We’re getting rain after about a month of dry weather. I’m happy about it because I planted some seeds (lettuce, spinach, kale and *gasp* grass seed) and I don’t really like to water the garden. It’s getting cold here, so I have to cut down the basil and make batches of pesto to freeze. I can’t remember what temperature kills basil, but it’s somewhere above freezing. We’re down to the 40s at night, so it’s cutting it close.
I bought some organic garlic and am going to plant some this fall. I’ve never planted garlic before, so don’t know whether to believe or ignore the hype about buying seed garlic. I’m choosing to ignore the hype and just got plain old regular organic garlic. I think I need to wait a little longer to plant it, so it’s in the fridge right now. I’ll probably put it in after I chop down and prune my plants. Goodbye tomatoes. How I loved you!
I also saved some tomato seeds from my plants. I didn’t really research the proper way to do that. I just put a bunch of seeds on a paper towel to absorb the pulp. Now they are a part of the paper towel, so I’m not sure if I should pry them off, or just cut up the paper towel and plant it along with the seeds in the spring.
With the cooler weather has come more baking and knitting. I just made nutty oatmeal cookies from Mark Bittman’s book Food Matters. I didn’t use the vegan options and used butter and eggs. The book is interesting (think Omnivore’s Dilemma lite) and offers weekly menus and recipes. I seem incapable of menu planning, so I’ve decided to try some of his menus. The book emphasizes healthy, mostly plant-based dishes, so I wasn’t sure if the cookies would be good or taste like particle board. I was pleasantly surprised. They had chopped up dried apples in them instead of the usual raisins that my family doesn’t like.
As for the knitting, I am making a raglan sweater for Neil from wool I spun ages ago. I’m crossing my fingers that I have enough wool to finish it. This weekend we are joining our friends for a weekend in Woodstock, NY and a visit to the NY Sheep and Wool festival on Saturday.
