Wednesday, July 19, 2017

A Pea and a Beet Walk Into A Bar...and a Cheesy Weekend


So a pea and a beet walk into a bar.
Pea: "Hey, you're looking tired my friend."
Beet: "Yeah, it's been a long day, I'm just beet."

Har har...Yes, I made that one up on my own. My talents are endless! ;)

This was yesterday's harvest. I think my peas are done for the year! But...I did get my first ever beet! I also noticed that the green beans and yellow beans are starting to show some buds! Exciting!


Boo hoo...Pavlov is gone. :(  Our friend decided to take him home. I'm really going to miss him! I hope our little husky Charlie is okay, she really clung to Pavlov...every young gal needs a crush!


Here's Alex with the 5-pack. We had one last walk in the woods with the big pack. Pavlov was reunited with his mom Stella after they were apart for two months, they're pretty happy! There were a few grumblings between Mom Stella and Charlie in Charge (maybe over Pavlov? lol)...but other than that, it was a nice visit!


We made the Spoiled Dog Cake again for Pavlov's "bon voyage" party! Mmm...bacon-flavoured Pupperonis! It was funny, Alex kept saying how moist the cake looked...I told him to dig right in, but he respectfully declined saying he didn't want to take anything away from the dogs! :)


For dinner on Monday I made my version of a Cobb Salad. I used my homemade Mozzarella, home grown lettuce, chives and parsley too.


After a walk in the woods yesterday morning and then a dip in the river, we came home to a beautiful cheese and paté board with fresh strawberries and homemade bread! I didn't realize until I looked at the photos today how cheese-heavy the weekend was! (no complaints!)

Note: I was going to change the last sentence because our friend came on Monday...which is not really a "weekend" visit is it? But it's just a testament to the fact that time means nothing to us here in the mountains!


To give us some comfort after having to say goodbye to Pavlov, Alex and I had a fondue dinner! Have you ever had Welsh Rabbit? It's a melted cheese sauce poured over bread. In our case, it's a Cheddar and ale fondue. We made ours with Newcastle brown ale and added some bacon to it. It was pure comfort, mind you we had trouble doing much else but nodding off after! Don't plan on operating large equipment after you make this dinner...talk about a food coma!!


I served ours with sausages, apples and homemade bread. Correct me anyone if I'm wrong, but I read that the name has been changed over the years to Welsh Rarebit because the general population in North America got confused over the fact that is was a cheese sauce and not an actual rabbit from Wales that they were preparing and eating. Sounds silly doesn't it? I'll still call it a Welsh Rabbit!

We're going to take a break from the cholesterol party for a while this week and eat more clean for a few days. I always say we just need a little red wine to counter the fat cheese effect, it might have merit to it right? ;)


I may have mentioned this in one of the comments, but it's kind of nice having our "small" pack of three dogs and three cats again. I do miss Pavlov but it was a good lesson to learn that four dogs would be too much for us as this point. We got back to our routine of a morning walk in the woods and it felt great! I've just been bragging about the hot summer weather we've had the last few days and as I type this, it's cooled off and is pouring rain again...sigh...I built shelters for my tomatoes for long rainy days, I hope that gets them back on track and the yellow leaves don't come back (I pruned them).

My monthly shopping day is coming up quick so I'll be planning out breakfasts and dinners for thirty days plus the shopping list and budget for the rest of the week! I hope everyone is enjoying their week!

34 comments:

  1. I love a nice cheese 'n beer fondue! Haven't made one for quite a few years though. I should do so again! And hey, nice beet! Time for some borscht!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Debra :) I think the borscht would be for a mini me lol...I only got one! I usually have my fondues with wine, but the Newcastle was a nice flavour!

    ReplyDelete
  3. First off, what a healthy looking beet! Who says you can't grow good food in containers??! I don't think any of my beets are that size yet. Did you know beet greens are yummy, too? Just sautee them in a little olive oil, add some onions if you wish and a splash of vinegar, butter, salt and pepper . . . mmmmm, good!

    You two took such good care of Pavlov but I'm sure he's glad to be back with his mom and human. Your troop probably missed their morning walks so it's nice for you all to be able to do that again now.

