Roswell Adventures

Some days, you just need a porch drink. You know the feeling. The day has had just enough snags to make you want to cry or scream or throw things. But when the afternoon is just right, you think, "a porch drink would be so wonderful!" Well, the next time you find yourself wanting a bit of adult libation to sip on while you enjoy a beautiful afternoon on the porch, consider the humble mojito. There isn't much to it, but mixed up right, it is refreshing and fits the bill. For our recipe, we reduced the sugar. A mojito that is too sweet just isn't as refreshing, in our humble opinions. Mojito by the Pitcher ~ 40 mint leaves 1 1/2 limes (or one really large one) 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup white rum 2 cups cold soda water ice Rinse the mint leaves, and place leaves (no stems) into pitcher. Slice lime into sections and add about 2/3 into the pitcher. Using a muddler (or wooden spoon, if you don't have a muddler...but why don't you have a muddle...

OK, this is about more than bales, but the focus of our garden is the bales. The berries are a new addition this year. This is our 4th year growing in straw bales, and we are planting 40 bales, just like last year. Trying lots of new stuff - we'll see how it goes. So here's the newest... Chuck strung new wire for our tomato trellises. He used a heavier gauge and put in two rows. Heard about this tip, because if you need to cover them for cold weather, you can slide plastic in between the wires then anchor it.  Our 4 sets of front bales. In this pic the only planting is the nasturtiums, which are supposed to help keep the squash in the next bale healthy. We'll see ;)  Nasturtiums up close and personal. Well, kinda... I added marigolds next to the Nasturtiums. Closest to the mail box I planted beets - Detroit Gold and Heritage mix. In the next set I planted two kinda of carrots (Scarlet Nantes and Danvers). I've never grown ca...

I love potato salad - and fortunately so does Chuck. I had gone years without making any - probably because I hadn't figured out a recipe. A while back, Chuck suggested potato salad would be nice. So, I went to work figuring out how I wanted it to look...and taste. Here are the basics...  Although my recipe calls for 5 medium potatoes, mine were a bit shy of medium, so I used a couple extra to make up for it. And, yes, those are eggs. The farm where I buy my eggs has a wide variety of hens...thus a wide variety of egg colors. It is a simple recipe to make, but there are two key things to keep in mind...start early enough to let the eggs and potatoes cool in an ice-water bath, and read through all the instructions first. Sure, I know you know how to boil eggs, but if you follow the recipe and add that vinegar to the water, it really does make it easier to peel the eggs. Oh - I forgot a 3rd thing. While it tastes great fresh, it takes even better once i...