce the harvest of something other than a leafy green.

One miniature purple bell, one jalapeno and one yellow cherry tomato.  I see a GrowDammit side salad with tomorrow’s lunch!  We are going to have tomatoes coming our of our ears.

Finally, more of Ted’s awesomeness with the camera…

Sunflowers are so cheerful.  These aren’t homegrown, but we have some coming along nicely.

Next…Will we ever have a day this summer that isn’t mostly cloudy?

Tomatoes are part of the Nightshade Family. Who knew? I’m pretty sure I didn’t. I always thought a Nightshade was a flower, but it indeed has various vegetable varieties including the chili pepper, the tomatillo and sweet peppers. All of which are in the GrowDammit gardens. The tomato’s leaves are poisonous. I think I knew that. At least I knew part of the plant was poisonous. Their flowers are bisexual. Definitely didn’t know that..

Anyways, the garlic spray only succeeded to scatter the aphids not annihilate them. Which is the goal. Plan B is to make us up a little Tomato Leaf Cocktail. Tomorrow morning the aphids will be in for a big surprise. Shock & Awe baby, Shock & Awe.

Eggplant and potatoes are also Nightshades. Neither one of these are in our lineup. I don’t eat many potatoes. I could go for a big ol’ plate of scattered, smothered & covered right now though. That was always my 4am soak up all the alcohol you just consumed go to meal. Ahhhh, the Waffle House. *drool* Ahhhh, College…Boozefest 1987-1991.

Where was I? Oh yeah, eggplant. The only way I eat it is in the form of Eggplant Parm. And since I try to defat a recipe as much as I possibly can, I only eat Eggplant Parm at a restaurant where I’m going to splurge anyway. I also only eat Indian food out. Almost all recipes can be defatted, but there are some dishes that shouldn’t be.

I just told Ted Plan B. He looked worried, so I quickly assured him it was for aphid control. It’s not your turn.

Talk of poisoning reminded me of the chocolate incident…Rufus vs. the Godiva. When we first moved into this house, I put all the baking supplies on the bottom shelf of the pantry. Rufus can nose his way into the pantry here. One day, I came home, and Rufus was lying by the front door. He was unusually listless. I looked around and didn’t see anything amiss. I hadn’t left any unsuspecting wheels of cheese or hams around. He got worse and worse as the afternoon went on. We were going out with friends that night, so I got dressed but kept an eye on him. Then, he started getting sick. And, getting sick. And, getting sick. Upon further investigation, I found the culprit. An empty pound bag of Godiva dark chocolate chips that I had bought the day before for a recipe was under the dining table. A Friday evening emergency trip to the vet to have his stomach pumped, a weekend at the vet with IV fluids and catheterization and $1,300 later Rufus survived. That’s right folks. $1,300. Dollars. We switched vets shortly after that. It wasn’t so much the price tag of the Chocolate Incident, as it was her suggestion to do acupuncture on the Dragon to fix some ailment exactly what I’ve forgotten. That’s right folks. Acupuncture. On the dog. Yeah…..No.

Next…The spawn are cramping my style again.

Vote for your favorite in the first round of an Herb Smackdown between 16 of the most popular.  Tonight we start with two heavy hitters.  Basil vs. Oregano.  The eldest spawn was so impressed by the scientific thought process and time we put into the bracket, he insisted we post a picture.

I guess this means he has gotten over the broccoli debacle and is reading the blog again.

Yesterday we celebrated Father’s Day.  Farmer Ted mowed the backyard while I got my tan on with my new toy, the Miststand.  Hell Yes.  You hook this bad boy up to the hose, and get treated to a continuous spray of fine mist.  Perfect for laying out on the back deck in the heat of the summer when you don’t have a pool, creek or ocean handy to jump in.  Then I dragged Ted to cram ourselves into the Apple store in the King of Prussia Mall with the rest of the planet.  I dread the Apple store.  Why subject the poor man to that?  Because my piece of shit iPhone wasn’t working properly.  Again.  I figured Father’s Day at 5:30 would be a ghosttown.  Boy, was I wrong.  It all worked out for him though.  We ended up getting our Growler on at Wegman’s on our way home.  Peel and Eat Shrimp and Steamed Clams were for supper.