    I don't care if your weekend was cheese-laden. Everything looked delish! (So, going on a cleansing liquid diet means I could drink as much wine as I wanted?)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Rain,

    Thanks for the update. It must be hard for you now thar Pavlov has gone and now that the rain is back. At least you're putting on a brave face on it all. You're making some great meals. That's a tasty looking one right you've made there. Keep making the cheese I've put a link to it from my blog. Thanks for the link you'vgiven me. I wish I could do as much as you do, but those days are long gone. I meant to tell you that I have two cats thar we keep at home. They're doing well. Love the look of the blog. It's better than mine. All the best.

    Treey.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my a beet joke and it was funny, I must be at a low point or something.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A small vegetable garden is so much fun. Mine is only 4 feet by 4 feet and I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks Mama Pea! :) The container garden is really working out well, despite a few fails, I'm pretty happy! Now I have to figure out to do with one beet. :) I read about the greens today, I think it'll make a nice side dish for us. The morning walks are great, I have sore legs right now though, lack of use ha ha! Pavlov went NUTS when his "human" came through the gate, I knew at that point how happy he'd be to be home! Oh yes, my remedy for fatty food overload is red wine overload!!! :))

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Treey! :) I appreciate the compliment! I'm trying my best to make the most of my time doing what makes me happy. Sometimes I overdo it though, I admit that! That's when Alex takes over and cooks, cleans, and takes care of the pets while I slouch and recover my energy! I just feel like life is too short so I want to fit everything in I guess. I sure do miss Pavlov, he was such a cuddler...but I do have my 6 pets here to mother unbearably! :) It's nice that you have cats! I've always been a dog person, but Alex had cats when we met and I fell in love with them too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well Gill, it takes super intelligence to get my humour, so consider yourself one of the lucky ones. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi John :) I love my garden too. One day I'd love to make it ten times the size! But for now it's really making me happy! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. geeze rain! that is a bigger beet than i've ever managed to grow, all of your food looks so good. i love a good fondu but haven't made one in years. i would kill for a cool bit of air or rain. we are already bone dry and still hotter than hades. i won't even mention the humidity. i need fall to come just so everyone won't have to listen to me bitch about summer!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, it is sad about Pavlov. I hope the wonderful memories make it a little easier.

    I am constantly amazed at all the goodies at your place. And homemade bread, too. OH SO YUMMY! I haven't done that in ages. I'll have to get back into regular cooking and baking when home renovations settle down.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A cheesy joke but it made me smile, the sight of all the cheese meals made me jealous. I could happily live on bread, cheese and salads.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm starting to allow my peas to dry on the vine. So I can save to plant next year. I still have a few lingering plants and we enjoyed snap peas again last night. The beet looks delicious. We love them. The cheese plates look lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your bread looks so good! You must be a wonderful cook by all the pictures you post! Good luck on your monthly shopping. I still have not gotten into a routine of knowing exactly what I am doing! Did you plant a lot of beets and what will you do with them. I hope your tomatoes come through the rain okay. My roma plant fell over out of the box last night. Lots of green tomatoes fell off! Enjoy your smaller dog family now! Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Joyce :) LOL...bitch away! I'll be doing the same thing come February with the winter that seems to never end here! :) That beet was pretty big wasn't it? The fondue is so yummy...but we tend to eat it way too fast and feel like bumps on logs after.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Martha :) I miss little Pavlov...but they'll be back at least once before end of summer for a visit. I'll spoil the heck out of him then :) The bread recipe I have is no knead...I LOVE that. I have a link to my recipe page on the side bar if ever you're interested.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Pam :) I'm glad you smiled at my cheesy joke lol...I'm with you, I could also live on bread, cheese, salads but also wine and I'd be very happy :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Kristina :) So that's how you save the pea seeds, let them dry on the vine? I should try that too. I only planted two this year, we thought we'd eat them more than we did though. The lettuce is our star crop that's for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Nancy :) Actually for the beets, I only planted one container...Id' say I have a dozen tops up at this point. It was an experimental crop for me, I just wanted to see if I could do it! I started them indoors at the beginning of April then transplanted them end of April with new seeds next to them. I was seeing which method worked better in our climate. With the beets, it seems starting them indoors so far has produced bigger beets, but I still have to wait on the ones I seeded outdoors on April 29th to compare. Alex doesn't like beets too much but I love them just steamed with some butter! If if works out well, I may plant more next year to freeze them. I hope the tomatoes come out well too, oh that's too bad about your Roma! Can you use the green tomatoes anyway? Nancy I hope you can find some good gluten-free bread that is delicious!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ahahahah the beet joke! Its a good one!

