Monochrome. #6

Green Thumb Season 2 - Ep. 2

After four weeks had passed from the initial planting, things started to take shape a bit. The start of dime sized cucumbers showed up on both plants along with yellow flowers, and there was a reasonably sized jalapeno pepper forming on our most mature pepper plant. The weather has gotten very hot in the Mid-Atlantic US. It feels like summer without it being the end of June and with the strong sun we've had to nearly double down on the watering that's done on a daily basis. Thankfully due to our very different schedules we're able to put two watering sessions in (morning and afternoon) on the cucumber plants during the rain free, 90+ degree days, that have been showing up lately. Another thing learned is what the cucumber plants look like when they're in need of water; their leaves slump over when they're running low and the more tacoed leaves visible the worse water is needed. Thankfully we only had one really close call on a day that hit 100*. I woke up at 1:30pm to see both cucumber plants in bad shape, then proceeded to pour about 2 litres of cool water on both. They bounced back within 30 minutes as they are quick drinkers as well. The peppers have been perky regardless of heat, and it makes sense as cucumbers have such a high water content. This worries me for when they get even bigger, as they're not even the size of baby carrots currently. We'll be gone for a good bit of July, give or take the hottest month of the year, so I'm trying to figure out some type of small irrigation system that can operate independently for several days; heavy rain and storms will be icing on the cake.

Week 4:

Week 5:



As you can see the cucumber plants have started growing in their own directions and not all of the peppers have started flowering. The cucumbers have these coil like tentacles that grow along with the stems/leaves which wrap themselves around whatever they touch. After about 4-5 days I have to readjust both plants so they don't grab onto the pepper plants or each other. It's becoming clear how they will look in another month of growth. According to the stats, Bush Crop cucumbers mature in around 90 days. It'll be about 70 days in when we return from overseas.

Food. #1

This series is a no-brainer, because I've wanted to do this since I started this blog; foods, cooking, recipes, etc. and more importantly shots of these activities and finished products. Last weekend I ended up picking up the spatula for the first time in over a year, I'm ashamed to say. In my defense, it's like riding a bike and I even got better at something I've been terrible at for a long time; cooking chicken on the bone outside of an oven. I think the issue is the fact that I love riffing; I can improvise with the best of em' and it's the backbone of my creativity. Sometimes I spread improvisation into things that could use a bit more precision. Time away helped with my grilling methodology as I went about it like I was using an oven (which a grill is), using a clock instead of eyeballing (which works for burgers and links great btw). So without further adieu:

Al's BBQ chicken:
- drumsticks thawed (thighs work too)
- olive oil (the better the better)
- garlic powder
- fresh ground black pepper
- kosher sea salt
- Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce (insert your favorite here)

Put chicken in a mixing bowl with a liberal amount of oil and seasonings added. Toss by hand til fully coated. Depending on your grill size and heat output, things may vary, but for the most part it's ~375* for 30 minutes, flipping half way. Mind the hot spots on cheaper grills, and shuffle accordingly. Sauce during the warming shelf phase or last 5 mins.

Beth's red potatoes:
- small red potatoes
- olive oil (see above)
- kosher sea salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- fresh garlic
- wood skewers

Boil potatoes to al dente in a pot of hot water. Quarter or half the potatoes to taste. Skewer said potatoes (you can soak them in water so they don't burn, but they rarely catch on fire under 400*). Brush the tots in oil and sprinkle seasonings. Grill to taste. Oh and watch your fingers when flipping them.

Monochrome. #5

Green Thumb Season 2 - Ep.1

Picking up from last time, we found ourselves coming home from the plant nursery up the road with some seedlings, soil and pots. Beth worked her magic and got everything transplanted and watered. The biggest wildcard this year is growing cucumbers, which we've never done before. Growing them isn't the issue as much as how they grow. Last year with the tomatoes (another plant that likes growing with a support system of sorts) we found out late that they should either be supported as they grow vertically or you should just let them grow out horizontally, naturally. If they slump or grow out horizontally after they start their upward climb, it's easy to damage the stalks. Cucumbers by all research we've done can grow in a similar manner, but the weight will be considerably more. For the time being we have pots with 'mounded' soil and we plan on letting them go horizontal once fruit begin to develop (or whenever the plant naturally leans toward the ground). Another unknown is what local woodland creatures like cucumbers, but we'll deal with that when we come to it.

I didn't end up taking shots of them initially planted, but these are about a week in:

After another week or so of rain from the last shot, the peppers sprouted upwards with a couple flowers here and there. The Bush Crop cucumber plants exploded in size.

The full pepper list is Thai Hot, Yummy, Italian Sweet and Jalepeno. They all serve their purpose depending on the dish you plan on cooking and I hope to do a food dish special (or two) using the ingredients when harvesting time arrives. In the meantime though, I'm going to stick to grilling my food on this lovely but hot Memorial Day weekend.

Beer of the Month - May (I have another)

The beer of the month for May is Leinenkugel Brewing Company's Sunset Wheat {4.9% abv}. I first heard of Leinenkugel a couple years back when shopping for new variety; I purchased some of their Honey Weiss brew on gut intuition and was rewarded handsomely. I snagged their Oktoberfest for the first time last fall, which made BOTM for October a tricky one. Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is one of great tradition and history in the United States; it was started near the clean waters of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin in 1867. This long running company has beer brewing roots going back to 18th Century Germany, but for the sake of time check out the site to find out more; Leinenkugel's story is currently being written in real-time by the 5th Generation of this family.

Sunset Wheat is a Belgian style white beer (Witbier), which are known for a light body and moderate citrus flavor. The first sip brings a pleasing aroma of almost fruity hops; initially what comes to mind is fruity pebbles cereal, but thankfully not in a bad way. This cloudy amber brew has a moderately clean finish with appealing carbonation. After drinking Sunset Wheat I found myself trying to determine a familiar underlying flavor which drove me up a wall. After some research I found out this beer is brewed with coriander and it all made sense; New Belgian Trippel is brewed with the same aromatics, and while these two brews cannot be compared it was still a familiar chair to recline in. Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat is a great year-rounder in the same vein as Hoegaarden and Blue Moon. 2.5 stars.

Monochrome. #4

Green Thumb - Season 2 Preview

Summer is on the way and it's about time to get some deck crops going for this years' warm season. Tomato plants are very rewarding, and delicious too might I add, but Beth and I wanted to go in a different direction this year. We'll be out of town for about three weeks come July, so having a more robust plant will be good as well; tomatoes need quite a bit of attention, especially with the way the vines grow and our planting constraints. This year we'll be growing cucumbers and a variety of peppers. This past Saturday we drove to a local nursery and picked out a few items; Yummy pepper, Thai hot pepper and Italian sweet pepper starter plants, as well as cucumbers. The cucumbers are supposed to be grown on a mound, but we only have large pots so this should be interesting.

Stay tuned.