We have exciting new GrowDammit developments…

Tonight for dessert, we had a Growdammit Fig with balsamic vinaigrette.  I’m not going to post a pic b/c the vinaigrette doesn’t pour fluidly, rather it drops out of the cruet.  It’s yummy, but pics of it on a plate look like blood splatters.

Next…I’m sure we’ll come up with something.  The Dragon is back from his weeklong sojourn at the house with air conditioning.  He has a lot of patrolling to do.  And yes, you read that right…our house does not have central air.

Did somebody step on a duck?  Who let out the barking spider?  Okay, so I have a pair of farting flip-flops.  Sometimes they make a flatulent sound when air gets between the sole of my foot and the top of the flop.  I swear.  Anywho, the Wannabes love potty humor.  We also have a remote control fart machine.  I highly recommend you get one too.  It’s a great social experiment.

One time in Disneyworld, I was hangin’ with my friends the Badelves and I put the receiver in my bag and let the Badelf spawnette have the remote.  She went to town with it.  I’m sure we offended people, but hey we had fun.  Another time, we were walking around downtown Charleston and the eldest spawn (who was about 8 at the time) put the receiver in his pocket.  Just watching people react was a whole day’s worth of entertainment.  They either act like they didn’t hear a thing.  This is great.  Or, they laugh.  The best is the look of revulsion…at the 8 year old.  I just love watching people.

Alright, enough of the fluff.  Today saw the Wannabes make what is now a weekly field trip to the Home Depot.  Tomato cages were on the list.  We also are pleased to announce the addition of the youngest spawn’s Bog Garden to the GrowDammit Farm.

Tonight, the eldest spawn decided he needed a break from his weeklong vacation at his grandmother’s pool and came home to spend some time with “us” (e.g., his PS3).  To celebrate, Farmer Ted got his grill on.  The man can cook.

Those steaks smelled so good, I almost became a carnivore again.  I had a stuffed pepper instead.  We also had Growdammit Lettuce for a side salad.

Next.  We have a couple of Guest Garden features on the horizon.  And, I still owe you a poll for the Herb Bracket.  Alas, my ass is parked with a glass of wine on the back deck and the bracket is upstairs so the wine wins and no poll tonight.

Last year I was at the garden center and they had curry plants that were half dead and on major sale, so I bought two.  I really bought them on a lark b/c their leaves were a really pretty soft shade of green.  For contrast, I put one in the perennial garden and one in a container with other flowers.  The one in the container did not over-Winter, but to my surprise this year the one in the garden came back.  Tonight, we decided to cook with it.  I read online that it really doesn’t replace curry powder or paste in a dish, but if you saute it in a bit of oil before you cook your aromatics it adds a nice flavor to them.

Prep…

The herb on the left is the fresh curry, on the right we have some thai basil that was generously donated to the GrowDammit garden along with a delicate, edible marigold by our friend good friend Jill.  Thanks Jill!

And without further ado, dinner tonight…

GrowDammit Curried Shrimp

Eat your hearts out.  Farmer Ted’s getting good with the expensive ass camera don’t you think?

Next…I promised you a poll.  Still working on it.  And, a Mohawk for the eldest spawn.

Dog that is.  Here is a day in the life of Rufus.

And here is the Dragon “on patrol,” which is what he would like us to believe he does all day.

Without fail, every time we pull into the driveway he runs to greet us and then makes a beeline to the groundhog hole.  Not sure what happened to good ol’ Phil, but he hasn’t made an appearance lately.  The neighbor down the way said something about trying to trap it.  I’m going to go with that scenario, and not ask any questions.  Still…Twinkletoes wants to remind us that he’s on top of things. Real or imaginary.

The youngest spawn graduated from the 5th grade yesterday.  He still has a week of school though.  Hello cruel world.  He’s seriously pissed.  He reasons that he’s done his time, graduated and made the honor roll.  Isn’t that enough?  I told him to run for the School Board.

On the GrowDammit menu tonight…

Pea Soup

It was delish.

Last night…

GrowDammit Stuffed Shrooms

Next…Farmer Ted is starting to learn how to use the damned expensive camera we own.   And, the herb bracket poll will start.  I’m hoping this will eclipse March Madness.