    Nice beet!!! Mine are still in the trug - growing away. I have chopped the tops off most as I love sauteed beet tops. Beats kale hands down and I love kale! I could live on cheese. Just cheese nothing else. Well, maybe dark chocolate but then I am good! You should try making kvass with a couple of large beets. So delicious!

    I am sure Pavlov will miss you guys but he's with his mum!! That's a happy reunion and a good looking cake! Nice of Alex to leave it all for the pups ;)

    I love Welsh Rabbit! I too at first many moons ago when I read the rabbit part and then the recipe thought, where does the rabbit go in and I refuse to eat that because it has rabbit! :) I do eat it now only because its cheese! I still don't eat rabbits! :) I need to fondue! I have only ever had it once I recall and it was a cheese one and an oil one (I think I have mentioned this before). It was good!

    Happy cheesing!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks Dianna :) I'm glad you liked my joke hee hee...I have to try those greens...you and Mama Pea both gave hands' up about them. I was brought up in a canned vegetable world you see, so all of this stuff is rather new to me. I don't think I've ever had a "green" or a "top" - at least I've never bought them, but I do want to try them!

    Isn't Welsh Rabbit the best??? I also thought about Bugs when I first read the recipe many years ago. I'm so glad we tried it. Since we bought our nice fondue pot in the spring, this is only the second time we've used it, it's such a beautiful pot! We do have one for the broth stews too, but I don't think I'm brave enough to try the oil fondues.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Cute joker you.
    I can not imagine having 4 dogs..... or even 3. I have had 2 and that worked. And as a child we had lots of cats at one time and that seemed fine. I have no pets...... I like my freedom after having lots of responsibility in the past.

    yummy food!
    Wow a month long shopping list. Wow! Have fun.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love beets mine are not that big yet but we already had a wonderful pan of beet greens when I thinned out my garden bed. One of my favourite veggies !!! Oh how sad...i hope charlie is ok !!!
    Nom nom cheese !!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks Tammie Lee :) I've had dogs all my life and I agree that without them there would be a lot more freedom...but I'm hooked, I just love them so much! Four was a lot...five was over the top, three works! The monthly shopping saves me money and the stress of having to drive more often. It takes some work, but I started that almost a year ago and it's working really well so far!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Nik :)) I think Charlie is okay so far...she's getting longer walks and we're giving her more attention so we're hoping she'll re-adjust again. I have more beets to pull but they don't seem ready yet.

    ReplyDelete
  27. That dog cake looked pretty good!! As does everything else you make! :-)
    I love fondue..I never think to pull out our fondue pot!
    Have you ever been to Banff? They have this crazy fondue restaurant, you can do the basic meat/oil, cheese, and chocolate fondues. They also have an exotic platter that is alligator, snake, ostrich..etc. I didn't try it. Maybe next time!!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Jenn :) Thank you! The dog cake was gone in less than a minute lol...we cut it into 5 pieces and they all picked up the piece in one shot, it was a bit messy but they really loved it! No, I've never been to Banff!!! Never east of Niagara Falls actually! I hope one day to visit the West and the Yukon. I've eaten ostrich before, but never alligator and snake!! Don't think I could....shudder!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. It must be a rush on cherries, because the prices here have been over the top at a grocery store called Aldi's. I've been binging on cherries like crazy! (lol) I like that Cherry Ice Cream idea a lot! Hugs...RO

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi RO :)) Cherries are so rare here because we get them mostly from the States so when they're on sale like that, we try to buy as much as we can afford. It's always the same for most fruits. When they're in season, it's a rush to get them! Besides the summer, it's frozen fruit for us sadly.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oooh, so many posts for me to catch up on. Your garden is looking lovely and lush, and your cheese is amazing! I love that comment 'food coma' haha :D I'll be checking out your cheese making when I have more time, it's something we want to be doing in France when we get a couple of goats! x

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thanks Yarrow :)) Well, France and cheese are meant to be I think :) I'm so excited for you and your move!!! After seeing photos of your new place, I'm so envious, and goats too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I lost an entire comment here so I will make it short! Trying to catch up with my favorite blogger! LOL! Congrats on your prolific garden and great looking beet!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi Sam :)) Thank you! I'm now just waiting for the next beets to come up! :)

    ReplyDelete

❤ Thanks for your comment, I love hearing from everyone! ❤ Why not join me and my fellow artists every Thursday for TADD? That's Thursday Art and Dinner Date! It's a lot of fun!
Love,
Rain