LOL! 90+ degrees. We had many… Normally we only have one or two day’s at that temp in a summer.
And thank you…
Ginny
Mario is fabulous! I love his recipes. I will look it up. Thank you.
Ginny
Looks great! I hear the dinner bell now. Love the look of the onions. Bet they taste like mild leeks. Wow!
I forgot to reply directly… But, I did reply below…
Ginny
Yes, tasty but a bit more mild than regular green onions. My friend said they are good in salads. I made some homemade chicken broth with the Shandong onion and it gave it some great flavor to the broth.
Ginny
Oh. My Goodness, Ginny. Those are some outstanding tomatoes. WHAT a harvest, you must be exhausted, lol!! Just gorgeous.
So far this week I’ve been able to get a row of beets and a row of spinach seeds planted.
Harvested the peanuts, which are still sitting outside curing.
Yesterday I transplanted the Brussel sprouts and the cauliflower plants into the garden.
Rain a week and a half ago, along with a big cool down in temps (It’s been in the 80’s since this weekend with cool nights in 60’s. Those temps should hold for at least another week.) seem to have revitalized the cantaloupes. I’d be tickled if they made a few more melons.
Aside from the peanuts, I’ve been harvesting what is becoming the same old same old - okra, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. But the cooler weather is also making the maters and eggplant happier. They are perking up and making lots more fruits.
I’m looking forward to soon getting leafy greens from the garden. Tonight one of the girls asked me to please by romaine the next time I’m in a store. I so dislike doing that. Out of all produce, leafy greens are the ones I’m most uncomfortable buying.
Exhausted only begins too cover it! LOL 
Thank you …
We had some cool nights in the low 30’s last week… 
We actually had our first light frost last Saturday. Took us by surprise. It took out my remaining tomato vines, (I actually had most of the tomatoes picked by this time thank goodness.) 1/3 of the vines on my zucchini plants and winter squash vines turned brown. I think my zucchini is about done.
Romaine lettuce is so easy to grow from seed, and I think it tastes better and gets sweeter with the cooler weather.
Ginny
Very nice Drew. Love the braided garlic. I might try my hand at braiding next season. I grew some Killarney Red this year also. Not all of mine sprouted, but the ones that did were a lovely size. I will be re-planting German Straightneck from some I harvested this year, as they did really well for me. I have an order placed for Music and a few other varieties. Once I get a harvest I will continue to save some bulbs/cloves to replant that fall.
Ginny
Yes, I think maybe all the leafy greens taste better with cooler weather. I know collards and kale don’t get their best until they’ve had some frost. I used to buy them, but once I experienced the sweet tenderness of fresh homegrown, I developed a dislike of what is commercially sold.
Fresh spinach and leaf lettuces are different matter. I’m actually uncomfortable buying them. Too many instances of E. coli and salmonella outbreaks from spinach, both regular and organic, give me apprehension.
Yeah, I realize it’s purely psychological and likely overblown in my mind. That doesn’t stop me from feeling like I’m taking a risk when I buy it.
It is not overblown. Many cases of salmonella have been reported coming from produce grown from big farms. I have seen reports that many of the workers in the fields of the farms, do their business in the fields if you know what I mean. Many unwashed hands also touch the produce… Better to grow your own if at all possible. You don’t need a lot of space to grow the smaller greens. You can grow them in pots and many are considered cut and come again crops. They will keep producing new leaves most of the season… Win!, Win!
Ginny
Thanks for not taking it for granted that I was off the wall with that one. I have some lettuces ready for transplanting now. The weather has finally given me a break by being overcast and cool enough that I could start getting the fall/winter crops into the ground. Until now, it has been too hot, both for me to work outside during the main part of the day and for the cool weather babies to survive. Our summer sun is very strong. Now, I’m going to be hoping this unusually bad infestation of grasshoppers doesn’t devour them.
The ‘season’ for the lettuces will run until sometime in May or June when they will bolt. I’ll reseed along the way. We use a lot of lettuce, but also eat a lot of leafy greens and brassicas while they can grow. Each meal here feeds at least 6 adults. So, I wind up using quite a bit of space for them. I don’t think I’ll ever grow enough spinach or beets to satisfy everyone’s cravings. But I try.
Whoa! You can’t post something like that without posting a recipe!!!
Boy, lots of tomatoes!!
this chicken dish looks delicious !
Shandong Chicken is a twice cooked chicken. Be sure to use chicken with skin. Put large chicken pieces in a heavy bottom pot or sauce pan with onions, carrots and peppercorns, Cover chicken with water and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking chicken for 10 more minutes. Remove from burner and let it cool down in the pot to finish cooking a bit more. When cool, drain and pat dry . Let air dry for a bit. Dry skinned chicken turns crispy when deep fried.
Make your sauce…
2nd step for chicken: Heat heavy base pan or wok. Add oil and fill to bottom. Heat to 190 degrees. Add your cut chicken pieces skin side down. Cook five minutes on each side till browned. Drain and cut into large bite size pieces if you prefer. Arrange on platter then top with sauce and oil. Serve with rice
Sauce: 3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 of your favorite chilies, chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
Cilantro or Coriander leaves, 3 Tbsp., finely chopped
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 Tbsp. Black Vinegar (or wine vinegar)
1 Tbsp. red chili oil
Heat med. heavy bottom pan or wok, add the garlic, chilies, spring onions, cilantro or coriander, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir fry for a minute, add chicken stock, salt, sherry, vinegar and heat till it comes to a boil, simmer for a minute or so. Pour over your chicken then top with a bit of chopped spring onions and chopped cilantro, drizzle with red pepper oil.
Ginny
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Thank you. It was. My son and hubby had seconds… Winner!!
I’ll have to try something similar to this. I just bought 8 whole chickens yesterday. ~5 1/2 lbs. each. Would have gotten more at 85 cents/lb, but wasn’t sure how much storage space I had available. This sounds like a delightful recipe to add variety!
That is a great price for whole chicken these days… Yes, you can change up a few ingredients to your liking if you wish. Sometimes I use pure honey in place of the sugar. Fresh ginger, a good quality soy sauce, white vinegar, chili paste, and finely chopped peanuts…are other ingredients you can use to your liking…
Ginny